January 28, 2012

Mount Tamalpais -- in a foggy kind of mood


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photo by Donald Kinney

Just to the west of where I live is probably one of the most beautiful roads in the world--the Fairfax-to-Bolinas Road--with more than it's share of twists and turns and ups and downs.

Sharing the honors, way up there in the clouds is Ridgecrest Bouleverd. A plethora of auto commercials have been filmed here--there's a great Ford Escape ad currently running on the "one-eyed-monster".



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photo by Donald Kinney

"Tam - al - pie' - us".   If you use your imagination you can see "the sleeping lady" in the contour of her slopes.



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photo by Donald Kinney

Well, there's three versions of how "Mt. Tam" got her name:
The name Tamalpais was first recorded in 1845. The meaning of the name is not well-established and there are several versions of the etymology of the name. One version holds that the name comes from ostensibly Coast Miwok words for "coast mountain" (tamal pais). Another holds that it comes from the Spanish Tamal pais, meaning "Tamal country," Tamal being the name that the Spanish missionaries gave to the Coast Miwok peoples. Yet another version holds that the name is the Coast Miwok word for "sleeping maiden" and is taken from a "Legend of the Sleeping Maiden." (((source:  Wikipedia)))
I tend to favor that third explanation, however some say it has no basis in Coast Miwok myth.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Mount Tamalpais fog. It was quite a show. A command performance. The lifting of the veil. Secrets revealed.


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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've spent many an afternoon up there .... simply staring out over the Pacific. Love the twinkle of the sun reflections, or the fog rolling in.

LOVE MT. TAM

Jan

 
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