Rocky Ridge Trail, Garrapata State Park, Monterey County, CA, 7/13/2006
Here is the old barn in Soberanes Canyon, Garrapata State Park, Monterey County, CA under a very low cloud that had just blown in from the Pacific Ocean, a short distance away. I visited the canyon during a summer drive along the California coast. The weather was truly remarkable that day; everywhere south of here was cold, dark, and overcast, while everywhere north of the canyon was warm, bright, and sunny - not a cloud in the sky! Here from Rocky Ridge Trail we see the point of contact between the two weather systems. Aiming my camera southeast, I watched as a series of clouds sailed in from the ocean. For awhile one of those clouds blocked the sun from shining where I was standing and throughout the view. When the lighting finally cooperated and the perfect cloud moved into the frame I snapped the shutter! Garrapata State Park is at the northern end of the rugged Big Sur coast of California and three miles south of Point Lobos State Reserve. Behind the cloud and in the distance to the left are the headlands of the Santa Lucia mountain range. The name Soberanes is linked with the early Spanish exploration of California. Soldier José María Soberanes marched up the coast to Monterey with the Gaspar de Portolá expedition of 1769. Seven years later, Soberanes served as a guide for Juan Bautista De Anza, whose party pushed north to San Francisco Bay. Grandson José Antonio Ezequiel Soberanes acquired the coastal bluff and magnificent backcountry that became known as the Soberanes Ranch.
