Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

Moss Landing, CA

June 22, 2014

I finally busted out the kayak at Elkhorn Slough.  This has been my goal since Jim gave me the boat at Christmas.  I had a great time, but I have to admit at times it was a bit stressful.

Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal

This was the first real day trip I've made with the kayak.  I've taken it out a few times before on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary, but that's more like a neighborhood stroll than a boating excursion.  To make the kayak road worthy I had to add a couple of bolts to it to tie it down for the drive.  I've been using the handles it came with to drive it to the estuary boat ramp, which has worked well for those short drives of less than two miles, but I didn't trust that for the open road.  I was able to drive worry-free with the new set up.

Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter

The Moss Landing harbor is one of the best places I know of to see marine mammals in their natural environment.  Every time I've been there I've seen a raft of sea otters out in the harbor.  I've also always seen harbor seals on the sand and sea lions on the docks.  Each species seems to have its area clearly demarcated.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter

My favorite, of course, are the sea otters.  Love those little guys.  I've read that it's unusual for them to gather in large groups, in fact Elkhorn Slough is one of the few places in the world it's known to occur on a regular basis.  It's mostly males that hang out here, although I did see a mother and cub in the raft.  The boys are rambunctious.  They like to wrestle and roll around together.  Of course, they also like to eat.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

California sea lions hang out on the docks near the entrance to the slough.  They're a rowdy bunch.

California Sea Lion -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA

California Sea Lion

Entering the slough was a little intimidating.  Besides the raucous group of pinnipeds throwing taunts and insults from the nearby floats, a strong tidal current was flowing into the estuary.  The current tossed my little boat around a bit.  I don't yet have a good sense of how strong I am as a kayaker, so I was a little worried about fighting the tide to get out of the estuary, especially considering high tide was still at least four hours away.

Brown Pelican -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA

Common Loon

I drifted about a mile into the estuary before deciding I didn't want to risk getting stuck back in there until nightfall.  As I drifted, I came across a seal and a cormorant.  I saw a large black and white bird on the shore on the other side of the estuary, so I paddled across to have a closer look.  It was a common loon.  They're not often seen on land, but this one had an injured leg.  Poor guy.

Brandt's Cormorant -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA

Southern Sea Otter

 Paddling back out of the slough wasn't too bad.  It got a little hairy going under the highway.  The current wanted to drive me into the pilings, so I had to work a bit to avoid that.  I was also a little worried about getting pushed into the sea lion docks.  I made it into the calm waters of the harbor without too much trouble, though.  I'm definitely more confident about going deeper into the slough next time.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Caspian & Elegant Terns -- Moss Landing, CA

Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter

The highlight of the day for me was seeing sea otters on land.  That was a first for me.  They don't look much smaller than harbor seals when they're hauled out.  Cuter, though.  It's easy to imagine why their fur was so highly sought after by Russian traders.  I think I'd have a hard time killing one of these little guys, though.

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA

Brown Pelican -- Moss Landing, CA

Point Reyes National Seashore

June 8, 2014

I kind of had to drag myself out of the house this weekend.  I was in full-on "do-nothing-but-watch-Orange-Is-the-New-Black" mode, but that's pretty much all I did last weekend, except it was Game of Thrones instead.  That  seemed appropriate after the Grand Canyon trip two weeks ago, but I knew I'd regret it on Monday if I didn't get out and do something.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

 I thought Pongo would like to see some more elk.  He was completely enthralled by the elk at the Grand Canyon.  As it turned out, we only saw the elk from a distance.  It was the cows that got him on this trip.  I didn't take any cow pictures, though, just the elk we saw from a couple of hundred yards away.

Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Peregrine Falcons

There aren't a lot of places a dog can go in Point Reyes.  There's a nice hike to a beach near the elk reserve that dogs are allowed on leash, so that's where we went.  It was a beautiful day.  We walked up the length of the beach and saw a family of peregrine falcons on the cliffs.  They were way up there.  I had to ask the small flock of birders at the base of the cliff what kind of birds they were.  Not that I'm unfamiliar with peregrine falcons, there's a pair that had a nest on the bridge a block from my house.  The fledglings were flying around and making a racket this last week.

Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

We saw a coyote on the drive out.  That was about it.  It was a relaxing, low-key afternoon.  At least I got my ass off the couch.

Coyote -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Two Men and a Dog: Day 5

Sequoia National Park

May 28, 2014

Our final day of the road trip was spent at Sequoia National Park, where I once again struggled to get decent photos of these mighty trees.

Sequoia National Park, CA

There's something about this place and these trees.  Yeah, they are big trees.  Neat, right?  Jim was feeling that way before actually getting to the trees.  I remember feeling that way myself before experiencing them.  There's something magical about the big tree forests, though.  You've got to get away from the crowds to experience it.  These trees have a calm, palpable presence.  They count their years not by the decades but by the millenia.  Words fail me.  Pictures fail me.  The giant sequoias are awesome creatures that have to be experienced in person.

Our hiking in the park was hindered by the fact that dogs aren't allowed on the paved trails in the park.  That was a huge let down.  Every other National Park I've been to has restrictions on pets in the park, but Sequoia is the only one I know of that doesn't allow dogs on paved trails.  We found a few roadside stops where Pongo was able to explore, but I have to say I was incredibly disappointed by this policy.  We still had a good time.

Jim & Pongo -- Sequoia National Park, CA

Treehumping -- Sequoia National Park, CA

Sequoia National Park, CA

Sequoia National Park, CA

Three Men and a Dog: Day 4

On the Road

May 27, 2014

We spent most of Tuesday on the road.  We made one final visit to the canyon before leaving, though.  It looked like it was going to be a beautiful, clear day.

Grand Canyon National Park, CA

While Sam was headed to Vegas, the destination for the rest of us was Sequoia National Park.  That turned out to be a ten hour drive, chewing up more of the day than I'd originally expected.  Luckily, we found an alternative to driving all the way into the park for camping.  Lake Kaweah.  A few miles from the park entrance, the lake has a large campground that was lightly populated on the evening we were there.  It ended up being a great evening.  The air was warm, the sky was clear and there was plenty of wildlife to see and hear throughout the night.  We even saw an owl take off from the tree above our campground.  He must have been there for hours before allowing us to know of his presence.

Lake Kaweah, CA

Lake Kaweah, CA

Lake Kaweah, CA

Three Men and a Dog: Day 3

Grand Canyon National Park

May 26, 2014

Our second day at the Grand Canyon was a laid back affair for a couple of us and a fairly intense adventure for the other two.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sunday had been a pretty big day for Pongo.  He had a lot of fun, but all that adventuring had worn him out a bit.  A slower day where he could recoup was in order.  Plus, my parents were going to visit at some point in the afternoon, so we spent a while at Mather Point then napped for a couple of hours at the campground.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

My parents are on a big road trip of their own.  They're driving down to New Orleans.  They were passing through from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so I insisted they stop by to see the Grand Canyon.  My mother has hiked from rim to rim, but my father had never seen it before.  We had lunch at Mather Point then I drove with them out to Desert View.  It was a short visit, but I was glad to be able to share the canyon with them.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Sam and Jim, on the other hand, had a very different kind of adventure.  They hiked down the Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point and back.  Jim estimated they hiked 12 miles with 3,400 feet in elevation change.  They had one bottle of water each between them and no food.  Geniuses.  They made it out OK, but it was a rigorous climb, to say the least.  The trail can be seen in the photo below, including Plateau Point.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

It was a epic adventure, to say the least.  I'm glad they made it out OK.

We spent the evening relaxing.  Pongo decided he really liked the purple blanket I brought along.  It gave him a home base, which was something he needed to finally get comfortable.  He slept on it every night for the rest of the trip, no matter where I put it in the car.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