Limantour Spit, Monday 2/17/20

A sunny, half-way warm day enticed us to hit the beach.  Beach time at Point Reyes!  Our choice was Limantour Spit, a long, skinny peninsula, with Drakes Bay on one side and Limantour Estuary (Estero de Limantour) on the other.  Five miles out and back on hard-packed sand along the seashore to the end of the spit.  We walked and walked and walked; didn't take off our shoes ... just enjoyed being in the sun and wind on this beautiful beach.  Very few people were Out and About this morning, but that would change as we neared the path to the car on our return.

The bay is named for Sir Francis Drake, whose round-the-world expedition is said to have stopped here in 1579, though it's not like he etched "I was here" on a rock!

Today is President's Day, the last day in this three-day wkend.  We figured the campground would clear out by afternoon (we were right).  We recorded 39° this morning, but the temp warmed nicely as the day wore on.  

Looks empty above, doesn't it?  And clean ... hardly any rocks or shells and no trash, level and smooth, perfect for walking.

We spotted lots of Surf Scoters in the waves.

They don't use surfboards (haha).

The tide deposited a couple of big ol' jellies on the sand.  They wiggle like a "bowlful of jelly" if you touch them with your foot.  (Don't use your hand, lest they still be able to sting).  Using my shoe as a yardstick, you can gauge the size of this unsightly pile.

No dogs allowed on this end of the beach -- because Snowy Plovers (above) are beginning to nest.  They're a cute li'l small shorebird, about the size of a sparrow, and they don't go to a lot of trouble to make a nest -- usually a shallow scrape or depression in the sand, as you see.  (We saw dogs, and off leash, of course, and against the rules, but who cares, right?  Rules only apply to you.  Grrrr)  I enjoyed seeing these plovers.

Actually we saw quite a variety of interesting "stuff" on Limantour Beach, including this antique hunk of ...?  Jimmy thought it looked like a ship's compressor of sorts, while the ranger at the VC thought it might be part of an engine block from a ship that sank.  Either is plausible.  Quite a number of shipwrecks occurred off Point Reyes in and around Drakes Bay.  One thing is sure ... it ain't going anywhere.  It must weigh tons.

I saw these two Long-billed Curlews away from the water, up on the sand and knew I had a winner of an unusual picture!  By gum, I was able to get closer and they didn't fly.  A young man sitting with several other guys a short distance away saw me clicking away on the shutter and came over.  "You can pet them if you want to," he said.  "They're decoys."  Well, nuts, they LOOK real.  "That's the point!"  He and his team were trapping and banding curlews to find out where they go when they leave the coast.  Hence, decoys to lure some birds in.  Jimmy and I laugh whenever we see this pic.

Here, we're looking toward the estuary where scores of shorebirds are feeding in the wetlands.  We walked to the estuary-side between sand dunes covered with sea oats which separated the bay from the estuary.  The small black thing in the middle of the photo is a good-sized crow, mewing like a cat.

Lots and lots of ducks, mostly Northern Pintails in this photo, are taking advantage of the bountiful estuary.  We didn't walk on this side (it kinda ponked).

Back to the beach.

Then there was this!  Spotted from where Jimmy is standing (red check mark), I trudged through the softer sand to inspect it.  We decided it must be a whale's vertebrae, but when I showed the pic to the ranger, she thought it could be part of a whale's skull.  Either way, this hunk of bone was large.  Migrating whales skirt the continental shelf; gray whales often swim quite close to the Point Reyes shore in winter.

Ah, what a lovely, lovely walk, but our feet were ready for us to sit down!  We retrieved our lunch from the car and parked ourselves on the picnic bench.  Jimmy collected these sand dollar skeletons during our walk -- the only "shells" we saw -- and sorted them by size to display.  He left them on the table for others to admire and perhaps add to their shell collection. 

The parking lot was full.  More and more people with beach towels and blankets and lunches were heading for the water, and many had already set up just off the path.

