Monday, May 30, 2011

Spring along Highway 1

Spring has arrived along the coast! We recently took a trip south along part of U.S. Highway 1. The wildflowers were blooming, the sun shining and the breezes blowing. Here are some of the highlights...

Wild Iris blooming (below)

A windy, but beautiful hike with gray whales in the distance!

The dramatic highway along the Pacific Coast
Relaxing at our lodge in Gualala
Point Cabrillo Light Station

Friday, May 13, 2011

Tide Pooling in Trinidad

The Pacific Ocean is absolutely amazing. Not only does it have massive waves, crazy storms, endless horizons and incredible sunsets, but it also has an intriguing animal world which is revealed for only a couple of hours twice a day. The other day, we took advantage of a very low tide to go look for some of the more elusive creatures. Trinidad is a great place to go tide pooling. There is a wide beach which is easy to navigate as well as a large concentrations of wildlife along the rocky pinnacles and boulders which are strewn throughout the beach.

We ended up finding countless sea stars, mussels, sea anemones, clams and barnacles as well as sea cucumbers and even a hungry river otter! Circling overhead, were gulls of all sorts, pelicans, cormorants and a majestic bald eagle. After a couple of hours of exploration, we followed the rising tide up to solid ground, then hiked around Trinidad Head. Here, we topped off our day by seeing six gray whales!