First Post 2012 – California Dreamin’

Well, here we are in sunny San Diego. It took four days to get down here, including one spent with friends in Las Vegas. Monida was a little snowy but passable. Malad Summit was closed, so we had to camp at a gas station. Made it to Vegas the net day.

SoCal is nuts. People everywhere. We’re camped in the I-5 Wilderness Corridor – that is, the 200 yds between I-5 and the railroad. The Sounds of Silence it ain’t. I looked in the rearview mirror today and there was nobody right on my bumper. I thought the world must have ended.  It’s like stirring up an anthill.

The photography has been pretty good. La Jolla has pelicans, sea lions and seals all within about 500 yds, so I’ve done that every day. Landscapes are harder to find. We went to Torrey Pines tonight and that has some potential (we held off due to the golf tournament over the weekend)so we’re going to extend a couple days to try and get a good sunset. After that it’s over to Arizona, probably for most of February.

Deja Vu – all over again

Early Morning Frost - Oregon Dunes

Harbor Seal – Cape Perpetua

Tidepool – Bandon Beach

 

 

Ben-G Tours is looking for a new director

 

A little windy and cool at Oregon Dunes

On January 5 we were sitting at Ft. Stevens on the Columbia and it was pouring.  Now we’re back and conditions haven’t changed.  We did have pretty good weather coming up the Oregon coast and we were able to fill in some of the gaps from the way down.  Oregon Dunes NRA was pretty interesting and we did some hiking out on th dunes.  But now its back to the sound of rain on aluminum, and it’s getting old.  Once we finished up around Newport we came up to Greys Harbor for the shorebird migration.  Thats been OK and there’s about 60,000 birds here now.  They’re pretty visible but only photographable at high tide when most of the mudflats are covered and they have to concentrate.  The big discovery however was the desad whale that washed up on th beach, the second within a couple weeks.  It’s an immature grey.  Too bd theres no grizzlies here, as that would keep them busy for awhile. We’ll leave here tomorrow and go back down to Cannon Beach for the rest of the trip.  We’re looking forward to meeting Jim and Susan, friends from Boise. Hopefully they’lll bring some sunshine.

Devils Punchbowl - Oregon Coast

 

Stellars Sea Lion - Sea Lion Caves

 

Courting Oysteercatchers

Shorebirds - Greys Harbor

 

 

Sea Stacks - Bandon Beach

 

Oregon Again

Marsh Wren, Humbolt NWR

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted, but we’ve been at some places that had no wi-fi.  We made it back to Big Sur to pick up those places we missed and I’m glad we did.  Both were pretty nice.  Then it was back to Monterey, where we paid our $10 just to drive by Pebble Beach (Alice had a 4 under 67 going before we were chased by the guards).  We also saw the famous cypress tree that the Pebble Beach Company has copyrighted so that nobody can use a photograph of it without their permission. No kidding.  There were signs all over warning photographers.  I’m currently looking for a way to get it on a cheap brand of toilet paper.

Elkhorn Slough was going to be a major stop,  but they’re only open from 9 to 5 and not on Mondays, which is when we were there.  Whats with that? How do they expect anybody to get pictures?

Then on to San Francisco, where we met Sharon and Steve Morehouse from Dillon.  A day of cable cars, Fishman’s Wharf, excellent Chinese food and a tour of a WWII submarine.  Steve and Sharon passed on the opportunity to spend the night in the cramper in exchange for their motel room.  Whats happened to any sense of adventure?

Back up Ca 1 up to Ft. Bragg, where we revisited Bowling Ball Beach with better tide conditions, and then onto the redwoods.  We didn’t get any fog and the rhododendrons aren’t blooming yet. We did catch the elk on the beach, but nowhere where I could get a shot of the ocean.   Then on to Eureka and the Humboldt NWR, and finally back to Oregon yesterday.  California was fun with a lot to see and do, but it was expensive.  Gas prices dropped 48 cents a gallon when we crossed the border.   Good light last night and this morning, but cloudy now.  Hope this isn’t going to be another rain out.

Sea Otter - Elkhorn Slough

 

McWay Falls, Big Sur

 

Sea Arch, Big Sur

 

Marbled Godwits, San Francisco

 

Sea Lions and cormaronts, Monterey

Sea Stack and cormorant, Mendocino County

 

Concretions, Bowling Ball Beach

 

Old Man reading, Mendicino County

 

Wave splash, Brookings, Or.

