Muir Woods National Monument & Point Reyes National Seashore

May 2, 2017

I took my parents to Muir Woods and Point Reyes on Tuesday.  Those are two of my favorite weekend destinations.  They're even better to visit mid-week given the large weekend crowds.

California Giant Salamander -- Muir Woods National Monument, CA

We saw a good amount of wildlife on this day trip.  The first animal was a surprise.  It was a California giant salamander resting in the creek just above the first bridge in Muir Woods.  It was a huge salamander.  I'd guess it was at least five inches long, maybe more.  I say it was a surprise because the last thing I expect to see in Muir Woods is wildlife.  Even birds are a rare sight in the woods, although the occasional song can be heard from high up in the trees.  I've seen a couple of squirrels near the visitor's center and that's about it.  So, seeing this salamander was pretty cool.

Muir Woods National Monument, CA

Muir Woods National Monument, CA

Tuesday was a bright, sunny day.  Too much sun is a bit of a problem when taking photos in Muir Woods.  It's normally a rainy day destination for me because I don't have to fight the high contrast of light and dark under the redwood canopy when the sky is covered with clouds.  I enjoyed the challenge on this trip, though, and although the hots have their flaws I think I did better than I could have a couple of years ago.

Muir Woods National Monument, CA

Muir Woods National Monument, CA

After Muir Woods we had lunch at Pelican Inn.  I'd hoped to drive up Highway 1 to Point Reyes but the road is washed out in both directions around the Inn.  So, we drove back out to 101 and then over to the Point.

Cattle & Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

My parents had never seen elephant seals, so we headed out to Chimney Rock to see the seals.  Along the way we saw the Southern herd of tule elk hanging out with cattle.  They're often visible near the turn off to Drake's Beach, but this is the best look I've ever gotten of this group of elk.

White-crowned Sparrow -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

There were a lot of elephant seals on the beach.  They were all pups.  The adults have left for the season, leaving the pups behind for a few months until they are ready to head off into the ocean on their own.  These pups were pretty big, though.  At first I wasn't convinced that there weren't some adults hanging behind, but the ranger at the visitor center said that there only pups on the beach and although they were large, they looked more like sea lions than elephant seals so I slowly became convinced.

Elephant Seal -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Elephant Seal -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Elephant Seal -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Elephant Seal -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Elephant Seal -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Point Reyes National Seashore

September 13, 2016

California Quail

My favorite hike of the year is the early fall trek through the elk reserve to Tomales Point at Point Reyes.  The elk are in rut and, unlike in a zoo, there are no fences.  The elk are in their natural environment (basically).  It can be an amazing experience when the cards line up right.  This hike has become an annual rite for me.

Black-tailed Deer -- Point Reyes National Reserve, CA

I started at the visitor's station.  I don't usually stop there, but I need some stickers for my new computer.  I got a nice little sticker and a magnet for my car.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

It was a bright, sunny day in the Bay Area but foggy and cold out on the Point.  That's not unusual.  In fact, that's part of the charm of Point Reyes.  It always seems to be foggy and cold.  My kind of weather.  The fog burned off, for the most part, but it stayed mostly cloudy and dark for the day.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

On the way out to the pond (roughly three miles) I was afraid I was going to get skunked.  I had seen a couple of groups of elk from a distance, but nothing up close.  I've never been skunked on this hike before, but counting on the pond to fill my photo card had me nervous.  At this time of year, it's normal for a group of bachelors to hang out at the pond.  In the tule elk world, if you're a bull elk you're either a winner or a loser.  There's not much in between.  You're either Fonzie or Potsie, there's nothing in between.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Pictures don't do these animals justice.  I love stopping here at the pond and watching these animals.  They are hopped up on testosterone (or whatever it is that drives the male elk urges) but there is always an amazing peace that fills this little valley.  Maybe I'm just imagining it, but it feels real, year after year.  God bless these hairy, horny creatures.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Black-tailed Deer -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Overall, I saw eight separate harems of elk.  I've never seen that many.  I suspect they'll break up into smaller groups over the next few weeks, but I could be wrong.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Soundtrack:

• Wilco -- Schmilco

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

September 18, 2016

I'm back.  I've been having some computer trouble over the last couple of months and have been a bit lazy about clearing it up.  It's all good, now.  Hopefully I can catch up with my blogger friends and get back into a groove.

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Pongo

Actually, I'm only back briefly.  I'll be hitting the road with my pal Pongo for a couple of weeks.  He loves road trips.  He's been all over the West.  Yosemite.  Big Sur.  The Grand Canyon.  Sequoia National Park.  Crater Lake.  Lava Beds.  Pinnacles.  I think his favorite spots are the wildlife refuges we visit in California's Central Valley.  He likes to hang out the window and watch the animals.  I like travelling with him.

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The first of the winter birds have arrived at the refuge.  When I say the first, I'm talking about probably the first sole flying flock of birds of the year at San Luis.  We saw a solitary group of roughly twenty sandhill cranes on the auto tour.  Some of the ponds have started to fill in, but it will probably be a couple of months before the refuge takes its winter form.

