Wet Road

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to venture down California 1 on such a rainy day. It has sheer cliffs that rise and drop up to a thousand feet in both directions. Rock slides are common and rain just loosens the earth.

The magnificent vistas looked like they would give way to fog banks.

I loaded up, gassed up and headed south.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

I wasn’t going to let a little rain bar my way. This was the first major storm to hit the Southern California coast this season.

Fog just changes the photographic opportunities.

The Bixby Creek Bridge was shrouded in fog and you couldn’t see through the curve. You’ve seen this famous piece of bridge architecture; it’s probably second only to the Golden Gate in it’s dramatic design of California bridges.

The roadway appears to curve across the gorge, but in actuality the main arched span is straight, while the approaches are curved.

Halfway through the mountainous stretch, is a must stop photo opportunity for me. I’ve shot it: at night, during different daylight conditions, and now through the clouds.

The California Highway Patrol was out helping a man who had a flat tire in a rock slide area where six inch to a foot round rocks were strewn about the roadway.

There were only a few Elephant Seals beached and not worth getting out to take their picture this trip. Hearst Castle at San Simeon was just gray on gray.

The only light of the day, in the sky, was at sunset.

The rainfall increased as I traveled down the Ventura Highway.