The Inland Empire

Some of the places I get to go in the course of my work have the most amazing views and they are not always that far away. This is a photograph from on top of Box Springs mountain which is just over 3000ft in elevation and is only 10 minutes from my house to the bottom of the mountain. For us at work and many other people with the need for radio towers it's very strategically located and overlooks a large area of the Inland Empire. The County has a site up there and this is where this photograph was taken from, looking north west into San Bernardino County towards Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga. 

A Place To See The World

I had to head up to Elsinore Peak, one of our major radio sites at work with a colleague to meet some of our tenants. Once the discussion was over, I thought I would take advantage of the trip and take some photographs of Lake Elsinore from the peaks high up above. After I climbed the hill behind our site, I came across a wooden cross hammered into the ground. I approached the cross from the back. (I didn't see what was written on it) I climbed through some bushes in front of it and found a very touching note to a Tim Prior who was 28 years old when he died. I guess this spot was his favorite place to look at the world below. You know what? He picked a great spot too. The part I like about this is how people go out of their way (and believe me Elsinore Peak is out of the way) to place a monument, no matter how small, to a friend or loved one that is no longer with us. I once remember a family that decided to place flowers next to the railway line where their loved one had been hit by a train and died. (Of course, they nearly joined their loved one because they had no respect for the trains running by them at 80mph as they walked along the track to the spot he had been hit the week previous.)

So, Tim Prior, whomever you may be, Rest In Peace and enjoy the view, because that's how your loved ones remember you! Oh, and in case you are wondering about the view that Tim so enjoyed while he was here, click here to take a look at just a small part of it. Also remember if you want to see a larger version click on the photo.

Update on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 9:06PM by [Martin]

One of my friends at work, David, did some searching and discovered Timothy's obituary. He e-mailed me with the link to it this afternoon. So I thought I would add it here to provide a face to the words written about Tim and give some closure to the post. Click here for a link to his obituary.

Cajon Pass

One of the places that has always fascinated me even while I was driving trains in England was Cajon Pass (pronounced Cahon for you Brit's). The route through Cajon Pass was built in 1885 as part of the Barstow to San Diego line by the California Southern Railroad. The pass has a grade of just over 2% and is one of the major rail routes out of the Los Angeles Basin and the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to the rest of the United States. Cajon Pass is notorious with rail fans all over the world probably for the 3 infamous crashes that have taken place along it's route. The most well known crash was the Duffy Street Disaster in San Bernardino in 1989 when a train lost it's brakes and ran away, derailed and crashed onto the houses of Duffy St.

It's only taken me 10 years to go and take some photos along the route of the trains travelling along it, but I found some great photo spots and I know there are more to explore.

Water Pipes

This is a photograph that I took at the Eastern California Museum in Independence, California. It's actually a pipe that was used to transfer water out of the Owens Valley river to hydro-electric plants. The pipes were used until recent times and were only replaced when required. This one was used until 1997, before it was replaced with a concrete one. On the outside of the pipe is a very elaborate system of tensioning bolts that held the wooden planks together and could be adjusted for leaks.

USS Midway

This is the USS Midway at night from Coronado Island. When I was at Seaport Village earlier that day I had no idea how brightly the Midway gets lit up at night. The I arrived at the ferry port on Coronado and there she was in her glory sporting the red, white and blue. The Midway was commissioned at the end of World War II and saw service in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. She is now a floating aircraft museum in San Diego harbor. One day I'll get back down to San Diego and take a tour around her and see what photos I can come up with.

Lookout Below

I was working on an old PC last night and found some of my older photographs on it. So I pulled them into some of the newer software I use to see what I could come up with. This was a photo I took with a 3MP camera from the top of the Eiffel Tower in 2006. This was the second time I visited Paris and the second time to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The first time it was all I could do to walk out onto the observation platform at the top. The second time was better, I actually looked over the side  and took some photographs. The view from the top is spectacular at just under 900ft above the ground. The only thing I don't recommend is picking the shortest line to go up the tower. It turns out the shorter line is the one that you have to walk the first two floors and then use the elevator to the top. It's a long walk upstairs and all you get to see going up is the ground below through the open staircase. A little scary if you dislike heights.

Bird Brain

While in San Diego I walked along the harbor area by Seaport Village and there was a lot of seagulls, needless to say huh? But this one just stood there and posed for me as I sneaked up on him or her for a photograph.

A Childhood Dream, Fulfilled

Ok first off an admission, I didn't take this photograph, in fact I have no idea who did but it must have been someone in my family. The other reason I know I didn't take it, cause that's me in it, waving at the train. I'm guess I was maybe 4 years old at best.

Anyway, a question for you. Have you ever have a childhood dream and better yet one that you fulfilled? I did, I was lucky or maybe it was perseverance! This photograph was taken in my grandmothers back garden in Great Bentley. This was the spot and the age when I made a decision, one that affected my life for a long time and that was I wanted to drive trains when I grew up. So after a few knock backs and lots of perseverance I got my wish and became a train driver. In fact 16 years after this photo was taken I was driving those types of train on the same line as you see in the photo here. The relevance of this photo is that today is a special date for me. Today would have been my 22nd anniversary year in the footplate line of promotion on the railway. 16th November 1987 was my seniority date. Yep that would have been over 20 years driving trains and I'm not even 40 yet. Here's the irony to the 16th November. It's also my 9th anniversary date for working here at the County of Riverside. So I guess I'd better buy a lottery ticket today too.

The Mission Inn

This is one side of the Mission Inn in Riverside, the side that I found the architecture to be the most interesting. The Mission Inn began life in 1876 as a 12 room adobe boarding house. Today it is a luxury hotel with 239 rooms and some amazing fine dining restaurants. There is a lot of history surrounding the Mission Inn and some say it is even haunted. The building is spectacular and tours are offered of the hotel and it even has a museum.

A San Diegan Sunset

Sunday was a beautiful day to be in San Diego and for anyone that's ever been there it's a wonderfully unique place. For those of you that have never been there, make sure you make time to visit there, you won't regret it. San Diego has the best possible climate you can imagine, a nice constant temperature and lots of sunshine. As cities go it also appears to be pretty laid back and small compared with the other major cities in California. The area around Seaport Village is pretty amazing. Seaport Village can really be best described as a tourist trap, but right by it there is the fishing port, the USS Midway (an aircraft carrier used as an air museum). There are lots and lots of restaurants and of course the amazing view looking across to Coranado Island and it's large navel base that takes care of the Pacific Fleet. I don't think there is one time that I have been there and not been amazed to see a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the US Navy berthed at Coronado and until you see one you won't believe how big they are.

This photo was taken from Seaport Village as  the sun was setting and by chance a sail boat happened to pass by.