Tag: bridges

World record bridge spans Lake Hodges!

Did you know there’s a world record bridge in San Diego’s North County?

The David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge is the longest stress ribbon bridge in the world!

You’ve possibly seen the 990 foot long bridge when driving up Interstate 15 next to Lake Hodges. I walked across the remarkable bridge yesterday and noticed several information signs describing its history and unique characteristics.

The San Dieguito River travels 55 miles to the Pacific Ocean. In 1918 this section of the river was dammed creating the reservoir Lake Hodges, which has 27 miles of shoreline. The watershed of Lake Hodges covers 248 square miles.

Lake Hodges was designated a Globally Important Birding Area in 1999.

(When I was a young man, I fished with a friend for bass in Lake Hodges.)

Historic old U.S. Highway 395 became a wide hiking trail that passes by these signs.

Several bridges have spanned the water over the past century, including a wooden pile bridge near Mule Hill that was washed away after the creation of Lake Hodges.

Pictured in the above sign is the Bernardo-Lake Hodges Station Bridge in 1919. It was demolished when a nearby 1955 bridge was replaced by the dual bridges that serve Interstate 15 today.

The David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge opened in 2009.

The world record bridge’s design features a long thin ribbon of concrete that produces low visual impact. Enlarge my photo of the above sign to read details of the stress ribbon bridge’s construction.

The bridge provides an elegantly simple passage through the beauty of the lake and its trees.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

River life near a freeway bridge.

Walk the Coast to Crest Trail along the San Dieguito River where it passes under Interstate 5 and you’ll see signs of life.

Indeed, several signs east of the freeway bridge concern river life that can be found nearby!

Walking east in Del Mar along the San Dieguito River, approaching the Interstate 5 bridge. It’s early March and native vegetation is green from recent rains.

About to pass under the concrete freeway bridge.

On the other side, near bush sunflowers, we arrive at a place where one can relax and learn about the San Dieguito Lagoon environment.

Several old signs ahead…

Fish of the San Dieguito Lagoon. Over twenty different fish species have been observed in the lagoon providing evidence that habitats here act as a fish nursery. Species include California Halibut, Giant Kelpfish, Staghorn Sculpin, Kelp Bass and four species of Gobies. Small jumping fish are Mullet.

Pickleweed likes the salty environment in the lagoon. It is also known as sea asparagus, Pacific swampfire, or glasswort!

What’s for dinner for various wetland animals who live here, including raccoons, American kestrels, killdeers and bats?

In one day a Great Blue Heron will eat…

…23 anchovies, 2 mice and a frog. Yummy!

A place near the freeway bridge to rest, gaze at the river and think about life.

In Life, Choose Happiness.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

This freeway bridge is a musical instrument!

Did you know there’s a bridge over a freeway in San Diego that is also a musical instrument?

Drivers passing over State Route 94 on the 25th Street bridge might not realize they are traveling beside an interactive chime rail that pedestrians with a good stick or (better yet) metal rod can play!

Called the Crab Carillon, this musical feature of a very unique bridge is part of the City of San Diego’s Civic Art Collection. The Crab Carillon, created by artist Roman de Salvo in 2003, features 488 individually tuned chimes spanning the full length of the bridge, which can be played by passersby.

De Salvo commissioned Joseph Waters to compose a short, sophisticated palindrome, which sounds the same played forward or backward. The title refers to the way that crabs scuttle from side to side, similar to the movement of those who interact with the artwork.

As I walked south down 25th Street from Golden Hill toward Sherman Heights, I happened to find a piece of broken wood on the sidewalk. Perfect! I thought. Up ahead is San Diego’s musical bridge! Now I’m ready to play the Crab Carillon!

…

Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Building a beautiful waterfall in San Diego!

A couple months ago I blogged about a big new waterfall that is coming to the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.

Yesterday I swung by again and noticed huge progress has been made creating the waterfall!

The step-like watercourse is being readied. Large boulders have been placed where the water will descend through the Lower Garden to the existing bridge, waterfall and koi pond by the Inamori Pavilion. Many smaller rocks will surely follow.

If you’d like to compare photos, click here for what I saw in late November.

UPDATE!

During a later visit, I noticed stairs are being built in the canyon’s side. They climb beside the waterfall. It appears there will be a viewing area up above!

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Big new waterfall coming to Balboa Park!

San Diego’s crown jewel, Balboa Park, is about to become even more amazing!

How?

A big new waterfall is under construction in the Lower Garden of the Japanese Friendship Garden!

I hadn’t walked down into the Lower Garden recently, so today when I saw the new waterfall being readied, I had to take photos!

As I understand it, from a conversation I had months ago, a small structure will be built beside this new water feature. Those walking down the nearby path will have the opportunity to grab a tea and possibly other refreshments.

A new footbridge will span this new stream. The water will continue on down to the existing waterfall by the Inamori Pavilion.

