Sunset From Circle X Ranch - Santa Monica Mountains, CA

There is this really cool place in the Santa Monica Mountains called the Circle X Ranch.
Picture this !, drive straight up the mountains on one of these skinny, violently twisting
roads, to the Sandstone Peak Trailhead parking lot near the Peak. Walk on to the
backbone trail: http://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/circlexranch.htm

This hike goes 1.1 miles up to this Rocky peak called inspiration point. This day we did not
make it there due to the timing of Sunset. This shot is about a quarter of the way up the
Trail. This photograph was taken about 10 minutes before Sunset. The sun blasted thru a
few cracks in the clouds, then was gone for the night...

We also heard the local Mountain Lion nearby just before we left the trail. Maybe she was
saying goodnight. Here is the Mountain Lion calling US to come back...

Looking forward to retuning soon if the weather and clouds are just right like tonight. This
is also my first High Dynamic Range Photograph (HDR Photography). I intent to focus a lot
on this new exciting realm of Photography.

Photograph Taken on: 01-21-08 4:53PM
Model:Nikon D80  Shutter Speed: 1/125 Second  F-Stop:f11  ISO:100
Focal length: 18mm  Lens: Tamron 11-18mm

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