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Showing posts with the label Big Sur

California 11th November, Point Lobos

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As we had got up so early we managed to get up to Point Lobos by around 11.00am. It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning in November and we were not used to crowds. Point Lobos lies just south of Carmel on Highway 1 and marks the northern boundary of the Big Sur. It was the Ansel Adams connection, again, that gave me the desire to visit but it was so crowded I rather regretted busting the myth! Geologically Point Lobos is very interesting. The lower rocks are derived from volcanic magma with a top coating of sandstone. By the shore this sandstone has been eroded into bluffs and overhangs. It is also famous for birds and sea life. You can see the guano on the islands in the first picture. There was a colony of sea lions just offshore but there were so many spectators that we only had a brief look and I concentrated on the rocks and ocean instead. I think if we had paused for a hike off the beaten track the experience would have been a lot better, but we were booked on a whale

California, 11th November, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, a waterfall and beaches

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Another predawn rise saw us driving south back down Highway 1 to one of the finest destinations along the route. Parking on the land side of the road, we walked under the highway through a tunnel and came out on a footpath that runs a little way round the cliff giving a view of a beach straight from a fairytale, but with the unprepossessing name of McWay Cove .The saddle shaped cove had water of clear aqua and a waterfall (McWay Falls) plummeted onto the untouched beach below. Unfortunately there were no dawn colours, it just got light, but being alone there was worth the early wake up call. McWay Cove is named after Christopher McWay, a man who homesteaded here in the 1870's. Julia Pfeiffer Burns was another early pioneer who came here in 1869 aged one. Julia lived with her parents until into her 40's looking after the family land, but finally married  John Burns in 1915 and went to live with him at Burns creek, just over the ridge from the beach. In later life

California, 10th November, Lime Kiln State Park

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We had our usual late lunch and the time was getting on. On our way north we saw a signpost to Limekiln State Park, so we thought that this would be something a little different to all the coastal stuff we had done recently. It was still overcast, and once we had got into the wooded paths of the park, a little depressing. We trundled along through the mud and spent pine needles to a small waterfall. The guide book said it should be a 'magnificent 100ft-high waterfall' but in these days of drought the fall was reduced to a trickle. We then went to see the limekilns themselves, built to manufacture lime from limestone for the cement industry. Buildings from Monterey to San Francisco were raised using lime created in these woods. An unfortunate consequence of the kilns is that all the old trees were chopped down to fuel them. It was getting quite late when we left the park and so we went straight to our booked place at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, bypassing a couple of key sites

California, 10th November, Big Sur, Jade Cove

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Following Highway 1 north we arrived at Jade Cove. Off shore there are many small islands, whitened by guano and the way on to the beach is down a steep wooden staircase. Jade can be found on the beach, especially after storms and some of the rocks are serpentine and a beautiful green colour. There were some dogs running and chasing on the beach, which was very quiet. The weather remained overcast, cool and misty. I think this is normal for this area, even in the height of summer. Here are some more views of the beach

California, 10th November, Ragged Point Inn and a few birds

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We continued our journey north on Highway 1, along the Big Sur. The mist lying over the water had not really lifted and the ocean still looked wild. Lacking in caffeine, we stopped at the Ragged Point Inn for coffee and a look at the view of the rocky headlands. There were a number of birds looking for crumbs, common birds in the US but fascinating for me. The Brewer's blackbird has beautiful iridescent plumage although his mate is a duller brown. Here are some pictures of this bird taken at the inn and further up the road. We also saw red-winged blackbirds. The male has red and yellow shoulders although in the autumn the colour is reduced. The female is again brown. There was a Monarch butterfly flapping its way around the garden area at the back of the inn. At this time of the year they gather together in huge numbers as they migrate south. Monterey is an area they go to, can't say as I blame them. Finally a cheeky herring gull. All th