On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether youâre traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
BillinGlendaleCA
This was supposed to be a short morning hike from the Victory Blvd. trailhead to Lasky Mesa and back, about a 1 1/2 mile hike a the most. I made a wrong turn and ended up hiking down to Las Virgenes Canyon, then up to Lasky Mesa about a 4 to 5 mile hike. Lasky Mesa is a elevated plain about 1 1/2 miles north of the the 101 freeway west of the San Fernando Valley. I was used as a location for quite a few westerns in the first half of the 20th century and was slated for housing development in the second half of the century.
I was saved from development and is now part of the Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space that extends from the northern terminus of Las Virgenes Canyon Road all the way to the Santa Susana Field Lab. Unlike the area around the field lab which is rocky, the area around Lasky Mesa is rolling hills covered in grasses with oak trees doting the landscape. This area burned completely in the Woolsey fire 3 years ago and some of the oak trees didn’t make it, but ended up being some of my favorite subjects to shoot for this hike.
The trailhead at the west end of Victory Blvd.
A tree among the grasses on the slopes of Lasky Mesa.
A lone tree high on the hill, at this point I knew I was going the wrong way.
The trail followed the now dry creek down to the Las Virgenes Canyon trailhead.
Climbing up out of the canyon to Lasky Mesa, a dead oak tree was at the top of the hill. I really loved this once proud tree and it’s dark form against the blue sky.
Another dead oak, shot from a distance.
Lasky Mesa affords a view of both the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast as well as the Santa Monica Mountains as seen here to the southwest.
Baud
I like the second picture.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Thanks, I used that shot in my experiment in adding fog.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Here’s a shot from last weekend in the eastern Sierra.
montanareddog
When Bill mentioned that Lasky Mesa was used for location shooting of westerns, I guessed that it was named for Jesse Lasky. A search brought up this history of the area in the Moviesites site
Lovely pics, by the way.
MomSense
â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸ second photo.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@montanareddog: Thanks much.
@MomSense: You are in agreement with Baud!
MomSense
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I would like to sit under that tree with some music and my knitting. I could spend a whole day just watching the clouds pass by from under that tree.
JPL
Wonderful pictures.
J R in WV
Nice hike photos. Solitary trees are interesting, I wonder if they feel lonely compared to trees all together in a forest grove?
scav
Proper oaks. Â thanks.
StringOnAStick
The native oaks in CA have such a distinctive form, so regal and esthetically pleasing.
Your photo of the fall colors in the Sierra is gorgeous! Click Bill’s link, people!
JustRuss
Your pics almost make me miss living in SoCal. Come February, I’ll really miss it.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: The clouds might be a bit of a problem, we don’t have them much in the Summer.
@JPL: Thanks.
@J R in WV: They’re probably happy to not have to compete for resources with the other trees.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@scav: You’re welcome.
@StringOnAStick: We have these and the Coast Live Oak which grow more near water sources.
Yeah, the fall colors up there were amazing, I hope to head back up this coming weekend.
@JustRuss: It was over 100° on Sunday.
mvr
Nice! I like that tree on the hill against the sky as well.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mvr: When we get some nice fog, I’m going to try and head back up there and shoot again.
HinTN
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Late to the party but, having followed the link to the Sierra picture, will say WOW to that shot of lightning. Also, Cali sure does have its own version of blue sky. I like that oak against that sky.