This past Sunday night, and into Monday, we had one of those rare Southern California occurrences - a winter storm!
But almost as soon as the storm rolled it, it was gone. Before leaving, however, the storm left us with a good soaking and some nice iamges.
Heavily overcast skies were a reminder of the storm briefly lived fury.
If you look closely at the horizon, you will see one of the five islands that, collectively, make up the Channel Islands. Right off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, the Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara) and their ocean environment.
The Chumash Indians, who once populated the area, believed that the first people were created from the seeds planted on Limuw (Santa Cruz Island) by Hutash, the Earth Goddess. Hutash was married to the Sky Snake (The Milky Way), who made lightning with his tongue and gave the people their first fire. The people kept the fire burning to stay warm and cook their food. Since the people were getting more comfortable, their population grew until the Island became too crowded.
The people made so much noise that Hutash could not get any sleep, so she decided it was time to allow some of the people to cross over to the mainland. Hutash made Wishtoyo, a Rainbow Bridge which extended from the tallest peak of the Island to the tallest inland mountain near Carpinteria (between present day Ventura and Santa Barbara counties). Hutash told the people to cross carefully, and to never look down, but some did, and fell off the Rainbow Bridge and into the ocean, where they were turned into dolphins by Hutash to prevent them from drowning. This is why the Chumash Indians consider the dolphins to be their brothers.
After the storm the waves were flat, but that did not keep these two surfers away from the (very cold) waters.
And, of course, every storm brings its own rainbow.
Enjoy!
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