Another coolish, overcast morning with the temperature struggling to rise to 20°C along the coast. Today we planned on heading north along the scenic PCH (Pacific Coastal Highway) aka Highway 1. This road runs along the coast from California, through Oregon and Washington states to the Canadian border.
Once away from the beaches of Pismo the coastline became a little more rugged.
We stopped near the village of Cambria and took a walk along the cliff tops, there were a number of wild flowers there that we (Lyn) couldn’t identify. My flower identification gets as far as yellow = dandelion and red = rose! So if anyone can identify any of the following please let us know.
#1
#2
#3
#4
As we were driving north, a number of cars were pulling off to the side of the road, for no apparent reason. There was a small rise at the edge of the road with a large field beyond. We climbed the rise and saw a sight we were not prepared for in California, or even the American continent. In the field there were about 20 zebra!
Evidently there used to be a zoo in the area, and the zebra were part of it. Nowadays they live wild in the fields.
From zebra we went onto elephant seals. There is a large colony that call this coastal area home. We were lucky, as in a couple of weeks all the seals will have left and gone out to sea for a few months. The beach area was full of seal pups, with only a couple of adults
Three Pups and a Male
There was also an adult female on the beach, who was much larger than the pups, but much smaller than the male. Males can grow to 16ft in length and weigh up to 5000 lbs. The females reach about 12 ft and 1200 lbs.
One the way back we saw a couple of guys on surf boards using kites to propel them through the water.
Talking to people along the way, it seems we are lucky at the moment; normally Pismo is besieged with strong winds and blowing sand. So far we have been lucky with hardly any wind. Long may it continue.
2 Responses to A Prizeless Competition