Virtual Hike to Four Corners

Posted on January 17, 2018 by vanbraman

I have reached another destination on my Virtual Hike. Last night I put in enough miles on my walk to finally reach the Four Corners Monument.

Four Corners Monument, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, ColoradoYou may remember from your school days that the Four Corners Monument is where the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. It is the only place in the United States where four states touch.

Utah, Virtual Hike, Google MapsAs I approached the Four Corners area the landscape started to flatten out, but there were still some nice views. This view from Google Street View is where the trail I was on crossed a highway in Utah.

Arizona, Highway, Four Corners, Virtual Hike, Hwy 160The trail I was following on the Virtual Hike did not have images, but this is from where I left the trail and joined US-160 in Arizona for the last little stretch of the segment to the Four Corners Monument. Here it is very flat and arid.

Four Corners, New Mexico, Monument, Virtual Hike, Google MapsI followed US-160 into New Mexico which is where the entrance to the monument is located. You can only easily approach the monument from one direction. There is another route through Utah, but it is a narrow winding road from nowhere.

Four Corners Monument, Snow, New Mexico, Virtual HikeAs I swung the image around on Google Maps to show the highway to the entrance the view changed to one from a different date. I was treated with a view of the area in winter time with snow on the ground.

You can see here that New Mexico 597 is an open range road. Can you see the cattle guard?

Four Corners Monument, Map, Google MapsHere you can see that the four states come together at the monument. I think that the map overlay for the state borders is just a bit off as the states intersect in the center of the diamond.

Four Corners Monument, Four States, Overhead View, Virtual HikeHere is a satellite view of the monument. It is definitely a border that is simply defined by latitude and longitude as there is no defining physical feature at the intersection of the states.

Four Corners Monument, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, State BordersI had to view quite a few pictures in the Google Maps Photosphere before finally finding one without people standing at the four corners.

This is someplace I would like to visit someday, but it is not near the top of my bucket list. My little sister and her family visited the monument just this last year, so I would not be the first from my family 🙂

Now on to the next destination of my Virtual Hike. I have not yet picked the exact location of the next goal, but it will be somewhere in Colorado. I will be headed toward the Spanish Peaks, but they are too far away for the next goal. I need something much closer for motivation. Perhaps Chimney Rock, but I have not decided for sure.

Who can tell me why Spanish Peaks is on the route?

Steven

 

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Through the Fog

Posted on January 16, 2018 by vanbraman

Monday morning I drove through fog on my way to work. The time of year has come for the winter rains and along with the rain we often have fog.

Railroad crossing, fog, commuteI actually like the look of fog, but I really do not like driving in heavy fog. A little bit of fog can be scenic, but heavy fog can be dangerous.

Foggy street, sidewalk, morning fogOf course, walking to work in fog is different. Then you don’t have to worry about people driving much too fast for the current visibility. The picture here is from my post A Foggy Morning in Jena that I wrote last week.

Altamont Pass, Fog, Foggy CommuteBack to this week. Here I am out on the highway on my way to work. You can see that there is not much traffic. That is because Monday was a holiday for many people, but I had a class starting and had to get to work.

Fog on Altamont, Commute, Foggy MorningHere you can see the limited visibility as I headed up the Altamont. It was nice to be able to drive the speed limit and get to work quickly. However, I did not feel as safe with porous traffic in the fog. Whenever traffic is moving with gaps between cars you always have people that want to drive much faster than everyone else which can be very dangerous in the fog.

I remember one big black SUV without any lights on that appeared out of nowhere behind me. It was quickly past me and back out of sight in the fog ahead. Drivers like this make me feel a bit unsafe while driving in fog.

Foggy Day, Foggy Commute, Altamont, Dangerous DrivingThe way up the Altamont continued to be foggy, but it started to clear after I reached the crest.

I was glad that it cleared up as traffic was moving very fast because of the holiday. I did have a bit of fog on the way home, but not as dense. Today was the opposite. Heavy traffic and clear skies.

Please remember that the fog in the Central Valley of California can be very dangerous in the winter time, so please be careful and slow down. The life you may save may be your own.

Steven

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