OCTOBER 2016 - March 2017

TRAVEL TO DEATH VALLEY, 49er ENCAMPMENT, and exploring the Southwest

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TRAVELOGUE # 12 - CA Coast - Birds, Zebras (!), Elephant Seals, Turkeys - Sequoia NP and Snow

Monday February 6 - Thursday February 18, 2017 -

Published April 9, 2017

After a long day of driving, we arrived at the CA Coast and got a camping spot at Pismo Beach State Beach. Even the boondock area was $25/night! There were some groups of folks in tents that looked a little sketchy, so I didn't want to leave the RV unattended - I had planned to have dinner with Karen and Jim Gerarden (former Lopezians). This was the only place on the trip where I encountered what looked like homeless groups.(They woke me at 2am with shouting and arguing!) So instead I met Karen and Jim the next day, Tuesday, and we had a great lunch. It was very windy and rainy and after lunch Sunna and I took a walk on the beach and got totally wind-blown. I don't think she cared - she loves beaches! Spent the next night at Morro Bay State Park - hadn't gone far but it was so stormy and foggy on the coast roads I stopped after only an hour on the road! The next day was clear and we took a lovely walk thru the estuary and then proceeded north on Rt. 1.

Found an open unofficial dog beach on the way to San Simeon and the weather was clearer so we drove north to San Simeon State Park. Again, it was very foggy and humid in the campground. Yuk. Next day we drove north on Rt. 1 to see the Elephant Seal breeding beach, then stopped at Hearst Castle. I watched the movie in the visitor center but decided to pass on the tour. The castle is usually visible from the visitor center, but this time it was lost in the fog! Rt. 1 was closed between San Simeon and Big Sur, so I knew we had to go back. After a lot of driving we ended up Pinnacles National Park just as it got dark. Still raining. This was one of the few places on the whole trip where I had no cell phone service!

Next morning, I woke up thinking about Death Valley and wildflowers blooming! Getting tired of all this rain and humidity - time to head east toward the desert again! So I decided to head back to Death Valley in hopes of seeing some wildflowers. Stopped in Fresno to go to Camping World. From Fresno, I wanted to go east to Sequoia National Park, but the road into the park was closed due to snow. So, I headed south, stopped at a campground south of the park, Kaweah Lake, a COE campground. I'd stayed there in 2011 and it's a great spot. On Valentine's Day, we drove into Sequoia NP as far as Lodgepole. The campground was closed, and there were 6' walls of snow all around! Still it's always a treat to see the big trees. Couldn't stop to see the General Sherman tree because the parking lot was full and with the snow there were no shoulders to park on. Most trails were only accessible with snowshoes or crampons (I had neither). Spent one last night at Lake Kaweah then drove into Bakersfield to shop. Stopped at Kern Co. campground for the night before continuing east. Storms and winds predicted, so I was trying to keep ahead of it. Made it as far as Ridgecrest and parked for 2 nights to let the storms pass. In the desert, you can see the storm clouds from far off as they approach. Impressive!

Long-billed Dowitchers

Caspian Terns

Above: Northern Shoveler Duck (male) and Snowy Egret; Below - boardwalk through the Morro Bay Estuary

Northern Shovelers - took many pictures trying to get the female without her head in the water (sorry it's out of focus)

Brandt Geese

Above: Whimbrel, Below: Great Blue Heron

Above and Below: Long-billed Dowitcher (probably)

Above: Whimbrel. Below: Common Loon

Above: Morro Rock, barely visible in the fog. Below; great sculpture at Morro Bay Visitor Center (see bear's head on bottom one)

Above view looking back toward Morro Bay - Below: Sunna at the dog friendly beach. Doesn't she look like she's having fun?

Above: Probably a sand piper species. Below: Whimbrel

Above - camped at San Simeon State Park - A bit earlier you couldn't even see the trees a 100 feet away!

Wait - where am I?
William Randolph Hearst had an extensive private zoo. These are some of the remaining descendents.

I've stopped at this beach several times, this is the most elephant seals I've seen there! These still pictures don't capture the noise level - they were all very vocal!

Such eyes!

The males have the floppy noses - and a pink collar that seems to get bigger as they get bigger.

Mom - Roll over! I'm hungry!

That's better!

Lots of positioning and pushing and shoving. I once watched a pair of males until the bigger one pushed the other one into the surf.

 

Above: not sure what that yellow discharge is... Hope she's OK! Below, lots of moms and babies

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

Above and Below: Turkeys and Pinnacles National Park

Above and Below: CA central valley - SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO green!

Heading toward the Sierras

Lake Kaweah Reservoir COE campground - very few other campers

White Pelican and friends. Sunna never misses a chance to play in the water!

Hang-gliders from the hilltop on the other side of the Lake

 

Below: you can see in the view from the rear that the main road used to go under the rock!!

 

This was at about 5000' when I saw the first of the big trees

More and more snow the higher we went

Above: spectacular views driving down the mountain. Below: Back at Lake Kaweah, same campsite. But this time foggy.

After lots of rain, this is what the Kern River looked like - standing waves in a place where it's not rocky! The nearby reservoir was full as were all the CA reservoirs at this point.

Above: Lake Isabella. Below: view from RV park in Ridgecrest, across the open fields of the approaching storm. Pretty soon it started raining - for a day and a half - and visibility was minimal..

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