This last week, Carol and I took the opportunity to enjoy our spring wildflower bloom on rest days from climbing.
Our first outing was in the company of friend Rick M., whom we met at Silicon Valley Labratory to go for a walk in the oak-dotted hills to the northwest of the lab.
A pleasant walk, lots of wildflowers, oaks, birds and a running narrative from Rick M. who thankfully knew a lot of the plants and how they fit into the ecosystem. For instance, I had never thought about the impact of nitrogen from car exhaust – how it could change the soil composition and therefore the mix of native / invasive plants growing there. After enjoying lunch under a big oak on the top of a hill, it was time to make our way back so Rick could resume work.
Pictures from the SVL hike here.
A couple days later, we headed for Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel. Carol had been once before; I had never been there. What a mistake that has been – it’s a beautiful place with plenty of dramatic ocean and shoreline scenery, wildflowers and wildlife. Whether or not it’s “The Greatest Meeting of Land and Water in the World”, I can’t say, but it’s definitely in my top tier.
I would grant the title of “World’s Greatest Concentration of Poison Oak”; I’ve seen a lot of poison oak, but not at anything like this density.
I lost count of how many sea otter mom / pup pairs we saw, and it was so funny to hear the pups begging for attention (at the risk of anthropomorphism). We decided their cries sounded like “Me!” “Me!” “Me!” We also saw harbor seals and a couple seal pups.
We wandered around for most of the afternoon, ending up on the seashore rock on the southwest side of the reserve. The geology is stunningly complicated. We couldn’t believe all the layers in the Carmelo formation, many tilted up to almost vertical and a complicated mix of sandstones and conglomerates with cobblestone-sized inclusions of an astounding variety and color. If you’re a fan of geology, you’ve got to see this.
Most of the day, we were under a layer of marine fog. Just about the time we decided to go, the fog cleared and we got some sunshine for a different mood in the pictures.
Pictures from the Point Lobos hike here.
~Rick