Thursday, April 16, 2020
Thursday was supposed to be a partly cloudy day, so I decided to do several hours of exploring. I planned to head directly to Montana de Oro State Park and check to see what parts I could access, then explore on the way back home. The day was shortened by early morning clouds and fog, so I got off to a very late start, around 8:00 A.M. I drove under a mix of clouds, sun, and fog/haze with a few stops to check out trails and Moro Bay State Park.The park was closed at the highway, and I didn't know how far I would have to walk to enjoy the beach, so I left it for another day.
I got to the Morro Bay area as the day was brightening, but with a lot of fog left. I threw away about thirty pictures of the first great view - a look across to Morro Rock, which is very colorful in the sun. But it disappeared into the mist in the early pictures. I finally got a better view of it as I was leaving the park in the early afternoon.
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| Morro Rock with the mist behaving better |
I spent the first hour or so, climbing on the vegetated dunes, looking for wildflowers. I'd look around, then drive down the road and stop again at another pull off. I found a trail all the way down to the beach and took it down and back, with many stops for photographs.
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| This shrub was abundant and just coming into bloom |
My hike was interspersed with lots of stops to take pictures of flowers and plants, birds, views, and a lizard.
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| Ice plant bud |
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| This bold chipping sparrow let me take his picture from about twelve feet away |
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| Another unknown |
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| This shrub was already making fruit, kind of a cross between an apple and an acorn |
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I saw my first bumblebee of the season but couldn't f capture it. This is one mean looking fly.
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| This was the only one of this species I saw. |
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| View of Spooner's cove from a pullout above it .... |
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| ...And from the parking lot |
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| I never knew Nasturtiums could be invasive until I started exploring the central California coast |
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This could be poison hemlock - comment if you know
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| This was a plant that looked as though it should be in a landscaped yard |
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| Beach morning glory |
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| One of two adjacent un vegetated sand dunes |
I didn't go any further on the road - but Cindy says I need to go back and explore further. I also found I can hike 2-6 miles along some fantastic volcanic rocks in the bay and view and listen to a sinkhole. It is only about an hour away, with no stops, so it will stay in my Bucket List.
I started back across the bay, stopping to take the bear dressed in PPE with a sign thanking essential workers for their service. I had to go past it to a turn off to another road to find a place to park. The road looked way to interesting and beautiful to not explore so I went down it for a few miles.
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| Bear dressed up to thank essential workers |
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| Clouds got better in the early afternoon |
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| One of many beautiful views along the side road |
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| Those green, green hills |
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| This lupine has had lots of bee visits - the red spots are on flowers that have been pollinated |
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| People were few and usually found singly or in family groups |
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