An Unintentional River Walk
I didn't mean to go for a river walk today. It was raining when I left the house about 2:40 and I only intended to shop at Smart and Final downtown and come right home. By the time I left the rain had stopped and it was a gorgeous afternoon. As I drove up 21st Street, I saw a photo I wanted to take so I parked on Spring. That photo didn't turn out, but I kept walking to 20th. I noticed there that the sky was quite different on the east side of the street than the west side. The east side was dark and gray.
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| The East Side of 20th and Spring Street Is Gray |
The west side was bright blue with only fluffy white clouds. Just by turning your head you'd get a different sense of what the weather was like.
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| The West Side of 20th and Spring Is Bright and Blue |
I took a few shots I will share in another post of a surprise I found, and then I started home on South River Road. That's when I noticed what a lovely day it was for a photo walk along the river.
The Salinas River Between Navajo Avenue and 13th Street
I parked on Navajo right where it curves to parallel the river. Then I strolled up to the 13th Street Bridge. After taking a few photos from the bridge, my camera battery died. That meant the walk back to the car was much faster than the walk to the bridge. This photo was taken very close to where I parked. You can see the Derby Wine Estates Building across the river.
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| Looking Across the River to Derby Wine Estates Building |
It appears the city planted some colorful shrubs on the slope. I assume the mustard is wild. From this view, you only see one channel of the river. Vegetation and sandbars keep you from seeing the other channels from here.
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| Colorful Shrubs Combine with Wild Mustard to Beautify the Slope |
One thing I can't show you is the sound. The trees chirp as you pass them. The birds and bunnies scamper along the ground so fast they are almost impossible to photograph, but I heard the brush rustle. Birdsong accompanied me all along the way. This is one of the last shots I got before my battery died.
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| Looking North from Salinas River Trail North of Niblick Road |
I finally got to the bridge after taking over a hundred photos. You can the see the whole width of the river from the bridge, but I couldn't capture all of it in the shots I took while my battery was still alive. I was facing south toward Niblick Road when I took this shot. It will give you an idea of the river's width.
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| View of Salinas River Looking South from 13th Street Bridge |
Sky Journal February 11, 2017
This was a day of swift weather changes. I took my first photo at 12:19 PM. Doesn't it look like a beautiful day?
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| It's a Beautiful Day to the East at 2:19 PM |
This is the same scene at 2:30. It doesn't seem too much different except for that creeping gray cloud to the left of the oak tree.
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| Gray Cloud Is Sneaking up to the Tree, 2:30 PM |
When I stood facing the tree and turned left to look south, I saw a much different picture that was more accurate in predicting the weather. It was taken only seconds after the one above.
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| Gray Rain Clouds Approaching from the South at 2:30 |
Sure enough. Although I was hurrying to leave on my shopping errand, I couldn't beat the rain. The drops started to come just as I took this photo at 2:40 before I got into the car.
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| At 2:40 the Rain Began |
My entire walk took an hour and fifteen minutes. I highly recommend this walk for anyone who likes to photograph the river and the critters who live near it.
*****
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