The morning was very hazy/foggy as it quite often is at this time of the year here on California's west coast. The cool ocean air heats the warmer air in the transfer of heat from land to ocean at night and creates a cooler atmosphere for the moisture and hence turns the moisture into liquid precipitation. Hence ...Fog!
But by noon it was obvious that the sun was struggling to return with the clouds beginning to dissipate. I call the process."When the clouds begin to rise" . That is , they move upward as the lower layers dissipates, the layer gets thinner and you can see through them more easily. The sky gets brighter and you know the sun is getting ready to peek through.
So we headed out for the State Park here , which has a Museum , where we saw a few birds and walked an old stone walkway to the museum. Jane the director there gave us some good hints about where to find, Black Oystercatchers that might be on the nest, as well as hints about seeing whales and seals. We will head for that nearby area (another small state Park) on a bluff with no facilities (more on that tomorrow).
Later a short drive to a small town of Los Osos, where on the edge was a Reserve dedicated to some very old and huge Live Oaks. Historically some of the oldest of the specie in California. There are 5 major plant communities on this 65 acre site. From the text..."In 1769, Gaspar de Portola's expedition passed through the Los Osos Valley. Father Crespi's diary notes that the expedition saw "troops of bears (osos)" in the valley, and, since then, it became known as the Los Osos Valley. When the new Monterey mission populace faced starvation, a hunting expedition was sent to the Los Osos Valley, killed many grizzlies, and packed the meat back to Monterey, saving the people there from disaster."
These species ere HUGE. The spread of the limbs was about 120 feet as a result of multiple trunk appendages. The walk through the woods as one lady remarked was "magical". I think that was an apt description. Here we also saw two bird species one which was new. Both the SPOTTED TOWHEE and YELLOW BILLED MAGPIE were in this woods. Some flowers I am still trying to identify were photographed as well.
We don't eat out much as we use our trailer and it's vast hoard of food, (HA!) to keep us fed. But today Ruth stated there was a restaurant we passed by that looked inviting, So we stopped at "Carla's in Morro Bay and were not disappointed. Ruth settled for the usual Sunday eggs...BUT WAIT, No, she ordered a Waffle and said that was the BEST waffles she has had. I settled for a bowl of Minestrone soup and a seafood salad. (Hey, we are on the Coast , right!) It was so huge I ate the remainder for supper. Carlas's was busy until we left after 1:00 Pm.
The afternoon was more looking for birds and we were tempted to try a trail but saw the sign saying "THIS IS MOUNTAIN LION COUNTRY", so looked elsewhere. By the bay and Marina we located a GOLDEN EAGLE and some CLIFF SWALLOWS.
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| One of the four Black Crowned Night Herons that roosts in the stream by the trailer |
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| Morro Bay looking SW from shore. |
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| Part of the Morro Bay Rock and the spit to the north. | It is actually a pier as tt is connected to the land. |
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| One of tyeh Golden Eagles we saw today They are frequently seen if you look up! |
(Spanish translation of "Morro" is loosely defined as "Promontory. The rock is a volcanic dome composed mostly of dacite, an igneous rock. IT is 65% mica.)
It was a good first day here, and even though the temperature change was abrupt, we have no complaint wearing sweaters in the AM. Tomorrow we will explore more State areas along the seashore. One of them may possibly have seals.
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