Landscapes within 10 miles (these actually within 5 miles) of home

[Patrick Moore]

Following up with the exchange with Philip Barret, about we'uns posting landscapes within 10 miles of our several homes, here is a contribution, entirely justifying my earlier deprecation of my photography skills, or lack of them.

Acequias, bridge-path and watergate infrastructure, pasture- and cropland, early in the season.

Context: High desert NM; citywide, we get a 9" average of annual precipitation, actual amounts ranging from 14" on the average near the Sandia Mountain foothills on the east side of town, to about 5" in parts of the West Mesa. I think I, and the scenery, get's about the 9" average.

Early, not late spring. Spring has sprung, but buds are just starting out. Give it another month, and things will be much greener; or will be if ...

Dought. Yes, 9" is full-rain; we've missed our quota for a year or so now, this after a 1029 with more-than-ample rain by our standards and minor riverbank (Rio Grande -- Great River) flooding.

Actually, even today it was greener than it looks in my photos; sorry for the poor quality. iPhone 6s, in case someone has tips for improvement. The Vida Verde farm shot in particular is surprisingly dark; facing west at about 4:30 MDST?

Sand and dust! This region must have been undersea at one point for the soils is beach and riverine sand and silt; that and -- to the west -- volcanic remnants.

Once again, this riverine bosque (from the Spanish for "thicket") is a green strip about 2 miles or so wide in a high desert, 5 to 7.5K feet; wider where ancient pueblo Indian and later Hispanic-settler acequias -- irrigation ditches, a system extending in a dense network 100's of total miles N/S within 1 mile on each side of the river -- brings the water to pocos ranchitos and small truck farms, still worked along the river where high-end residential developments haven't developed.

Water rights are still in 2021 governed by an ancient Spanish set of laws wholly independent of later common law and statute law developments, which may have originated long pre-Columbus; water rights and duties belong to the property and can't, or only with difficulty, be separated or transferred or sold -- no Chinatown (the movie) here!

These photos show just a bit of the wide variety of acequia, bosque landscape, which will be much thicker, greener, and shady later in the season.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Patrick Moore]

Just for fun: more high desert landscapes and cholo (used descriptively and not deprecatingly; I happen to like the culture) English. The freeway is I-25 on the way to Raton Pass -- I've driven it often cruising at 90 until the CO border -- and the towns are northern RG valley north of Santa Fe (still officially La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís, the Royal City of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi).

I PUT SOME GAS - tribute to northern New Mexico talk...

[David Person]

Prior to 2014 I was a member of the local cycling club and we would often ride the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.  One popular ride was the “Rock Store” ride one Mulholland Hwy, featured in at least one Tour of California.  After back surgery in 2015 my club riding days came to an end and I ordered a Sam Hillborne frameset and created my dream bike.  One Saturday morning last month I had my wife drop me off at the top of Mulholland and I rode the 10 miles home, reliving so of the good old days riding with my friends in the bike club.  These are some pictures I took along the way.

[Patrick Moore]

David: Where is this in relation to the mountains separating Calabasas and the coast highway? It has been too long since I lived (college) across the street from the Malibu Creek State Park, back then the 20th Century Fox Motion Picture Ranch. Are these shots anywhere near that and Las Virgines Road on the way to Malibu? That area used to be prime weekend roadie territory back in the early and mid 1970s, and I recall riding wonderful canyon roads, Coldwater Creek etc, tho' my memory of the ear is now very fuzzy.

Anecdote: Friend of friend, now retired podiatrist in southern NM, father owned well known Santa Monica bike shop, took brakeless track bike into the Santa Monica mountains, with predicted results.

On Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 7:23 PM David Person <cycli...@gmail.com> wrote:

Prior to 2014 I was a member of the local cycling club and we would often ride the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.  One popular ride was the “Rock Store” ride one Mulholland Hwy, featured in at least one Tour of California.  After back surgery in 2015 my club riding days came to an end and I ordered a Sam Hillborne frameset and created my dream bike.  One Saturday morning last month I had my wife drop me off at the top of Mulholland and I rode the 10 miles home, reliving so of the good old days riding with my friends in the bike club.  These are some pictures I took along the way.

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[Philip Barrett]

I clicked the "like" button for both!

Family shot at the aforementioned...

[Eric Marth]

Here's one about 4 miles from the house down a beach trail on the Rappahannock River.

[David Person]

Patrick, most of the pictures were taken on Mulholland between Kanan and Decker (Westlake Blvd).  I rode west on Mulholland from Kanan and down Decker into Thousand Oaks.

Eric, thanks for adding the pictures.

[Patrick Moore]

Again, it has been so very long, but I recall riding deserted canyon roads more or less SW of the intersection of Las Virgines and Mulholland Hwy back in the early 1970s; these roads would be filled with Harleys and roadies in weekends. It looks as if your area was some ways to the west of the area I rode in.

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