I can’t wait to see it all done!

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Sunrise over San Diego’s trolley and rail yard.

I was walking around the San Diego Convention Center this morning, looking for cool stuff popping up for this weekend’s Comic-Con Special Edition, when I had to pause on the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge and marvel at the brilliant sunrise.

I took these two photos of sunrise above downtown’s trolley and rail yard.

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Red-tailed hawks and fog in Balboa Park.

This morning I walked from downtown San Diego to Balboa Park, hoping to capture some interesting fog photographs.

As it turned out, most of my photos were of red-tailed hawks!

I observed three of them from the Cabrillo Bridge.

Anyone who walks into Balboa Park from the west side should keep their eyes peeled for hawks. They like to perch in the trees above the archery range or the slope of the West Mesa overlooking State Route 163.

I often hear the distinctive cry of red-tailed hawks near the eucalyptus trees west of the California Tower. Once or twice in the past I’ve seen them perched on the tower!

I managed to get a few decent photos with my little camera. You can see two hawks in the final image!

From the Cabrillo Bridge I also took a photograph of foggy downtown San Diego in the distance.

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Evening storm clouds from the Cabrillo Bridge.

Enjoy this collection of photographs that I took yesterday evening, as I walked into Balboa Park across the Cabrillo Bridge.

The sun was setting and clouds were darkening as a storm rolled in. The early October storm would produce spectacular lightning all around San Diego.

As I began east across the Cabrillo Bridge, the California Tower was illuminated by the very last rays of sunlight. I periodically turned west to catch sunset color above Bankers Hill.

Knowing that rain was on the way, I debated heading back home. I’m so thankful I didn’t. Because the lightning-filled concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion turned out to be something very rare and special–likely one of the most extraordinary concerts in the organ’s 106 year history. Yesterday I blogged about that experience here!

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Bayfair racing action viewed from a bridge!

One of the best places to watch super high speed boats racing in Mission Bay during San Diego Bayfair is from a bridge!

The Ingraham Street bridge on the south side of Vacation Isle provides a view of the race “docks” located south of Ski Beach, the tower near the Bill Muncey Memorial, and the entire oval race course. The farthest end of the course is in the distance, but the height provides a great panorama of all the action! And it’s free!

Today during a walk around Mission Bay I paused for a good hour on the Ingraham Street bridge to watch several classes of boats compete, including the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes, which are the fastest racing boats in the world. Mission Bay, which was originally designed for thunderboat racing, is said to be the fastest such course in the world.

As the super fast boats turned corners, huge plumes of white spray would rise up behind them!

I and a small crowd of pedestrians and bicyclists who were watching from on high gave a conciliatory shout out to one racer below who had to be towed in to the docks when his engine conked out. He must’ve heard us, because with good humor he threw up an arm in acknowledgement.

It was fascinating to see how boats would be placed into the docks with three large cranes, then removed from the water and hosed off at the end of each race. During the racing, other boats would be prepared, testing their engines. Everywhere I looked there was interesting activity.

I guess next year I’ll have to get a ticket and check out the action up close!

Here are my photos from various spots on the bridge…

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Early winter and three Santee bridges.

This afternoon I wandered a little around Santee–mostly through Town Center Community Park.

During the walk I crossed three bridges. The first two you’ll see are the pedestrian bridges that pass over Woodglen Vista Creek, providing access to several sports fields. The third bridge I crossed is where Cuyamaca Street passes over the San Diego River.

By looking straight down from the bridges I could see stagnant pools of leaf-covered water. It’s still early winter. We’ve only experienced one storm so far–and that was weeks ago.

And, yes, leaves are falling. The most prominent river trees here seem to be willows, and they now appear to be mainly yellow, a burnt orange, or brown. I saw many cottonwoods turning yellow and gray, too.

The late bright sunshine passing through the foliage made for beautiful scenery, as you can see.

Here come two more photos from the first bridge…

After crossing the first pedestrian bridge, I read an informative sign showing local insects and birds, plus a map.

You can see where Woodglen Vista Creek joins with the San Diego River…

I headed west down the pathway near those four sports fields to the next pedestrian bridge…

As I came to the second bridge, my eyes were greeted by another sign!

This one explains a little about Woodglen Vista Creek. People who live nearby can be treated to sightings of all sorts of native wildlife, from coyotes to caterpillars, red-tailed hawks to California ground squirrels…

Then I found myself walking west along River Park Drive toward Cuyamaca Street, with lots of baseball fields nearby.

Many families and kids were out playing and practicing!

As I walked, the bright orange of a California poppy caught my attention!

When I reached Cuyamaca Street, I turned back east to see a line of trees following the nearby San Diego River.

Turning south, I crossed over the San Diego River and couldn’t help taking many more photographs…

Having crossed the San Diego River, I turned my gaze back northeast.

There, in the distance, stood prominent El Cajon Mountain!

…

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!