When you walk from Santa Cruz to Monterey one never knows what you will see along the way. The joy of discovery is perhaps the best part of the journey. You may even find yourself enjoying BIRD WATCHING! This is alarming for many of our walkers....but, relax, it's fun, addicting, and many of your own family and friends are birdwatchers. Here we are enjoying the saline pond, steps from Day 3 of our Walk the Bay trip along the Monterey Bay, setting up cameras, peering through binoculars. Why? Because watching the amazing activities of birds is a unique wilderness experience. It is a very special time when you as a human interact at very close range with truly wild creatures. Go outside today and listen to the birds. Maybe you'll be tempted to pick up a camera or a pair of binoculars. Be prepared to enjoy the experience!
Part of the Wilderness Experience...
When you walk from Santa Cruz to Monterey one never knows what you will see along the way. The joy of discovery is perhaps the best part of the journey. You may even find yourself enjoying BIRD WATCHING! This is alarming for many of our walkers….but, relax, it’s fun, addicting, and many of your own family and friends are birdwatchers. Finding birds along the way...
Here we are enjoying the saline pond, steps from Day 3 of our Walk the Bay trip along the Monterey Bay, setting up cameras, peering through binoculars. Why? Because watching the amazing activities of birds is a unique wilderness experience. It is a very special time when you as a human interact at very close range with truly wild creatures.
Go outside today and listen to the birds. Maybe you’ll be tempted to pick up a camera or a pair of binoculars. Be prepared to enjoy the experience!
Many of my hiking friends can't understand how walking 40 miles along the shoreline of Monterey would hold their interest. "Isn't it just sand and water?" Well, the fun of walking along a marine sanctuary is finding all the hidden surprises. One wonderful place is only steps from a desolate beach, the Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge. As you walk south from Moss Landing and cross the Salinas River you may have had your fill of gorgeous sand, wild crashing surf, and shorebirds. If so, step inland about 100 yards through a roped entrance into the enchanting world that surrounds the "saline pond." Currently, there are avocets tending to their young. My brother took these pictures yesterday. We also sighted numerous black necked stilts, long billed curlews, gadwalls, northern shovelers, caspian terns, cinnamon teal, common loons, and several savannah sparrows. All in all, a beautiful and secret place steps from the beach.
Many of my hiking friends can’t understand how walking 40 miles along the shoreline of Monterey would hold their interest. “Isn’t it just sand and water?”
Well, the fun of walking along a marine sanctuary is finding all the hidden surprises. One wonderful place is only steps from a desolate beach, the Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge.
As you walk south from Moss Landing and cross the Salinas River you may have had your fill of gorgeous sand, wild crashing surf, and shorebirds. If so, step inland about 100 yards through a roped entrance into the enchanting world that surrounds the “saline pond.”
Currently, there are avocets tending to their young. My brother took these pictures yesterday. We also sighted numerous black necked stilts, long billed curlews, gadwalls, northern shovelers, caspian terns, cinnamon teal, common loons, and several savannah sparrows. All in all, a beautiful and secret place steps from the beach.
A group of us went hiking in California’s newest State Park yesterday. Fort Ord Dunes State Park is an amazing place, occupying 979 acres, including almost 5 miles of beachfront on the Monterey Bay. This gem of a park is not yet fully developed, so now is the time to take advantage of the solitude and quiet. The vegetation along the coastal area adjoining the high dunes is varied and very unique, providing habitat for rare and endangered species. We were fortunate to spot the Smith’s Blue Butterfly. There are huge dunes, windswept beaches, and pathways and roadways with amazing views. We saw and toured the old ammo storage bunkers along the dunes reminding us that over a million men trained at Fort Ord from 1917 to 1994. Read an interesting article here about this transformation. We finished the hike on the beach collecting amazing beach glass. We were also able to call the Marine Mammal Rescue Center to report a stranded baby sea lion. They sent a volunteer to the remote area and we hope all is well for this stranded mammal.
Exploring California's Newest State Park
A group of us went hiking in California’s newest State Park yesterday. Fort Ord Dunes State Park is an amazing place, occupying 979 acres, including almost 5 miles of beachfront on the Monterey Bay. This gem of a park is not yet fully developed, so now is the time to take advantage of the solitude and quiet. The vegetation along the coastal area adjoining the high dunes is varied and very unique, providing habitat for rare and endangered species. We were fortunate to spot the Smith’s Blue Butterfly.
Ammo Bunkers
There are huge dunes, windswept beaches, and pathways and roadways with amazing views. We saw and toured the old ammo storage bunkers along the dunes reminding us that over a million men trained at Fort Ord from 1917 to 1994. Read an interesting article here about this transformation.
We finished the hike on the beach collecting amazing beach glass. We were also able to call the Marine Mammal Rescue Center to report a stranded baby sea lion. They sent a volunteer to the remote area and we hope all is well for this stranded mammal.
The walkers who complete the Walk the Bay trip, 40 miles in 4 days, from Santa Cruz to Monterey, will walk through numerous California State Beaches in both Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Lifeguards on these beaches are in danger of being seriously cut back due to budget constraints. The enormous work that lifeguards do along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary cannot be understated. From rescues at the beaches to first responder medical assistance, their help is invaluable and essential for beach safety. Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks is working hard to fill the budget shortfall to assure safety at Santa Cruz beaches this summer. I urge everyone to visit their Save the Lifeguards website and help in any way you can.
The walkers who complete the Walk the Bay trip, 40 miles in 4 days, from Santa Cruz to Monterey, will walk through numerous California State Beaches in both Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Lifeguards on these beaches are in danger of being seriously cut back due to budget constraints.
The enormous work that lifeguards do along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary cannot be understated. From rescues at the beaches to first responder medical assistance, their help is invaluable and essential for beach safety.
Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks is working hard to fill the budget shortfall to assure safety at Santa Cruz beaches this summer. I urge everyone to visit their Save the Lifeguards website and help in any way you can.
