wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Re: SoCal lack of Sites (smile)
G. Donald Bain 2004-Jun-14 17:43:00
Bo,
I assume you are based in Southern California, so here are ten
suggestions for that region.
1. Yosemite, since it is an official site, and is fabulous, would be
first choice. But a pretty good distance for you, crowded and hard to
get reservations this time of year. Wawona (with giant Sequoias) is
easier than Yosemite Valley, and the Tioga Road is open, so you can
drive into the high country (take mosquito repellent).
2. The western Channel Islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and
Anacapa) are highly likely to be UNESCO sites at some point. It's a
national park, and access is restricted. You get there by boat, usually
from Ventura (see Island Packers), or fly (C.I.A. - Channel Islands
Airways). The easiest to do is Anacapa, a half-day excursion from
Ventura. The most worthwhile is Santa Cruz, which is owned and managed
by the Nature Conservancy. An even easier fallback would be Santa
Catalina, many options to get there, but must hike or bike to get
around, unless you are content to stay in Avalon.
3. Sequoia National Park is such an obvious candidate for World
Heritage designation, don't know why it hasn't been yet. Easy to get
dramatic photographs of the big trees, especially early or late in the
day, when the light comes in at a low angle. Drive up to Giant Forest
from Visalia in the San Joaquin.
4. Joshua Tree National Park is another possibility, though it's
getting pretty hot out there in the Mojave Desert now. It hit 103? (39?
Celsius) yesterday in Indio.
5. The Indian Palm Canyons at Palm Springs. Open daytime only, access
through the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation (who own most of the
canyon), just south of the town of Palm Springs. Very photogenic, and
lots of shade which helps with the extreme heat.
6. The Franciscan missions of Alta California, especially San Luis Rey
(Oceanside), San Juan Capistrano, Santa Barbara, and La Purisima (near
Lompoc). La Purisima offers the most, as it has been completely
reconstructed.
7. American cities have not usually acquired enough patina of age to
impress UNESCO - but it will come. The movie industry is certainly
Southern California's leading contribution to world heritage, with
historic sites in Hollywood, Culver City, and the San Fernando Valley.
Not much to look at though, unless you can get permission to go inside
one of the theaters or production studios.
8. Similarly, Disneyland. But I would expect trouble with VR
photography there, security is very tight.
9. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Cal Tech in Pasadena, maybe also
their observatory on Mount Wilson.
10. Some of the historic domestic architecture of suburbia - Craftsmen
style houses (Pasadena, San Marino, etc.) and modernist. Would take
some research, you would probably need special permission, and small,
dark interiors are challenging for VR photography.
Hope this helps (you and other Southlanders).
Don
On Jun 14, 2004, at 9:13 AM, Bo wrote:
> ARGH, so I have reviewed the list and conclude that either I need a
> trip to Yosemite or up to the RedWood Forest where Don is already
> setting up.....
>
> So that leaves no-official sites, such as maybe Joshua Tree National
> Park, Trona Pinnacles, and possible the Missions spread up along the
> coast?
>
> Any other ideas? HELP... (Smile)
>
>
>
> Bo
>
> www.bophoto.com/panos
>
>
>
>
> ------
> The World-Wide Panorama
>
> For more information:
> -Visit the web site at http://GeoImages.Berkeley.edu/wwp.html
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>