Tuesday, December 13, 2011

California

Golden State

C L I C K     T O     E N L A R G E


You live in San Francisco and you want to see towering 1,000 year old Redwood trees - you cross the northbound side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  You live among the Redwoods and you want to see San Francisco and Los Angeles and movie stars - you head south and cross the Golden Gate Bridge.  It's more than a bridge.  It's the stitch that holds California together.  This 1999 x 1333 image is from My Wallpaper Heaven.



California sits on the edge of a continental plate that steadily moves west into the Pacific Ocean.  This pushes the land straight up from the sea creating dramatic coastal views.  This is a scene from Pebble Beach, a few hours drive south of San Francisco.  A bit further south is Big Sur, California's most spectacular ocean view drive. This image is from Pulsar Wallpapers and is 1600 x 1200.



San Francisco's other bridge is the Oakland Bay Bridge.  It actually sees far more cars each day than the more famous Golden Gate.  Many people work in San Francisco but live across the bay in more affordable communities.  You don't have to use your car though.  The local subway system, BART, actually runs under the bay so you can commute to work without worrying about where to park.  The picture is 1440 x 900 and is from HD Wallpapers.



High in the Sierra Mountains of California is Yosemite, a tree covered valley surrounded by shear granite cliffs that loom over the many campers that visit year round.  It was carved ages ago by glaciers that have long since receded to near oblivion.  With Spring comes the roar of the many waterfalls fed by melting snow.  Outdoors Wallpaper provides this image and it is 1024 x 768.



One of the draws of Southern California is that it is possible to surf in the Pacific in the morning and ski in the mountains that afternoon.  Ocean, mountains and desert are all within a few hours drive... provided the traffic allows, but more on that shortly.  This photo is 1999 x 1333 and is found at My Wallpaper Heaven.



People of Southern California spend a lot of time in their cars, and not out of love.  The freeways at commute time are parking lots.  People catch up on their reading with audio books, they shave in their cars, read the paper, do their nails and just sort of hang out with half a million like-minded motorists.  Mercedes, Hyundai... it's all the same here, you're stuck.  This picture is from Wallpapers 70 and is 1600 x 1200.



Great beaches, no doubt about it - they're all up and down the coast.  Surf here is not just a noun or a verb, it's a life style.  But don't think the water is warm.  This isn't the Caribbean.  The current here flows down from Alaska so even on a hot, summer day expect to find water temperatures in the 60s.  This picture is from Koleksifoto and it is 1600 x 1200.



With luck you just may run into a movie star somewhere in the Hollywood area.  That doesn't mean you will recognize them.  Off the screen they have a way of looking like everyone else.  This photo is 1728 x 2304 at 230 dpi and is from Hollywood and Highland.



More than a few people have said that California is only 5 miles deep, no more than 10 kilometers.  That's a short way in from the coast.  It isn't true, of course, but the impressions made of California on television and in movies are generally taken from a narrow sliver of the state.  The rest is pretty much like many other places in the United States.  Well, actually that isn't quite true either.  California is one of a kind.  The picture is 1024 x 768 at 400 dpi.  It is from Wallpaper Pimper.



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