The January "Where in CA is This?” of course is Nightmare Rock, also known as "Brenda,” along Whitney Portal Road, west of Lone Pine. The photo, monument photo and link to the NGS Data Sheet https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=GT0153 were provided by Robert Ray, LSIT, Survey Party Chief at City of Modesto.

There were a bunch of winners the first day, three of whom used local knowledge: Artur Gamirov, a R/W Engineer in Caltrans, District 9 Bishop office; Brooks Bryant, who works in the Mammoth Lakes Office of Triad/ Holmes Associates said, "The picture in question is on Whitney Portal Road East of Movie Road. Not far from HES 151 in T15S R36E. I surveyed there this past November for an emergency culvert replacement by Inyo County.”; Jeff Thompson, PLS, of Bishop said, "On Saturday the road was still closed due to wash out. I have the privilege of living not too far north of there & clients in that immediate area.”; Larry Walsh – President of Walsh Engineering & Surveying, Inc. in El Cajon; Rick Coffman, PLS, President Coffman Land said, "Just seen pics of it before and have it "starred” as a location I want to visit.”; William D. Tuck, PLS Right-of-Way Agent with the City of Vista who said, "I was just up there in October when I did an 82-mile loop in the Sierras that included upper Kern River and Mt. Whitney.”; and Mike Walters, PLS now in Sutherlin, OR, shared a photo of a similar painted rock "in Fort Irwin back in the 1980's while doing Geodetic surveys for JPL.”

Fresno Deputy County Surveyor Kevin Nehring submitted this artistic photo of B44 showing Mount Whitney in the background.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I find the stories of how people know a place helps connect me to other surveyors I may not yet know.

 

Try to identify the location of this month’s photo. Please tell me how you identified the location and/or share interesting info such as related surveys. Submit answers to: Rob McMillan