Cambria - Part 4

Another day, some more photos.  It's tough not to in such a gorgeous place.  The fog cleared out a bit early so Julie and I headed into the Fiscallini Ranch Preserve.  It is a big permanent open space in the heart of Cambria.  For residential development, it would be worth a fortune.  It is a mix of rocky beaches, ocean bluffs, grasslands, and heavy pine forest.

A lot of the pines had a dainty moss growing on the branches.  It was beautiful when back lit by the sun.

There was a group of seals (not the huge elephant seals from earlier in the week) hanging out on some rocks.  Bad news though.  The tide was coming in quickly and they were just about to get washed away.  So much for nap time.

Just above the bluffs, a yellow wildflower was blooming everywhere.  Each flower wasn't that pretty but when you carpeted a hillside with them, it made a statement.

I thought I had seen every kind of trailside bench, from basic logs to something that looks like it should be in a French palace's garden.  This?  Not quite sure what they were thinking when they built this.

We went back to Morro Bay for dinner.  We left early so Julie could hit a pair of stores she liked and I could try to photograph the sea otters and birds before dinner, and hopefully a gorgeous sunset afterwards.  Are you kidding me?  How in the world do you go from brilliant sunshine to pea soup in fifteen miles down the coast?

I found a pair of sea otters dining, but they were far away and the light was still flat from the fog.

I did have a little better luck with the birds when the occasional smidgen of sunlight would pop through.

The egrets and herons have taken over a row of trees in the Morro Bay harbor area as their nesting grounds.  Walking or parking under those trees will almost certainly have bad results.

There is a lot of activity around the nests.  If I had a full sunny day, I think I could grab some spectacular shots.

The hardest to see, but the cutest, are all the babies hanging out in the depths of the trees.  They are getting quite large and must be about ready to leave.

I liked this photo because you can see through the egret's wings.  There are two of them fighting about 60 feet up in a tree.

This poor little egret (same one as above) was getting crowded out by a pushy heron.  He seems none too happy about the whole thing but the heron just wanted a buddy to hang out with.

Sunset in Morro Bay was clearly going to be a bust so after a wonderful seafood dinner, we drove back "home" to Cambria.  We were just in time to walk across the street and grab a few sunset shots.

Another splendid day!

This morning the fog is thicker than any day so far and it shows no signs of relenting.  Bummer.  Time to go for a run.