The Elephant Seals Of Año Nuevo

Last Friday Connor took the day off of work so we could go on a guided walk at Año Nuevo to see the Elephant Seals. Mating and pupping season are just starting. We were hoping to see some of the giant bull males, but the first view was of the juvenile and some slightly older males. One of them had the long proboscis they are famous for and it was pointed down into the sand. Every time he exhaled, a cloud of sand would blast into the air. I giggled every time.

We were also lucky to see the first pup of the season. It's really hard to see, but the little dark lump alongside the leftmost seal is it. We heard it crying for milk.

It was starting to look like we wouldn't see any big bull males as we reached the last viewing point. Someone on the tour went to the far edge of the view area, looked down, and there he was. He looks like a giant rock, but if this guy had reared up, he would have been quite frightening indeed. He is the size of a good size car.

With the holidays moving full steam ahead, it was nice to get out and have some peace and quiet. After seeing these amazing animals, we walked back and had lunch by the Marine Education Center. Connor closed his eyes for a bit and I just took in the view. I can still smell the salt air and hear the loud grunting the seals made.

The house in the background belonged to the lighthouse keeper. It hasn't been maintained since 1948 and the seals and birds live in it now.

I had been to Año Nuevo before, but hadn't been on the look out for a patch at the time. I think the current patch looks great. We also got a magnet to add to our fridge.

In what ways have you all been able to reclaim some peace during the busy holiday season? 

Morro Bay Weekend Pt.2

The weekend adventure was far too short. I could spend quite a bit more time in the peace that is Morro Bay. In the morning we stopped by the Elfin Forest before heading back home.

It's called the Elfin Forest because the oaks here are stunted because of their location on an ancient sand dune. They are a few hundred years old, but only four yards (4ish meters) tall.

We said good bye to Morro Bay, but decided to drive up the coast a bit to tour Hearst Castle. Connor hadn't been before and I thought he might like it.  I was right.

Hearst Castle is full of artistic treasures. There are tapestried from the 16th century. The Louvre has the same tapestries, but they are 17th century copies of the ones at Hearst Castle. The piece of art that Connor found most impressive was the statues of Sekhmet. The bust on the right is the oldest at 3500 years old. The others are a mere 3000 years old.

We were just about ready to head home, but before we finally committed, we stopped to see the Elephant Seals that were 5 minutes up the road. At the moment the beach is filled with juveniles. The big guys won't show up for another month. 

Of course Connor and I were lucky to see two juveniles practice their fighting. Although rather than fighting over females, there were fighting over a prime spot on the beach. The guy on the left won and pushed the previous occupant off.

And with that we headed back home. There were accidents all along the way, so we took back roads and enjoyed seeing the stars come out and we drove into the night.

We did come away with a few more patches for the future quilt as well as a magnet. I've already posted the patch information onto the patch map.

Año Nuevo

On Wednesday Mum and I decided to get out of the house and go to Año Nuevo State Park. It was a beautiful day. One of the docents told us that every day she had been out there, since April, had been cold and windy. I like to think that good weather follows me. I hope I'm not jinxing myself.

There is a large colony of Elephant Seals that live at the park. It's a bit of a trek through the sand dunes to get to the area where the seals are, but it is worth it. (It's also worth doing the walk in sandals, unless of course you enjoy pouring half the beach out of your shoes when you are done.)
While we were watching these guys, there were a whole bunch of them flipping sand onto themselves.

I also noticed a pattern in how they itched themselves. Every time any of them had an itch, they would first lift their flipper into the air, where it would stand for a little while. Then they would do the Queen's wave, followed by a good scratch.

But my favorite bit was seeing their tracks. It kind of looked like giant lizard tracks.

Right now there are only juvenile seals out there. But come winter, the large males (with giant, silly noses) will be out there battling for a harem of ladies. I'm hoping we can go out and watch.
Bonus: Elephant Seals fast while they are on land, so they don't foul up their living area. They smell a-ok. The California Seal Lions are another story....