Rock Creek Lake - 5/26/13

It's a chilly,  overcast day - much too cold for swimming - but that wasn't stopping some people - lol.

Roasting marshmallows!

Nothing tops off the day like s'mores! Mmmm

Campsite at Grandview Campground

Camping out at Grandview Campground,  about 2 1/2 miles from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, at about 8,200 feet in elevation.  It was a chilly night last night.

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest - 5/25/13

A view from the summit of the Discovery Trail.  At 10, 000+ feet,  I'm above the treeline. A little winded at this point...lol. Gotta be careful when bending down to take pics of flowers.  You get a little light headed.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest - Discovery Trail - 5/25/13

A view from the trail.... almost at the summit

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest - 5/25/13

My favorite tree on the Discovery Trail :) 

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree - 5/25/13

Lots of cool trees on the trail.

Discovery Trail - Ancient Bristlecon e Pine Forest - 5/25/13

This is a one mile loop trail that takes you up a hill and thru the Bristlecone Pine Forest. It's not too difficult,  although the altitude (10, 000 feet) will get you huffing and puffing ;) Wear sunscreen and bring water!

Globe Lilies (aka Fairy Lanterns) - 5/12/13

Dogwood blossom - 5/12/13

Dogwood blooms near Bass Lake - 5/12/13

Lupine - Yosemite Ntl Park - 5/11/13

This field of lupine was pretty... and smelled great!

Tioga Pass - 5/11/13

The road was plowed and open.  It was beautiful!!

Snowman - lol

I made a mini snowman. Complete with mohawk and pinecone tie - lol

Tenaya Lake - Yosemite Ntl Park - 5/11/13

Olmsted Point - Yosemite Ntl Park - 5/11/13

Tioga Pass was open!  Woo hoo!

Mule deer - Yosemite Ntl Park - 5/11/13

Deer are common visitors to Curry Village in Yosemite Ntl Park.  This guy was munching on some dogwood leaves.

@ Yosemite National Park - 5/11/13

Yosemite Falls- 5/11/13

A view of Yosemite Falls from the meadow

Mule Deer - Yosemite Ntl Park - 5/11/13

A mule deer takes a stroll thru the park

Yosemite Falls - 5/11/13

It's a beautiful morning here in Yosemite Ntl Park :)

Bridalveil Fall this morning - 5/11/13

Road Trip!

This past weekend, I decided to go camping. I got all my stuff packed up and headed out early to The Pinnacles National Park. I got there around 9:30 only to find that all the camp sites were full. I had looked online, but it said first come first serve, so I thought I would get one if I got there early enough - WRONG! Time for plan B.

I decided to hang around the Monterey area, so I drove to Moss Landing on a whim and then checked out the Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve. I only intended to stay an hour. 3 hours and a 2.5 mile hike later, I finally got back to my car, and booked a hotel room in Salinas online (smart phones are the most awesome things ever). I stopped a few places on the way to the hotel and took lots of photos, of course.

The next day I drove to the west side of The Pinnacles National Park to take a short hike to look for wildflowers. It was pretty dry, but I did find a few: Johnny Jump Ups, Chinese Houses, a few Cream Cups, Poppies, Purple Owl's Clover, Miner's Lettuce, Monkeyflower, Woodland Star, and Larkspur. It was pretty warm, so I didn't go more than a half mile before turning around. Besides, I had more places to see and was short on time.

After my short stay at The Pinnacles, I drove down Jolon Road to Lake San Antonio and took a short tour before heading to Morro Bay to see the sea otters. They were in their usual spot at Morro Rock. I just love to see them :)  My final stop was at Shell Beach before heading to the 166 to drive home. All in all, a nice road trip!

I posted pics below.

Until next time, happy trails!



Links to check out:

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
Morro Bay -  Wildlife Hotspots
Salinas River State Beach - Moss Landing, CA
Lake San Antonio

Moss Landing - Marbled Godwit - . 4/20/13

cr_Moss Landing_Marbled Godwit (2), originally uploaded by kimberzy.

My first photo of these guys - pretty cool. Wish the lighting would have been better, but oh well. Still, not a terrible shot :)

Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve - Wild Turkey - 4/20/13

cr_Elkhorn Slough_Wild Turkey, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

I saw this wild turkey out of the corner of my eye. It jumped up onto the fence, jumped down and took off running across the field.

Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve - 4/20/13

cr_Elkhorn Slough_Snowy Egret1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

A Snowy Egret takes flight.

Moss Landing - Golden Crowned Sparrow - 4/20/13

cr_moss landing_golden crowned sparrow2, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

A quick look at this bird and you can tell where it gets its name from.

