RIPPING THE RIDGE ROAD

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I was close, that is enough.
     
 



     My friend lent me his Nikon D200 with a bagful of lenses for a month before he’ll try to sell it to me.  In the San Gabriels, the sun was bright in the  morning, perfect for shooting some test shots.   
     On Glendora Ridge Road I heard it before I saw it, and by then it was too late. Saying ‘throated Italian tuned exhaust’ is like trying to explain the sound of a glacier calving in the Kenai Fjords; if you haven’t felt it, there’s no way. It was red and it had the prancing horse label, Ferrari, and almost before I could raise the chunky Nikon to my eyes, it was gone.
Mount Baldy
      









    The Ridge road rips along the top of the San Gabriel Mountains between San Gabriel Canyon and Mount Baldy.



Western view from Padua
     




     

    Winding down Baldy Road I stopped at the Padua Theater and shot some scenes that looked very Southern California for January 2.  It was warm and sunny and the terrace spread out like terra cotta butterscotch.
  
Padua Theater
     



     Oak trees spread their gangly limbs in true California spirit, wild and unbound. 
     These hills, lush with sage, and grass that will sprout in spring and turn green before changing into golden velvet, invite coyote, hawks, bear, deer.  I see them all the time roaming the foothills that slope to the San Gabriels.



Patio at Padua
 

Jeep in captivity. Lovely, isn't it?
     And of course a shout out to my Jeep.  It always gets me there and back.
     The Nikon?  Not right now, I don't think.  Nice images, sharp and crisp. Great light gathering ability, fine resolution. But what I really need is a dishwasher. And a stove. Maybe a washer dryer. And probably a few more high quality folding knives.  Who said I was practical?



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