I flew in to LAX from Denver yesterday afternoon and had the pleasure of coming in right over Deep Creek Canyon and the Cajon Pass. It was really something to see the Canyon from the air. It is truly unique in the area and you get a sense of the profundity of the canyon and it's yellow hues. There is no other deep formation like that anywhere in the immediate area. Deep Creek stuck out in that range right after the San Gabriels. I could see Big Bear Lake clearly but could not make out the springs unfortunately. It was cool to see the Cajon Pass, too. It really cuts in at an angle, and you get a sense of the fault activity, with the San Andreas running right through it. The local Serrano Indians used to say that one of their creator spirits was left holding the Earth like Atlas, and when there's an earthquake it means that the spirit got tired and slipped a little bit. I could also see all of I-15 - it runs pretty far away from Deep Creek. I forget how much you have to drive in from the interstate. It's amazing to think that Indian traders would take the Mojave River up to the San Gabriel mountains by the Cajon Pass and then follow the mountains all the way to their end at Ventura, where they traded with the coastal Chumash. There was a trade route that actually started in present-day Needles and ended at Ventura. Going to trade with the Chumash must have been like traveling to Manhattan today. Their territory was huge and they were the wealthiest tribe in the region. As a musician singer/songwriter, I was inspired last year by this trade network to write a song about it, and I call it "Mojave Country." Maybe one day I'll record it on my computer and put it on the internet for you all to hear. It's one of my favorites!