As we drove away, these two distracted us.  I swear it's the same two that are following us!  Actually a third, smaller one was hiding in the brush, obviously a youth.  Well, maybe they aren't the same pair, but, anyway, they all look alike!

Made it to Pt Reyes - Sunday 2/16/20

I hope every traveler knows that the best day to drive through any major city is Sunday; no hurrying worker-bees or lunchy-loos to contend with or school buses to avoid.  Just drivers out for a Sunday outing or church folks looking for a diner.  For us, this Sunday was plopped in the middle of a 3-day-weekend, so an above-average amount of drivers littered Hwy 1.  Yup, we drove from Monterey through Half Moon Bay, into San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge to the town of Olema, by Point Reyes Visitor Center.  All on twisty-turny, narrow Hwy 1 which hugs the coastline.  In San Francisco, Hwy 1 became narrow, hilly 19th Street, and slow-moving!  Jimmy drove in the city so I could navigate.  And we did A-OK.

But first, we passed and stopped at Pigeon Point Bluffs overlook, so we could take a picture of this handsome lighthouse.  We didn't try to go in because we're never sure if there's room for Tergel and Smartie together, or if we could turn around.  Made a pretty picture!

Is this a field of mustard?  Rapeseed?

Whatever it is, I love the color!

Jimmy also drove across the bridge so I could take pictures.  Haha, really it's because I hate driving across bridges, especially this one for some reason.  Heck, we've walked across this bridge from one side to the other AND back!  Anyway, I was too busy taking pictures to feel nervous for which I'm grateful.

Overlooking San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz.  Jimmy and I visited the island with my brother, Rus, and SiL, Anne, back in September 2012.  We toured the penitentiary, now a museum, but I tell you true, the four of us were glad to get back on the ferry and return to San Francisco (below).

Eye-catching skyline.

We figured a yacht club must be having a regatta 'cause we saw lots and lots of sailboats on the east side of the bay.  Two or three of them have black sails.

I suppose we must be nuts to travel without a campground reservation on a three-day-weekend, but we figured we'd get a site at Olena Campground.  Too bad our Good Sam card expired last June, and we were unaware of it, so we had to pay full price.  While many sites were taken, plenty were still available; we had no problem.  With a lot of families Out and About this weekend, kids were playing when we arrived, having noisy fun, but the night was quiet.  We slept well.

We wanted to get in a walk/hike after arriving and setting up, but the afternoon was waning -- so we picked a short hike that was the closest to the campground.  Giacomini Wetlands, off Hwy 1, is a restored wetlands habitat, and good for birding.  Goodness, when we got out of the car, a blast of cold north wind hit us in the face and we debated about continuing.  We did, but we never warmed up; we both needed our jackets (which were in Tergel).

The first "wild" animal we spotted was a black cow on the path.

And they were roaming the hillsides....

Next item of interest to me was this large shrub, which had a slightly pleasant fragrance, but I have no idea what it is. 

As you see, the tide was out (of Tomales Bay) where Lagunitas Creek crosses.  We heard geese but saw no birds or other wildlife.  Everything was probably holed up to stay out of the wind! 

Yacht for sale?  A fixer-upper?

Nice to get out after sitting in Tergel for several hours.

We put in a couple of miles.

Returning to Smartie, we encountered Bossie ambling down our trail.  Notice I said "our."  Get off our trail, we told her.  She gave us the stink eye.  She's big, like a-tank-big.  I was going to walk past her, but something in her eyes made me hide behind Jimmy.  She finally mooved and we could go by.

Hmmm, Number 326.  I don't remember what I told her, but she took offense.  As I started past, she made a hostile moove, like she was going to charge into me!  Whoa, Nellie, I said, get back #326, and hid behind Jimmy again.  We scurried by this gal and I realized this is the first time I've ever felt uncomfortable walking in a field with cows.  Guess I should brush up on my sweet-talkin'.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a fine weather day.  I bet we can find something cool to do ....

