California images - page 7 of 8
This page contains images from Lick Observatory, Winchester House, and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

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Lick Observatory is 15 miles east of San Jose, California atop Mount Hamilton.
July 2005

On the road up to the observatory at 4,209 feet elevation (The sky became bluer the higher I drove.)
[At the top of a dirt mound is a white domed structure with two smaller white structures to the left of it. There are trees at the roadside which is at the bottom of the image. There are also trees partway up the hillside, but only a few at the top.]

The observatory buildings and the homes for the people who work there
[This image was taken slightly above the level of the observatory. The observatory and its buildings are atop a flattend mound with steep drop offs around it. The houses are two story white building off to one side.]

Continuing along the road just above the observatory gives a view of the Santa Clara Valley.
[The dome is mostly hidden behind some tree. The valley below is expansive and includes many trees at all levels. There are some narrow openings winding through the trees which is probably the roadway to the top since there are no other buildings on the mountain.]

Another view of the valley
[This image is taken near the top and is mostly dirt with scattered sections of trees. The hills are smooth rather than rocky and jagged and softened by the haze of the distance except for the ones closest to the camera. The sky only has a couple of wisps of clouds.]

Up the stairs to the top of the support structure for the Great Lick Refractor inside the dome
[A metal spiral staircase with no railing goes up the side of a multistory rectangular structure with wheels and gearing under it.]

One end of the refractor with the 36 inch lenses (The reddish metal structure is the inside support for the dome.)
[The bottom edge of the dome with its lattice-like metal inside supports are visible. One end of the long metal tube holding the lenses is visible and is somewhat close to a double-door opening to a small balcony inside the dome.]

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Winchester House - San Jose, California
Built by Sarah Winchester, widow of the Winchester firearms manufacturer. Construction began in 1884 and continued until her death in 1922. The continual building and remodeling resulted in a 160 room house and outbuildings covering 4.5 acres.
July 2005

Front of the house
[A long three-story yellow building with brown trim. There are many gables and points and other shapes to the roofline. Many windows across the front of many different shapes and sizes. A squared-off hedge is in front of the house and there are numerous statues in the yard.]

The number 13 carried spiritual significance for Sarah and she had it incorporated into the design of the house and yard including this 13-shaped shrubbery.
[To the left of a round section of the house is shrubbery shaped above the ground into a one and a three. The image alternates between an image with the shrubbery outlined in red (to make the numbers easier to see) and one without the red.]

Stained-glass doors to the daisy bedroom
[Two wooden doors with the upper two thirds made of stained glass. There is an oval clear glass section in each of the two panes. The rest of the windows are a daisy motif with white, yellow, red, and green glass.]

Low-rise staircase accomodated Sarah's limited mobility due to arthritis.
[Each stair has a drop of ony an inch or two even though the tread depth is the same.]

A 100-year-old grapefruit tree still producing fruit in the yard.
[Four large yellow fruit are hanging from a green leafy tree.]

A cake replica of the house
[The icing is colored and shaped to resemble all the outside features of the house including windows, doors, railings, and the colored roof.]

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Monterey Bay Aquarium - Monterey, California
February 2006

Pennant coralfish is a type of butterflyfish.
[The fish has vertical black and white stripes except for the tail end, a dorsal fins, and its pectoral fins which are bright yellow. The main dorsal fin is white and extends as a long filament longer than the body length of the fish.]

Paracanthurus hepatus is a type of surgeonfish.
[A small fish with a blue body with some dark blue parts in the upper half. Its tail and pectoral fins are bright yellow. It does not appear to have a dorsal fin.]

Monterey Bay beside the aquarium
[White-capped water amid rocks on the ground. The buildings in the bay are up on piers or stilts.]

Continue to San Jose Open Space Preserve photos - page 8 of 8

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All photos © S. M. Garver