Desk-bound Nature Lover

My Blog: Occasional postings about the joys of birding, hiking, camping, and sightseeing.

My life: I spend most of my days in offices, looking at a computer screen, and waiting for those few weekends when I can get out and enjoy some remnant of our precious natural heritage. But, boy, do I live on those weekends!

Monday, November 07, 2005

The Coastline of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, California – October 30

Some day I am going to post a list of the main reasons why I love the San Francisco area so much. One of the top reasons on that list will be the beauty of the central California coast. On various occasions I have driven, hiked, and birded along the California coast as far north as Bodega Bay and as far south as Big Sur. Since I first started coming to California, a frequent daytrip for me has been to drive from San Mateo, where I stay in California, across the peninsula to Half Moon Bay, and then to spend the day making my way down the San Mateo county coastline to about Davenport in Santa Cruz county, stopping at the various public beaches, scenic overlooks, and state parks along the way.

On October 30, I didn’t have time for my usual coastal itinerary. Big things were going down at the company were I work in South City, and I had to work that weekend. Still, I took some time for a quick trip along the coast. This is a good itinerary for anyone visiting the area with just a few hours to spare.

My first stop was near the town of Moss Beach at Pillar Point, where I climbed the hill overlooking the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Beautiful views here of the ocean and shoreline.

By the way, the curse of Pillar Point is the clueless dog people who ignore the conspicuous signs which tell them to keep their dogs on leash. Just in case one of them happens to see this, please bear with me while I try to help him catch a clue: Hey dog person! There’s a good reason for those signs you’re ignoring! Your dogs are harassing the wildlife! Get a grip!

This time I skipped one of my usual stops, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Lighthouse fans will love this spot. The buildings around the lighthouse have historical and natural history exhibits.

Pebble Beach is a pretty area. The beach consists of gravel worn smooth by the action of the waves. The combination of waves and pebbles has worn the stones of this rocky section of coastline into fascinating shapes. I hadn’t visited there for a while, so I stopped to see what animals were on the rocks: seals and cormorants and pelicans, mostly.

My last stop going south was the Rancho del Oso Nature Center, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, just south of the Santa Cruz county line. I mentioned this place in my last travel-related post. I wanted to stop there again because on my previous visit I hadn’t had time to really see the whole place. Alas, the pretty naturalist who I had previously encountered was occupied with other tasks that afternoon, and I only spoke with her very briefly. However, I struck up a conversation with the volunteer manning the desk, and he proved to be a quite satisfactory, albeit less visually appealing, substitute. He turned out to be the head of an organization called the Waddell Creek Association, one of several California state park associations which provide funding and volunteer to various California parks. (See the link to the right.) He was a good salesman for his organization, of which I am now a dues-paying member. He was quite knowledgeable of the local natural history.

Here are some things I learned at the nature center, which I found interesting. The dominant trees in that area of the park are not Redwoods (too close to salt water there), but Monterey Pines. The natural range of Monterey Pines is limited to a few small areas in California, and for some reason within their nature range Monterey Pines produce wood which is considered almost worthless. However, outside their native range, they are widely cultivated, and are very valuable for lumber. Monterey pines grow quickly, and get quite large within a matter of decades. They often grow into contorted shapes. They don’t live very long, rarely more than a century. Thus, a huge gnarly specimen of Monterey Pine which looks to be older than Moses may actually be younger than some people you know.

On my way back north to work, I made one more very brief stop, at Pescadero Marsh. This is one of my favorite places to visit, and I will probably say something more about it sometime, but right now this post is already long enough.