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

My main goal was to get some shots of the tule elk.  It was too hot on Sunday, though.  Most of the herd was either lying low in the grass or under the trees in the middle of elk compound.  I saw one group a few hundred yards from the fence.  They were too far away for good photos, unfortunately.  We saw a few rabbits, which is what Pongo really likes to see.  We saw a lot more rabbits on our last trip to San Luis.  There were traps out along the auto route, so I guess the refuge folks have been working on reducing their numbers.  That seems to have had an impact on the number of raptors at the refuge.  I saw only a handful of hawks and harriers.  This is generally a great place to see raptors even during these quiet months of summer and early fall.

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I'm backed up on posts.  I'll try to get one or two more out before hitting the road.

Sandhill Crane -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Soundtrack:

• case/lang/viers -- case/lang/viers
• Ian McCulloch -- Candleland

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

April 16, 2016

It's been a few weeks since I've had an outdoor adventure.  I've been busy with other things.  We spent a weekend in the recording studio and last week I watched the Masters on television.  That's probably my favorite televised sporting event.  A lot of people find golf to be boring to watch, but I like the way good play is slowly and patiently rewarded while one or two mistakes can unravel a run at a major championship.

Western Kingbird -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

It's definitely Spring now.  Most of the Winter birds have flown North.  The kingbirds are back, a sure sign that we've switched from Winter birds to Summer birds.  Meadowlarks are year-round inhabitants, but they were a little more conspicuous than normal.

Western Meadowlark -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

In fact, a lot of the regular, small animals were easier to see than normal.  I only saw a couple of hawks and a single harrier during the three hours or so that we were there.  It's not unusual to run out of fingers and toes when counting the hawks and harriers at this refuge.  I assume they've followed the ducks North.  Their absence makes life a little easier for the little critters, I guess.

Sheep -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Some of the refuge was fenced off for grazing.  This was the only sheep I saw.  I suppose others were probably lying down in the grass.  It was midday, after all.

Killdeer -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Most of the flooded fields were in the process of drying up.  Some of the fields in the back were still flooded.  There weren't a lot of birds there, just a few stragglers including this killdeer.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Reserve, CA

We saw three elk.  Again, probably a bad time of day to see elk.  The ladies always seem to be hard to spot, I suspect they stick to the middle of their large enclosure.  We found a couple of bulls hanging out near the shade of a tree.  This guy was keeping an eye on Pongo who was on a leash beside me while I took photos.  Tough light, but I like his velvety antlers.

Brush Rabbit -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

All in all, not the most exciting of trips but it was good to get out.  Pongo and I spent a good chunk of our time on Saturday just hanging out next to the parked car enjoying the peace and quiet.

Soundtrack

• John Coltrane -- Ballads

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

December 13, 2015

The tail end of a storm was blowing over Northern California on Sunday.  That gave me some interesting options for adventure.   My top choice was to head to the coast.  I wanted to take Pongo, though, which instantly limits my options there.  I'd also have to worry about big surf, which is part of the point of going in the first place.  So, instead I headed Southeast to his favorite auto tour at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge.

Interstate Five, Merced County, CA

I knew I was taking a gamble.  The sun was peaking through holes here and there in Alameda, but they were dark gray in the direction I was heading.  I was crossing my fingers and hoping they would clear by the time I got there, at least enough to give me some splashes of light.

Merced County, CA

Going this direction turned out to be a mistake.  Not because of the dark skies.  As you can see, the clouds and sunlight created a lot of drama, which is exactly what I was hoping for.  The problem was traffic.  A major accident blocked most lanes 580 out of the Bay Area which almost doubled the drive time.  On a short winter day that can be fatal to an afternoon excursion.  I almost turned around a few times because I knew that even if the clouds allowed it the sun wouldn't stay up in the sky long enough to take a lot of pictures.

Tule Elk -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I stuck with it, though, for Pongo's sake if nothing else.  He doesn't care about the weather and lighting.  He just wants to stick his head out the window and see the wildlife.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

The highlight of the drive for Pongo was seeing a raccoon.  He's a sworn enemy of all raccons.  He spotted him before I did and went bonkers.  He always goes bonkers for raccoons.  I usually see the animals first.  I don't know if Pongo has some kind of raccoon radar or what, but that's the one animal he consistently sees before I do.  No pictures, though, it was too dark and the critter didn't stick around long anyway, not once he heard and got a look at Pongo in the car.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA

That's pretty much it.  Well, we saw an owl, too.  It was too deep in the trees for a good photo.  I suppose with a raccoon sighting for Pongo and an owl sighting for me I'd have to consider the trip to be a success, right?  It was nice seeing all of those clouds in the sky.  Hopefully this weather continues for two or three months.  Last year we had a fairly wet December and then it was clear skies for the rest of the winter.  Here's hoping this is just the beginning.

Totoro (or an owl) -- San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, CA