Enjoying one more day! Wednesday, 2/25/15

The weather was a bit changed this morning ... fog shrouded the trees and campers when I looked out the window at 7 am.  Temp was warmer, too.  But, by 9 am, after our coffee, breakfast, and internet stuff, the sun was shining again and the day was warming. We debated about how to spend today and decided to drive down the Point Reyes peninsula to the small town of Bolinas.

As we approached the mud flats, we could see the tide was going out, with low tide around 11 am, and many shore birds were working the shallows.  These look like Willets in this picture, and we saw a bunch of them (tho "bunch" might not be the correct word for a whole lotta birds!).  

After a bit of maneuvering, we finally found Agate Beach at low tide.  I don't know what to call this rocky stuff -- dark, with red beneath the black.  It was hard.  We didn't find any agates, but enjoyed examining the tide pools, looking for sea glass and shells. The usual stuff we like doing.  Just being present at the seashore.

Didn't expect to see Chitons clamped onto the rocks, as we usually don't.
Today we saw quite a few.

While I was ambling along, looking down lest I slip and fall into the ocean or break a hip, I nearly bumped into the above fisherman. Fishing is important.  Being polite, I said, "excuse me," and gave it a wide berth.  My reward for courtesy was being able to catch the above shot.  Good catch!

When we'd explored all we wanted on Agate Beach, we walked back up the hill.  Since we'd forgotten our map (sigh ...), we were traveling by the seat of our pants, so to speak. Nonetheless, somehow we always manage to find all kinds of neat things while we're Out and About in Smartie.

This is one of those neat things!  Jimmy is standing in front of the wonderful Art Deco RCA Communications Building.  The really fascinating thing about it is Guglielmo Marconi sited and commissioned the building of this wireless telegraphy transmitting station in Bolinas (and the receiving station in Marshall, on Tomales Bay), in 1913-1914.  And we were invited inside!  The building houses a nonprofit organization now, with a bird art exhibit upstairs. Way cool!   

From there, we continued up Mesa Road (on the peninsula's west side) to Point Reyes Bird Observatory (field station).  A sign out front said, "Visitors Welcome."  I don't know what we expected, but we didn't see anyone around, and no feeder stations.  Another sign pointed us to a half-mile Nature Trail.  We shrugged and said, "OK, why not?"  These pictures are from the nature trail, which carried us down to the Arroyo Hondo stream and back up again.  Very strange trees, and what kind of stout, almost decorative, vine is Jimmy clasping above?

Fern-lined Arroyo Hondo stream.

And what the heck is with these tree trunks?

We called these "stick trees."

Jimmy was leading the way on the nature trail as we started up the other side of the Arroyo Hondo. As he began to take his next step, something didn't look right about the stick lying on the path. He turned to me and said, "that looked like a snake." Pause. "It IS a snake!" By gum, he was right. Thing didn't move, but then it stuck out its tongue. Obviously not poisonous, I reached down and touched it's smooth, soft skin. Still no movement. Only when I put my foot next to it (above), did it slowly slither off the path.

Back at the Field Station, I found a young lady to ask about the snake and those stick trees. She thought the trees were a California Bay. The snake is a completely docile Rubber Boa. I wear a size 7 shoe, so we're estimating the sneaky snake at 18". This fella is crepuscular and not easily seen, so we count ourselves lucky to have run across it. Well, not literally, of course!

It was mid-afternoon by the time we left and made our way to Tergel, and after tidying up a bit, we drove to Point Reyes Station (town) to look for dinner. (No cooking for me this nite!) We settled on Cafe Reyes and some of the tastiest pizzas we've ever had. Excellent choice.

Tomorrow morning we'll pack up and pull out, and head on home. Since we live so close, we won't be in any hurry. Surely have enjoyed our visit to outstanding Point Reyes National Seashore. We will be back.

Another stellar day at Point Reyes, Tuesday, 2/24

After another cold nite (28 degrees ... brrrr), sunshine smiled on us again from dawn to dusk -- hooray!  Neither Jimmy nor I wanted any long or strenuous hikes today, so we selected Abbotts Lagoon, a fairly flat, three-mile trail thru open grasslands and coastal scrub, which ultimately ended at Great Beach.  We met very few other hikers; instead we were treated to plenty of wildlife viewing.