Moss Landing - Bewick's Wren - 4/20/13

cr_Moss Landing_Bewick's Wren1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

All wrens are quite cute, but I think the Bewick's Wren is my favorite.

Moss Landing - Great Blue Heron - 4/20/13

cr_Moss Landing_Great Blue Heron (1), originally uploaded by kimberzy.

Usually shy and quick to fly away, I was able to get pretty close to this particular Great Blue Heron.

Moss Landing - Caspian Tern - 4/20/13

cr_Moss Landing_ Caspian Tern1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

Along with the gulls flying around, Caspian Terns were also busy fishing for some dinner.

Moss Landing - Sea Otter - 4/20/13

cr_moss landing_sea otter1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This Sea Otter was busy grooming and cleaning himself, doing somersaults in the water and rubbing his fur.

Moss Landing - Sea Otter - 4/20/13

cr_moss landing_sea otter3, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

While watching the Sea Lions, this Sea Otter swam by.

Moss Landing - Sea Lions - 4/20/13

IMG_1479, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

In the parking lot at Moss Landing, I heard the distinctive bark of sea lions....lots of them. So I went over to the dock, and saw that the sea lions had completely taken over this particular dock. They were piled on top of another, each jockeying for a comfy position on the dock. Although it looked anything but comfy.

Shell Beach - Pelagic Cormorant - 4/21/13

cr_shell beach_pelagic cormorant3, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

The Pelagic Cormorant is smaller in size than its cousin the Double Crested Cormorant.

Shell Beach - Western Gull - 4/21/13

cr_shell beach_western gull1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This Western Gull found a good nesting spot.

Morro Bay - Sea Otters - 4/21/13

cr_Morro Bay_Sea Otters2, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

mama sea otter + baby sea otter = CUTE!

Morro Bay - Sea Otters - 4/21/13

cr_morro bay_sea otters3, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

Morro Bay - Sea Otters - 4/21/13

cr_Morro Bay_Sea Otters1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

Sea Otters are a common sight at Morro Rock. They like to wrap themselves up in kelp to keep them from drifting away while they sleep.

Morro Bay - Heermann's Gull - 4/21/13

cr_morro bay_heermann's gull (5), originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This is a juvenile Heermann's Gull.

Morro Bay - Double Crested Cormorant - 4/21/13

cr_morro bay_double crested cormorant1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This Double Crested Cormorant was swimming amongst the otters. They didn't seem to mind though.

Morro Bay - Crab - 4/21/13

cr_morro bay_crab2, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

I looked down on the rocks after hearing a bit of a scuffling sound, to find this crab ducking into a crack in the rocks.

Morro Bay - Squirrel - 4/21/13

IMG_1712, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This California Ground Squirrel was quite the chatty guy. I don't know what he was saying or who he was saying it to, but he was "talking" non-stop to someone.

Pinnacles National Park - Whiptail Lizard - 4/21/13

cr_pinnacles_whiptail2, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

As the weather gets warmer, the more reptiles come out of hiding to warm themselves up on the trails and roads. This Whiptail Lizard was keeping a watchful eye on me.

Pinnacles National Park - Chinese Houses - 4/21/13

cr_pinnacles_chinese houses1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

A few patches of Chinese Houses were still blooming on the Juniper Canyon/High Peaks Trail in the West Pinnacles National Park.

Pinnacles National Park - Variable Checkerspot Butterfly - 4/21/13

cr_pinnacles_variable checkerspot1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

This Variable Checkerspot butterfly was feasting on a common monkeyflower.

Pinnacles National Park - Johnny Jump Up - 4/21/13

cr_pinnacles_johnny jump up1, originally uploaded by kimberzy.

I stopped by The Pinnacles National Park (yes, it is a national PARK now), to take a short hike to look for wildflowers. There weren't many, but there were still a few Johnny Jump Ups in bloom.

Lake San Antonio - 4/21/13

Did a quick visit to the south shore one the way home. 

Tip: if you just want to look around,  they will give you a 45 minute visitor pass for free.

Morro Bay, Ca - 4/21/13

I stopped here on the way home to watch the sea otters :)

Sea lions at Moss Landing, CA - 4/20/13

The sea lions have taken over this dock.

Elkhorn Slough Wildlife Reserve - Moss Landing, CA - 4/20/13

I had a nice 2.5 mile walk here today.  Lots of sunshine,  birds and cool scenery, like this old barn.

Free Arts Day in Duarte, CA - 4/13/13

Little hands hard at work creating a masterpiece!