Day 22 - The Move to Humboldt SP

We followed Route 1 up the coast of California stopping to photograph at different vantage points.  We had on and off fog and similar temps in the mid-50s and later it was sunny. We hiked at Laguna Point. That was nice! We saw our first sea anemone and more Sea Lions.

Route 1 was pretty nice and a bit of a winding road, but when we left the coast it became a difficult drive with lots of winding through forests.

We got to the Humboldt State Park at 6:00 PM or so.  The Redwoods were amazing!  I was in awe during our hike along the Founder's Trail. It was really hard to photograph them to show how massive they are.  Even the stumps are huge.  The fallen trees have a path by them and you walk a long way along the length of the fallen trees. The Founder's Tree is 346' tall. That is comparable to a football field from one end zone to the other.  It was so dark in the woods and the Varied Thrushes were singing their eerie songs.  It was a cool experience!

We set up camp in the Redwood Forest, grilled hot dogs and turned in early as we are wore out.

Lack of hind flippers is the distinction between the Harbor Seal 
and a Sea Lion, which does have hind flippers.

Harbor Seals

Harbor Seals do not look comfortable.

We saw these sea anemones in a tide pool.

These trees really amaze us!  I'm so glad we went to see them!

Laguna Point Area

Brad by the Founder's Tree

The one-log house caught my attention.

All along the coast there were beautiful sights!

The "Big Trees" really impressed me!

This is our tent at the Jedediah Redwoods Forest.

Day 21 Birds

 As I was waiting in the car, I noticed a line of doves sitting on the utility wire.  I thought it seemed odd as they were so large and long. I took a photo in bad lighting, but it revealed a white stripe on the nape, so I knew I'd seen my first Band-tailed Pigeon.  A bit later I saw a swift whose description matched a Vaux's Swift and again the Chimney Swift came up rare on eBird, so I don't believe it was that.  That was my 41st life bird on this trip!  It sure has been fun to see new birds!  

Band-tailed Pigeons - Life bird!

Band-tailed Pigeons look different even at a distance.

Black Oystercatcher

The first time I saw it, I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture!

Heerman's Gulls - Life bird!

Pacific Loon - Life bird!

Osprey that is out surfing!

Day 21 - Route 1 to Gualala

We left at 8:00 AM and made our way up Route 1 along the Pacific coast. It started out foggy and drizzly, but it soon cleared up.  We stopped many times along the way to explore the shoreline.  We saw Harbor Seals, Sea Lions, starfish and birds.  

We were near the San Andreas fault, so there were signs about possible tsunamis.

We stopped for a picnic along the way and by 1:30 we arrived at our cool cabin along the rocky shoreline. It has a deck with a nice view and a spa overlooking the ocean. 

We moved into the cabin and relaxed a bit. Then we went and sat in the jacuzzi for awhile. The view of the ocean was surreal and even though it was cold we were quite comfortable. 

Later we drove to the bakery/pizzeria and ordered a delicious pizza that we ate back at the cabin. There was a nice fireplace that was nice, but it was terribly smoky.

It was another good day!

These signs made me feel a little uneasy.

Our cabin at Bodega Bay

The "Chicks and Hens" plants grew wild along the coast.

These wild Irises were so beautiful.

I noticed these huge snails on the plants.  We don't have them at home.

 

This was our cabin at Gualala.

This is the view off of the deck.

This is the amazing view from the spa! The birds were soaring low right over us: Common Ravens, Turkey Vultures, gulls and in the distance I saw a long line of Brown Pelicans.  This resort has a beautiful view of the ocean!  Brad did a fantastic job of planning our trip!

All along the coast the views were so pretty.

Sunset from our resort.

.

Day 20 Birds

A great day of birding!  Here are the life birds I saw today!

1. California Towhee
2. California Quail
3. Pacific Wren
4. Brown Pelican
5. Black Oystercatcher
6. Pelagic Cormorant
7. Heerman's Gull - Captain Rich and I were wondering what those beautiful gulls were with the gray wash on their breast. Later I looked through my field guide and found it!

This pair of California Quail were nice to see.

California Quail - Life bird!

Brown Pelican- Life bird!

Brown Pelican

Black Oystercatcher - Lifebird!

These Pelagic Cormorants were nesting on the cliff side.

The Pelagic Cormorant was a sleek-looking bird.

Western Scrub-Jay - Pacific race

Day 20 - To Bodega Bay

Up at 8 AM to go to Tomales Bay.  We hiked a trail that had the most amazing plant life.  We hiked a shoreline and found some kind sea slug that was huge and bigger than a football.

We drove to Bodega Bay and ate lunch at the Spud Point Crab Company.  The crab sandwich, clam chowder and shrimp cocktail were really very tasty!  We were stuffed!

We were surprised how cool and windy it is here, but folks tell us that this is normal for summer.  We checked into the Bodega Harbor Inn.  It was nice, but small.  We sat on the deck an relaxed a bit after unpacking.

From 2:00-4:45 PM we sailed around Bodega Bay with Captain Rich.  That was an interesting experience as we saw Harbor Seals and Sea Lions along with many birds.  I saw two life birds from the sailboat: the Brown Pelican and the Black Oystercatcher!  He sailed us out to the open ocean for a bit, but it was foggy so we came back to the bay where he pretended to ram restaurant and got a little closer than we expected!  He was a character!

We went back to the cabin for a bit and then we went back to the seafood restaurant for supper and it was closed, so we ate at the one next door and that was good too!

Then we went for a hike at Bodega Head and it was really a great hike!  We loved the view there.

There were Black Mussels attached to the rocks all along the shoreline.

We went out of the bay to the ocean.  This seal has a good place to hang out.

Bodega Bay Marina

The Spud Point Crab Co.

Here I am ready to take off on the sailboat.

Captain Rich's Sailboat

Rich is pretending to ram the restaurant.  The customers looked surprised!

Western Gulls were a common sight.

Thid Sea Lion seemed to be begging for food.  They are quite large!

It was great to finally see the Brown Pelican!

 

I loved the ocean!

There were gorgeous wildflowers that lined this ocean cliff.

Day 19 Birds

Life birds at the ocean this evening:

Common Murre - lots!

Western Gull

Brandt's Cormorant {I didn't get a good photo for today, but I have some good ones coming up!}

Common Murre - Life bird!

An immature gull that I'm not sure of.

The Western Gull and Common Murre

There were many Turkey Vultures.