Black-tailed deer browsing the pastureland.

California Quails stood on fence posts, calling to each other.  They're cute, with their plume, or as I call it, their "do."  And pudgy, like round soccer balls, but they can fly!  We eyed a pair of hawks on a ridge above us as they flew alternately from the ground to a pole on the ridge ... not sure what was going on with them.  Fox sparrows and Le Conte sparrows were scattered around as we hiked.

It wasn't cold, but it was windy at Abbotts Lagoon.

Great Blue Heron, looking for a meal, as usual.

Visibility has been excellent.  Yesterday we could see from Point Reyes Lighthouse all the way to Point Arena (not sure the distance, but it's a "fur piece."  I look kinda lost on this beach.  Jimmy and I walked alone on the sand as the surf roared ashore.  The tide was on the rise.

I borrowed this photo of a male Surf Scoter from All About Birds. We watched a couple of dozen of these seaducks bobbing in the waves, but no picture of mine was worth posting. They were too far for my point 'n shoot and waves are so uncooperative! We thought they were goofy-looking, yet we stood for quite a while looking at them as they bobbled about in the waves.

We've seen lots of bird life here on the ocean and lagoons and marshes -- seaducks, shore birds, ducks, and mergansers. Yesterday we saw Pigeon guillemots, unmistakable with their bright red feet, Common Murres, Brandt's Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, ubiquitous Western Gulls, and more, all off the coast in the water or on sea stacks. Point Reyes offers some of the finest bird watching in the US.

When we were finished checking out the scoters and ready to leave the beach, we turned around, returning the way we came, to Smartie. Lunch time!

* * * * *

After eating our sandwiches, we continued on Pierce Point Road to the end of the line and parked. Jimmy and I were amazed at the extensive Point Reyes peninsula dairy history, which began around 1857. On our travels the past couple of days, we've seen quite a few historical farms ... most dating from the 1850's, with exotic names like "Historical Farm A and Historical Farm B, and so on. Cows are everywhere! The good news is that they're not cooped up in pens. They roam the lovely green hillsides. Anyway, Pierce Point Ranch is now under Nat'l Park Service management and open to the public. We toured the grounds around the ranch, and then commenced hiking the Tule Elk Reserve.

Oh, darn!  Sorry, Matt, no antlers for you!

Stalking the wild elk....

This clump of Calla lilies just off the trail was a surprise.
I believe the lilies were planted by the original ranchers.

No elk here, just another gorgeous vista.

We watched this Red-tailed hawk riding the air currents off the water as they blew up the cliffs.  It was lower than we were and seemed to stand still in mid-air for long minutes at a time ... crazy!  Then it would fly a little way along the cliff and ride in that spot for more minutes, and repeat the process further along the cliff.  Only cliffs, rocks and water were below it, so it wasn't hunting.  Perhaps it was drawn to the coast, just like people are. Regardless, it was apparently enjoying the day!  Never saw this before.

As you can see, we were several hundred feet above the Pacific.

OK, now, we found the Tule Elks.  Honest, up at the rock pile, on the right is a herd of elks. We were satisfied, and did NOT have to walk up a steep path to get up close and personal. They must have been very close to Tomales Point.  Jimmy and I turned around.

Ranchers planted Monterey Cypress and Blue Gum Eucalyptus to provide shelter from the harsh coastal weather and extreme winds. The above tree is over 100 years old and probably nearing the end of its life. The Park Service is restoring the historic windbreaks around Pierce Point Ranch core, and the seedlings they're planting will provide continue to provide shelter for another 100 years. Cool beans.

Now we were ready to go home to Tergel. We put over six-and-a-half miles on the feet again on this very full -- and outstanding! -- day and it was time to quit.

Oh wait, but first ...

Here's dumb and dumber saying goodbye for now!