| It
was May 24, 1999 I was in the midst of an afternoon drive on Tiger Creek
road which heads east up the Mokelumne river canyon starting from the small
town of Buckhorn, California along highway 88. Tiger Creek road is a small
one lane dirt road which winds its way east towards Salt Springs reservoir
near the headwaters of the Mokelumne river. It started off as a nice sunny
spring day, I stopped along the way at a couple of different locations
to photograph. As I got closer to the reservoir it became overcast and
began to rain lightly. By the time I arrived at the intersection where
Bear river crosses Tiger Creek road it was a continuos drizzle. I noticed
that the water in Bear River was in full spring runoff so I decided to
stop and search for any photographic opportunities along the river. I hiked
up stream about 100 yards when I came across the scene you see above. The
water was so cold that it had a turquoise color, and standing down by the
waters edge the surrounding air seemed as if it were below freezing. When
I finished the photograph and moved just a short distance from the water
the air temperature was somewhat warmer and rather comfortable. |