Banana Slug, Redwoods

Fern Canyon, Redwooods

Trilium, Redwoods

Joshua Tree – The High Desert

We left Anza Borrego in the middle of March and climbed up to Joshua Tree, which meant shorts to jeans and no extra room on the cramper.  It was windy most of the time we were there, but luckily is wasn’t strong enough to to move Joshua Tree’s trademark boulders – so I could go out for sunrise and sunset every day.  The park is a pretty neat place (Joshua Trees are a form of Yucca) and a mecca for climbers during Spring Break.  There were plenty of them there, and I’ll probably have to photoshop some of them out of shots.  But after eight days or so, we were getting a little stir-crazy and went looking for a campground that had something green in it.  We went up to Lancaster where the California Poppy Reserve is, but all the cold weather has delayed the bloom for a week or so and the wind was blowing pretty hard.  We did get to spend another day with Joe and Sue, and the steaks were  delicious.  Thanks again, guys.

On to Ventura for our planned trip to the Channel Islands.  Unfortunately, their season hasn’t started yet, and they’re only running boats on weekends that allow you to camp overnight.  It being Monday, neither one of us wanted to face a week in Ventura waiting, so we’ve started back north a little early.  We’re now at King City, camped in a county park with trees, grass and shade.  We’ll leave the cramper here and head over to Big Sur tomorrow and tent camp for a couple of nights.  We couldn’t retrace our route on Ca 1 because a piece of it south of Monterey has fallen into the ocean and will be months getting fixed.  So we’ll go up US 101 and head back over to the coast north of  Monterey.  

Stay tuned…

Loggerhead shrike

 

Joint Pattern - Joshua Tree

 

Joshua Tree

 

Anza Borrego – Desert Interlude

Ocotillo

 

Feather Duster

 

We’ve been down in the Mohave Desert for over a week just soaking up the sun and warmth.  We’ve even put up the awning and spend time in our “extra room.” 

After leaving Santa Barbarfa we visited a college friend of mine, Joe Marasco and his wife Sue, in Valencia.  Joe took us on a tour of the area, including a hydrologic shrine – the site of the St. Francis dam collapse in thge 1920’s, one of the first of Californias water disasters.  After a goood visit we headed down to Joshua Tree NP, but the flowers weren’t blooming there yet, so we continued down to Borrego Springs.  It’s been mainly birds and flowere down here.  Despite the winter rains, it’s been an off year for flowers due to three days of frost in March.  There’s still lots of variety, but no big concentrations.  Enough to keep me busy though.

While we were here we had our first Famous Photographer sightings of the trip.  Sandy Nykerk and her husband Kieth were here for a week, and Steve Sherman was in for a couple days.  It was fun shooting with them, especially since we’re all more used to the snows of Yellowstone this time of year.  (Hope you guys are keeping warm up there)

Yesterday Alice and I circumnavigated the Salton Sea – where the beaches are dead fish bones and the Wildlife Refuge is named for Sonny (I Got You, Babe) Bono.  That ought to sum it up.  The Sea is another of Californias water disasters, only this one is ongoing.  I’ve been to a lot of dead-end places, but none seem so close to tipping over the edge as this one.  It’s saving grace it that it’s now providing a lot of wetland habitat for birds (when avian botulism isn’t killing them) thats been lost elsewhere in California.  I barely was able to keep Alice from investing in a waterfront lot in Bombay Beach…

It’s back to Joshua Tree tomorrow, then the Poppy Preserve, the the Channel Islands and back up the coast.  Got to go drag Alice out of the pool now.

Black-capped gnatcatcher

 

Century plant

 

California quail

 

Brittlebrush and Fan Palm

 

Barrel Cactus - Mohave Desert

 

Cactus wren

 

Costa's hummingbird

Desert cottontail

Among the Beautiful People

Green Flash, Morro Bay

Well, we’ve spent the last three days in Santa Barbara seeing what the real Southern California is like.  We stayed with a Forest Service friend, Ken Heffner, whom Pete worked with in Dillon.  As we were waiting at Kens house, he comes tooling up in his Mercedes convertible (top down) and I’m thinking, “This is not the same Forest Service down here.”  Ken gave us the Grand Tour including wineries, bistros, beaches, tanned women, etc.  We even got to see some of the forest (chaparral), although none of it was burning at the time.  Many thanks to Ken for a great time.

