Northern California Dreamin' - Road Trip to the Coast 2/6/16

"Now on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had."  ~~ Elizabeth Berg, The Year of Pleasures

It's no secret how much I love getting in my car with my camera and heading off for adventures.  

No matter how many times I've been someplace before, it still seems like finding a bright, new shiny penny.  Finding a random penny might not have value to a lot of people...but it does to me. :-)

For instance, every time I see the "mothball fleet" I'm fascinated.  

And seeing it enshrouded in fog made me think of ghosts that might still be roaming the remaining ships, waiting for the call to protect the Pacific shores. 

But I did kind of wonder if the day was going to be spent under the marine layer.  

Spoiler alert:  It was not.

My drive to Ano Nuevo was beautiful and uneventful.  And I was greeted by such beauty!  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore!"

Northern Elephant Seals sunbathing.

They were joined by an inquisitive California Sea Lion.  

He was absolutely dwarfed by his much bigger cousins (see the picture above...he's sleeping just above the water line near the center of the picture).

I saw this hill with what looked like rows of planted yellow flowers.  I left Ano Nuevo and drove South on PCH, but couldn't find anything that resembled a planted field.  It's quite possible that you just couldn't see if from the highway. 

I did, however, find yellow flowers in abundance!  

I stopped at a little turnout on the side of the road because the edge of the road was filled with flowers.  I thought they were just near the road because there was a little hill.  

I was amazed to look over the edge and see a field completely filled with the beautiful pineapple-colored blossoms waving in the breeze.  They meandered through the fields almost to the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean.  

Turning to the North, South, and West, my eyes drank in the stunning vistas of sea, sky, and earth. 

I walked the pathway to the cliff's edge, thinking I couldn't find anything more beautiful than that field of green and gold.

But I was wrong.  
The dazzling Pacific was waiting to display her charms.

I sat on the edge, listening to the ocean speak and watching the flowers and birds.  

Feelings of gratitude for these splendid sights and experiences washed over me.  I felt like a small, but loved, piece of the universe as I made my way back to my car.

As I was driving homeward, I saw another strip of beach that I wished I had time (and energy!) to explore.  But I didn't so I had to content myself with one photo which I like to call Love on a Beach. 

We shall not cease from exploration

and the end of all our exploring will be 

to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.

~~ t.s. eliot

xoxo 

Ocean Views and Elephant Seals - February 6, 2016

I love animals.  The thing that saddens me the most on a daily basis is how uncaring we humans are regarding the creatures that share this earth with us.  And not just uncaring, but downright cruel and often sadistic. 

Thankfully it seems that laws are getting tougher on people who mistreat and abuse animals.  I wholly approve of conservation laws and wish that we, as a people, would do more to preserve the magnificent species and the environment that they need to survive.  

We should all strive to develop an enduring ethical responsibility to recognize the fundamental worth of all the creatures that inhabit this earth with us, regardless of how useful they may be to humans. 

One amazing success story of conservation is the Northern Elephant Seal population.  

Once hunted to near extinction, these crazy looking marine mammals were saved by the Mexican government.  Yes, you heard that right.  Hunted for their blubber until so few were left that it wasn't financially worth it to hunt them, they were actually considered extinct in the 1880's.  

According to the Charles H. Townsend of the New York Aquarium, a Smithsonian expedition in 1892 to Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja found eight elephant seals.  For unknown reasons, the "scientists" promptly killed seven of them.

Thank goodness there were more lurking on the island and the population estimates were revised from extinct to up to 100.  In 1911, 125 animals were counted and in 1922 the population rose to 264.  The Mexican government stepped in and declared the population protected and it has now skyrocketed to approximately 150,000 with the majority living in California waters. 

It's easy to see why they prefer California.  ;-) This is Ano Nuevo Point with Ano Nuevo Island to the left. 

   

From December through March each year, this beautiful coast is home to thousands of elephant seals who come ashore to mate and give birth.  

Ano Nuevo State Park and Marine Mammal Center give guided walks during this time to enable people to observe this fascinating glimpse of creatures that spend their time mainly in the ocean the rest of the year. 

The park itself has some gorgeous scenery with plenty of walking and hiking trails. 

The park is home to many species of flora and fauna.  Most of the fauna comes out at night such as coyotes, mountain lions, owls, etc.  But you will see a lot of other birds!

Including those of the more exotic variety such as this hawk sitting above the porch of the Dickerman Ranch House. 

The area was rife with beautiful yellow flowers.  I could not get enough of them. 

I didn't actually have a ticket for the elephant seal tours as they were all sold out when I decided on the spur of the moment to drive down to the Coast.   So I put my name on the wait list and then walked around taking photos while I hoped and prayed I would get a spot. 

And then I got called for a tour!  Yay!  Someone had bought way too many tickets so I was happy to take one off of his hands.  We made our way to the staging station.

And then we were on our way.

The pups are born black and then lighten as they get older.

The mamas spent quite a bit of time grumbling. 

I love this picture.  She was a happy mama. 

Unlike some of the other mamas.

Whatever this mama was saying, the "weaner" looks startled by it!  

There were several arguments that seemed on the verge of serious, but luckily nothing violent materialized. 

This guy was determined in his pursuit.  It was interesting that many of the mamas were very resistant to the males.  But I don't blame them.  They seem to be pregnant most of their lives. 

I also like this picture of a young bull.  Their noses grow longer as they get older until they resemble and elephant's trunk.  Hence the name. 

This mama appears to be smiling as her pup swishes dirt onto both of them.  It was a fairly hot day and there was a lot of sand flying all over the beach. 

After a long hike up and down sand dunes, it was time to go back.  I feel so grateful to have been able to see these magnificent animals up close.  The males are huge!  The Northern Elephant Seal bulls can reach 5000 pounds!  

If you are within a couple hours of Santa Cruz, you .should definitely consider making this trip.  The hike is listed as moderately strenuous, but can be quite strenuous depending on where the seals are.  They obviously don't stay in one spot and they can move quite fast, so the routes change.  It is definitely up and down sand dunes in sometimes deep sand. 

But definitely worth it and great exercise.  I'm so grateful to the Mexican government for recognizing that these wondrous pinnipeds would not survive without intervention. 

xoxo