Where Am I -- Volume II

[Rick Quinn]

This is a picture that I took about 45 years ago, a very lucky snapshot of an Andean Condor in flight. By weight (up to 33 pounds) and wingspan (close to 11 feet), these are the world's largest birds that are capable of flight.



It is extremely rare to see them in this particular location, even way back then. You'll note that there is a city at the base of these mountains. Although it's not visible in the picture, the blue haze on the horizon is the sea.

This will be a challenge, a true test of your investigative abilities, but in truth, there is only one place in the world that this could be.

Where am I?

Name the city!

And here's a real trick question: What mountains are these?

Rick

Thought maybe I should move this down to the bottom so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle (on the off chance somebody wants to take a stab at it).

Rick

[Utahtea]

This is a picture that I took about 45 years ago, a very lucky snapshot of an Andean Condor in flight. By weight (up to 33 pounds) and wingspan (close to 11 feet), these are the world's largest birds that are capable of flight.



It is extremely rare to see them in this particular location, even way back then. You'll note that there is a city at the base of these mountains. Although it's not visible in the picture, the blue haze on the horizon is the sea.

This will be a challenge, a true test of your investigative abilities, but in truth, there is only one place in the world that this could be.

Where am I?

Name the city!

And here's a real trick question: What mountains are these?

Rick

Thought maybe I should move this down to the bottom so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle (on the off chance somebody wants to take a stab at it).

Rick

OK, I'll take a stab at it.

I see a palm tree so it has to be southern California if that's an ocean and we're in the mountains. The east coast only has hills...LOL! So I was torn between El Cajon Mountains and San Diego or Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles.

I'm going to go with Santa Monica Mountains and Los Angeles....My Final Answer.
(I've been watching too much "Who Wants To be A Millionaire on TV!)

Utahtea

[Rick Quinn]

Gotta give you points for the old college try--but no. To the best of my knowledge, there have never been any Andean Condors flying around loose in Santa Monica--or in El Cajon. You'll need to think outside the box on this one, because there are places other than California where you'll find palm trees, mountains, and ocean in close proximity. I'd best provide a few more clues:

Here's a closer view of the city at the base of the mountains (more of a big town):



And here's a shot of the mountains, looking up at them from the town. They look big because they are big! In fact, they are the world's tallest coastal mountains.



More clues:

1.) This Andean Condor was NOT outside the traditional range of Andean Condors; he was merely at the extreme limit of that range.

2.) The ocean is not the Pacific

One more time: Where am I?

[glc]

You are in Colombia and those are the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. I can't ID the town but I'll guess Santa Marta.

[Rick Quinn]

You are in Colombia and those are the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. I can't ID the town but I'll guess Santa Marta.

Darned good guess, George. Correct on all counts, though I suspect my comment about "world's tallest coastal mountains" may have contributed just a wee bit. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is massive. They go from sea level to 19,000 feet in just 26 miles, which is a gradient comparable to the north face of the Himalayas, and most definitely unequaled along the world's coasts. There are some locations in the Tayrona National Park where you can float in the warm water of a tropical lagoon, while gazing up at the glacier that crowns the tallest peaks. That's a heckuva contrast! These are also the tallest mountains in Colombia, despite the fact that they are completely separate from the great chain of the Andes that splits that country from top to bottom. Andean Condors have managed to bridge the gap, so the Sierra Nevada becomes the only place outside the Andes that is considered natural habitat for those gigantic birds.

This is how it looks on a map, with an arrow pointing to the spot where I took the photo.



Santa Marta was one of the first places I lived during my years in South America, and it was the last place I stayed before I left all that behind. Needless to say, I loved it there. Instead of the nightly news, we watched the nightly sunset over the Caribbean:



Not a bad way to live, in that long ago time and place.

My apologies to Utahtea for throwing in a photo from so far afield. When you put up that Condor picture, I was reminded of my one and only condor picture, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to dust off those old slides.

Rick

[Utahtea]

Not a bad way to live, in that long ago time and place.

My apologies to Utahtea for throwing in a photo from so far afield. When you put up that Condor picture, I was reminded of my one and only condor picture, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to dust off those old slides.

Rick

WOW...amazing that you lived in Columbia. I've only lived in the US but since 2013 DH and I have started to travel the world. So now that the field has been widened to outside the USA...watch out! ;)

Utahtea

[Rick Quinn]

For now, let's try to stick within driving distance (which still covers a LOT of territory)! This time around, I'm just looking for the name of a town. Here are a few photos from around and about the place. If these aren't enough to nail it, I've got more! (Heck, I've ALWAYS got more!)











Anything look familiar? The basic question would be, as ever and always: Where am I?

[DonnaR57]

The last picture told me, "Southern Arizona". The architecture and use of adobe told me, "Southern Arizona." Google told me, "Bisbee". (I googled "Jewelry Designs by Owen" from the 2nd picture.)


Donna (whose HS teams played Bisbee HS on more than one occasion, moo-goo years ago!)

[Rick Quinn]

The last picture told me, "Southern Arizona". The architecture and use of adobe told me, "Southern Arizona." Google told me, "Bisbee". (I googled "Jewelry Designs by Owen" from the 2nd picture.)

Donna (whose HS teams played Bisbee HS on more than one occasion, moo-goo years ago!)

CLANG CLANG CLANG! We have a winner! Good job, Donna! I blurred out the name of the Post Office, but I left everything else, and you found the gold nugget! I won't ask you how many years goes into a moo-goo (I figure it's more than 5, and less than 50 ;-), but Bisbee is one of those places that hasn't changed all that much. Not from a visual perspective, anyway!

I was prepared to add a couple more clue photos. You've rendered that unnecessary, but I'll toss them in here anyway, starting with the lavender pit, the open pit copper mine that was Bisbee's primary claim to fame until all mining operations ceased in 1975.



And here's a wider shot of the town and the hilly surroundings, including what would have been a dead giveaway: the big white "B" for Bisbee! (Go Pumas! ;-)



I've always been fond of Bisbee. It has significant altitude (5,538 feet), so it's cooler than most of southern Arizona, and it has a really nice, laid-back ambiance. There are at least a dozen B&B's worth considering (not to mention the elegant old Copper Queen Hotel), so it's a great place to spend a few days, especially in the summer. I included Bisbee with Scenic Side Trip #5, a 211 mile detour off Interstate 10 between Willcox and Benson that also includes Douglas and Tombstone (which we already covered on this thread), as well as Fort Bowie and the Chiricahua National Monument.

Anybody driving across Southern Arizona owes it to themselves to get off the boring Interstate, where most of what you see is the back ends of a ceaseless parade of semi trucks. That's the beauty of Scenic Side Trips. All it takes is a few extra hours, and you can turn just about any straight-line drive into a memorable adventure!

Rick

[Rick Quinn]

How about let's do another town?

Here's the nearby river:



Here's the bridge:



Here's the town:



And here's your clue (if you've been there, it's a clincher):



Where am I?

Name the river!

Name the town!

Name the well-known native son!

Rick