| Sunday, July 7, 2002 |
15:33 - What a Place to Live
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I was on my way to pick up some lunch, and noticed that not only were the mountains in front of me as clear as day, but so were the ones off to my left-- northward into the East Bay-- and so were the ones behind me, on the western side above Cupertino. So I went on past Taco Bell and up Quimby Road.
Once again, I wish my camera weren't in the shop. The picture at right is from several months ago, and it doesn't do today's view justice at all.
It was perfectly clear, with visibility for a hundred miles; I could not only see Mt. Tamalpais in the North Bay, but I could see the fog at its base and pick out individual buildings in downtown San Francisco.
That's what's so nice about summer around here. Whereas in LA, summer is the smoggiest time, and only briefly during the winter are the mountain ridges crisply visible-- in Silicon Valley, May and October, for some reason, are the only really hot months; in between, it's cool and breezy, and the air clears itself out for weekend views, so I can go up Quimby Road or into the Santa Cruz Mountains on a lazy morning and stand there taking pictures or just staring. It's about as comfortable as though I'm standing under an air-conditioner vent all day; I could stand out there all day long if I want to.
Garrison Keillor on the radio, bicyclists nodding and waving as they labor their way up the slope, distant cars and planes speckling the landscape... it reminds one that this place once was called the Valley of Heart's Delight. Must have been quite a sight, when people could look across it from this same location, before there was anything but a few scattered little towns here and there, or even when it was full of orchards.
... Bah, I'm rambling. But I tend to do that when it's a clear day.
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