We spent the previous few days up in San Simeon with the elephant seals and touring Hearst Castle.  The seal viewing area is a little restrictive for photography,  but I was able to find a more out-of-the-way beach with about 100 seals that I was  able to get down and work with.  They’re pretty tolerant and awful slow.  I’m finding that shooting slow, legless animals is something I can just  about manage.   Hearst Castle was interesting, if only to see what Republicans did during a Depression.

The Big Sur coast was spectacular, but the campground we were counting on was closed for the winter so we’ll have to stop there for a couple extra days on the way back.  Monterey was really nice and the aquarium was well worth the visit.  Point Lobos and Moro Bay were a couple other stops that proved to be worthwhile.

We’ve headed over to the desert now.  The California poppies haven’t come up yet (that’s where we are now) so we’ll head down to Joshua Tree tomorrow.  This is the first night we’ve been more than a mile from the ocean since Jan. 10.

Moro Rock Green Flash, Moro Bay

Four Eyes

elephant seal

 

Harbor Seal

 

Curlew

 

Brandts Cormorant

Sand Dollar Beach

Beach near Santa Barbara

Rain Again

We’re just north of Monterey (Moss Landing/Elkhorn Slough) and waiting out our fourth consective day of rain/clouds. I can see now why they have so many landslides in coastal Ca. – and we’re not even to the worst part yet. The cramper is shrinking, at least on the inside. Fortunately we have lots to read, although Alice is starting Great Expectations, and it can’t get more desperate than that. She probably thinks it will give her some insight for the rest of the trip.

We went out to the Elephant seals at Ano Nuevo. Is was interesting and you could get close enough (70-400 range), but it was cloudy and they’re aren’t in very good habitat (dirty, dusty beach). We’ll be down at San Simeon next week, which is the Elephant seal capitol.

Elkhorn Slough has definitely lived up to its reputation for wildlife. Sea Otters, sea lions, seals, and birds in great numbers. I think I’ll wait and do the Slough proper on the return trip when the migrants will be here, but in the meantime (between showers) the sea otters have been pretty good.

The CG we’re at offers a free whale watching trip, so we’re going to do that tomorrow. Meantime, its the pitter-patter of rain on aluminum…

Long-billed dowitcher

Headland near Pacifica, Ca.

Western grebe

Pebble Beach SP

Elephant seal at Ano Nuevo

Tafoni, Pebble Beach SP

Sea otter pup nursing

Point Reyes

Spent the last few days at Pt. Reyes National Seashore after driving CA 1 down the coast. If we has to continue south on Rt.1 towing the trailer, we’d spend the rest of the trip in Pt. Reyes. I doubt we could have pulled the 20% grades with the trailer. The switchbacks are so tight we almost had to stop while making the turn. Fortunately there was another way out.

Pt. Reyes was pretty neat. Nice beaches and lots of diverse habitats. Elephant seals, harbor seals, Tule elk, and some good landscapes.

Yesterday we found a campground near a ferry to San Francisco, so we spent the day walking around there. We didn’t see either Dirty Harry or Karl Malden. Must have been off duty. We’ll stop there again on the way back and spend more time. We’re at Half Moon Bay tonight and will be in Monterey thru next Monday. Tidepools tomorrow. I like the starfish – they don’t move too fast.

aliforniascrub jay

The Big Game

We’re moving steadily down the California coast toward Point Reyes.  Leaving Ft. Bragg today where we’ve been for a few days to get mail and watch the Super Bowl.  A woman in the campground showwed us how to hook up the cable so we finally got TV in the cramper.  Now all I have to do is figure out where to put the decliner and we can stay out another six months.

The “Lost Coast” of California was pretty interesting.  Its 26 miles of coastline that’s BLM Wilderness.  The Trail is the beach.  It would be interesting to backpack sometime.  We were able to get to both ends of the trail (on some of the steepest roads I’ve ever been on.  Fortunately we weren”t pulling the trailer) but  it was high tide so we couldn’t get very far down the beach.

Ft. Bragg is a logging/fishing town turned into a semi-artistic colony. Some good galleries (especially photography) and lots of fugitives from the 60’s.  We took an old logging train into the hills and saw where they let a lot of daylight into the swamp. They sure did a number on the redwoods.  The coast all along here is prett spetacular, so there’s no shortage of Places to photograph.  It’s a lot different than Florida. Spent a couple of hours with a bunch of harbor seals yesterday morning.

Good thing he was behind that fence or I never would have gotten so close

BLM allotment, California coast. Shoreline trampling 76%. THEY'RE WIDENING THE OCEAN111

 

Roosevelt Elk

 

Lost Coast

Surf Scoter

 

Ft. Bragg coast