April, 2019
These places and photographs are unrelated except that I stopped here coming and going while on a trip to Sacramento.
Utah
Construction of the organ in the tabernacle of Salt Lake City was started in 1867 and it has been expanded and reconstructed through the 1980s with a near-total rebuild done around 1945. The thing is huge--one of the largest organs in the world. The temple is nearby; it was completed in 1893.
Nevada
There are a handful of special wildlife-crossing bridges, this one crosses I-80, not far east of Wells, Nevada. presumably, migrating deer (and pronghorn) learn where the bridges are and teach their young. No doubt, they still--at peril--try to cross the freeway directly.
There are just three pairs of tunnels along the entire route of I-80 between New Jersey and California. These are near Carlin, Nevada and avoid a couple of sharp bends in the Humboldt River that the old road followed.
California
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve was created in 1976 as a managed area for the California Poppy. The reserve does not water or otherwise actively encourage blooms, but they do manage the land from grazing and non-native species and with controlled burns.
I was there about three weeks too late to see the super-blooms that would have covered these hills in bright orange, but it's still a beautiful area.
Arizona
The Picacho Peaks are visible for many miles as you drive towards Tucson from the west. I'm sure they were a key landmark for the ancient trails through the area.
The Picacho Peak State Park visitor center is to the right. That's I-10, just beyond. The taller peak past the freeway is Newman Peak.
There are several trails around the peaks and others that will take you to the top.
Perhaps if I had more water than the liter-bottle I carried, I might have gone to the top. But, even if you don't go that far, it's a remarkable place and you'll see just as much lower down.