[Leica] Slip Sliding Away....

[jhnichols at bellsouth.net (Jim Nichols)]

Richard,

Very nice narrative and photos. Just be careful with the camera while 
driving.  My wife won't allow me that priviledge any more since I scared her 
while taking a series of photos on the bay bridge south of Tampa, FL.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Man" <richard-lists@imagecraft.com>
To: "lug-leica-users.org" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 4:10 AM
Subject: [Leica] Slip Sliding Away....


> People usually don't associate SoCal with snow, especially when they see 
> SoCal'ers walking around in beachwear during the Rose Bowl or some such, 
> but that's because these people may not know that there is a 4000 ft 
> mountain range just an hour north of LA (probably has to do with the 
> micro-climate and smog in the area too).
>
> We were going to drive back home from SoCal on Sunday evening. We stopped 
> off at a friend's place and notice that the storms were once again raging. 
> My wife, my daughters, our friends, and even our friends' cat have the 
> good sense to convince me that driving over the Tejon pass at 11PM when 
> the conditions said ICY/SNOW may not be the best decision I would ever 
> made as it might have been my last decision I ever made. So we stayed and 
> crashed (or not crash as the case may be) on the floor and couch. Next 
> morning, after some fine breakfast and 3 kinds of tea. We were on our way! 
> The sky was sunny, the traffic was light, but little did I know that I 
> would almost regret that last cup of tea. I knew there is a Rest Area just 
> about the top of the Tejon Pass, and that is only another 15 mins drive...
>
> All 4 lane traffic stopped! 2 patrol cars drove by, then an AMT, then an 
> ambulance. Uh Oh, I hope people are OK...
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1419.jpg
>
> Traffic started to move a bit, first we passed by one half of those 
> Oversize prefab house sitting on the shoulder, it didn't take long to find 
> where the OTHER half is:
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1421.jpg
>
> Another view, see the snow? Elevation is just under 4000 feet here
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1422.jpg
>
> Fortunately no one seems to have gotten hurt from what we can see. The 
> ground is quite dry but you can see snow...
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1426.jpg
>
> Pit stop! Whew! As I said, almost one cup of tea too many. My wife threw 
> couple snowballs at me, almost hitting a couple changing their baby in the 
> trunk of their car. Poor kid might get frostbite!
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1430.jpg
>
> Once you get to the top of the Tejon Pass, it's a steep decline (4000 ft 
> to probably sea level to Grapevine) to the bottom. Here's a clear 
> demonstration of fog is just clouds low enough to touch.
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1429.jpg
> and more
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1432.jpg
>
> Finally, we ran past the fog/clouds/snow! Ah, the green mountains (yes 
> this is what we pass for green here, to you Oregonians or other rain 
> forest dwellers) of California during the Winter months. The rest of the 
> year it's mostly brown and dry, semi-arid desert like.
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1433.jpg
>
>
> The Central ("we need to take water from everyone so we can feed YOU") 
> Valley and the I-5 Straight Away is in sight. Look at a map of CA 
> (maps.google.com). See that 250 miles of straight line down in the middle? 
> That's I-5. Two lanes of
> - DON'T FALL ASLEEP
> - Close that window and put on re-circ unless you want the "nature" smell
> - Wow, that's a lot of trucks
> - DON'T FALL ASLEEP
>
> heaven.
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1434.jpg
>
> Notice the sign on the left indicating a crashpad lane exit for "Runaway 
> Trucks." The stop seems a bit short to me, but I guess no truck has gone 
> over it yet.
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1435.jpg
>
> Grapevine! Blue sky! Yay!
>
> http://www.dragonsgate.net/pub/richard/PICS/IMG_1437.jpg
>
>
> // richard (This email is for mailing lists. To reach me directly, please 
> use richard at imagecraft.com)
>
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