Thursday Today started with the same weather pattern - overcast and misty. We determined to drive up the coast to one of our 'Bucket List' destinations - Goat Rock. This beautiful coastline is where the final scene of The Goonies was shot and we wanted to see it. The Goonies is a film that our family grew up with, as it was one of the few videos we had, so it was watched over and over again. So its familiarity added to the magic. Goat Rock is also the home of a seal nursery. We set off and as we passed through Bodega Bay (the town) we stopped off at another famous location - the gas station used in The Birds to depict a terrible fire. Though we knew we were on the very spot where they filmed it was completely unrecognisable, apart from the presence of the sea, which was a backdrop to the scene in the film. However we did see a little group of sea lions waiting for fish scraps from the fish packing station there. We continued up the coast, once past the town the road rises up along the cliff top and wonderful views of the coast can be seen. Highway 1 is quite narrow and windy here and getting a good view as a driver can imperil the passenger as taking your eyes off this road is not a good idea. The whole coast here is a State Park, so there are plenty of stopping places, which we used. The whole coastal area, roadside, fields and hills are covered with many beautiful spring flowers, making the scenery even more spectacular. We approached Goat Rock and dropped down to the car park where that final scene of The Goonies was filmed. It is all still the same as it was in 1985. The view along the beach and out to sea, the stony beach and the car park with its beach signs. I tried to get some pictures which reflect those of the scenes in the film. It was great fun and once again we felt the film come to life (though we did not see One Eyed Willie's Ghost Ship disappear over the horizon.
From the headland of Goat Rock we moved on a few hundred yards to the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a Harbor Seal Nursery, unfortunately the seals live several hundred yards out on the sand spit, which is at the mouth of the Russian River. The sand there is very soft and difficult to walk on. So we sat in the dunes and ate our picnic lunch, while we sat the clouds lifted and the sun came out, there was now a clear blue sky, what a contrast. Instead of going to see them from the sand spit we drove round the Russian River Estuary and parked in an overlook, where we could get a great view of the seals. We took out chairs and sat and watched for about an hour. There are probably up to one hundred seal mothers and pups spread along the sandy estuary. We watched them basking in the sun and swimming round in the little bay. We also saw an Osprey fishing out on the sea. As we could see across the sand spit to the bay we were also keeping an eye out for any whales. We expected them to pass by way out in the bay, so were completely thrilled and surprised to see two whales (we assume mother and pup) rising right at the mouth of the river, perhaps twenty yards from the shore. We did not see them arrive, they were just there! So we then stayed for another hour watching the whales, this pair stayed in the bay. However we say another pair transit the bay about a half mile out to sea, followed by yet another pair a little later. We really had a great time mammal watching this afternoon.
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2013
Goonies, Whales and Seals
Thursday Today started with the same weather pattern - overcast and misty. We determined to drive up the coast to one of our 'Bucket List' destinations - Goat Rock. This beautiful coastline is where the final scene of The Goonies was shot and we wanted to see it. The Goonies is a film that our family grew up with, as it was one of the few videos we had, so it was watched over and over again. So its familiarity added to the magic. Goat Rock is also the home of a seal nursery. We set off and as we passed through Bodega Bay (the town) we stopped off at another famous location - the gas station used in The Birds to depict a terrible fire. Though we knew we were on the very spot where they filmed it was completely unrecognisable, apart from the presence of the sea, which was a backdrop to the scene in the film. However we did see a little group of sea lions waiting for fish scraps from the fish packing station there. We continued up the coast, once past the town the road rises up along the cliff top and wonderful views of the coast can be seen. Highway 1 is quite narrow and windy here and getting a good view as a driver can imperil the passenger as taking your eyes off this road is not a good idea. The whole coast here is a State Park, so there are plenty of stopping places, which we used. The whole coastal area, roadside, fields and hills are covered with many beautiful spring flowers, making the scenery even more spectacular. We approached Goat Rock and dropped down to the car park where that final scene of The Goonies was filmed. It is all still the same as it was in 1985. The view along the beach and out to sea, the stony beach and the car park with its beach signs. I tried to get some pictures which reflect those of the scenes in the film. It was great fun and once again we felt the film come to life (though we did not see One Eyed Willie's Ghost Ship disappear over the horizon. From the headland of Goat Rock we moved on a few hundred yards to the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a Harbor Seal Nursery, unfortunately the seals live several hundred yards out on the sand spit, which is at the mouth of the Russian River. The sand there is very soft and difficult to walk on. So we sat in the dunes and ate our picnic lunch, while we sat the clouds lifted and the sun came out, there was now a clear blue sky, what a contrast. Instead of going to see them from the sand spit we drove round the Russian River Estuary and parked in an overlook, where we could get a great view of the seals. We took out chairs and sat and watched for about an hour. There are probably up to one hundred seal mothers and pups spread along the sandy estuary. We watched them basking in the sun and swimming round in the little bay. We also saw an Osprey fishing out on the sea. As we could see across the sand spit to the bay we were also keeping an eye out for any whales. We expected them to pass by way out in the bay, so were completely thrilled and surprised to see two whales (we assume mother and pup) rising right at the mouth of the river, perhaps twenty yards from the shore. We did not see them arrive, they were just there! So we then stayed for another hour watching the whales, this pair stayed in the bay. However we say another pair transit the bay about a half mile out to sea, followed by yet another pair a little later. We really had a great time mammal watching this afternoon.
April 24th - Bodega Bay
Wednesday We drove the 60 odd miles further west to arrive in Bodega Bay, we are camped on a large sand spit at the mouth of the Bay. It is cloudy and foggy, the temperature is down to about 60, however the Ranger's greeting included 'and the weather is real good here today'. This part of the coast is always shrouded in mist, if not downright foggy. Only a few miles inland it will probably be bright sunshine. It is so green after all the desert we have been in. Misty is one step away from myst'eri'ous, which includes eerie, leaning towards spooky. The houses are all dark brown or green (to reduce impact on the visual environment). All this goes to creating, or self fulfilling, the atmosphere for which this town is most famous. It is the setting for Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. We are here partly to see how much reality there is in the Hollywood creation. Having arrived by lunch time we took a ride out to Bodega Headland in the afternoon, where we could look back across the bay to the town. It is very pretty. In fact this is probably the most Yorkshire looking landscape we have seen this side of the Mississippi.
Bodega Bay
Wednesday We drove the 60 odd miles further west to arrive in Bodega Bay, we are camped on a large sand spit at the mouth of the Bay. It is cloudy and foggy, the temperature is down to about 60, however the Ranger's greeting included 'and the weather is real good here today'. This part of the coast is always shrouded in mist, if not downright foggy. Only a few miles inland it will probably be bright sunshine. It is so green after all the desert we have been in. Misty is one step away from myst'eri'ous, which includes eerie, leaning towards spooky. The houses are all dark brown or green (to reduce impact on the visual environment). All this goes to creating, or self fulfilling, the atmosphere for which this town is most famous. It is the setting for Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. We are here partly to see how much reality there is in the Hollywood creation. Having arrived by lunch time we took a ride out to Bodega Headland in the afternoon, where we could look back across the bay to the town. It is very pretty. In fact this is probably the most Yorkshire looking landscape we have seen this side of the Mississippi.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
April 4th - Buckskin Mountain and Lake Havasu
Thursday We are now heading North along the East side of the Colorado River to visit Lake Havasu. We took AZ Highway 95, which is long and very straight, cutting straight through the Yuma Army Proving Grounds to Quartzsite. (not to be confused with the CA Highway 95, which runs up the West side of the Colorado River, although at one point, in Needles they actually meet on a bridge cross the Colorado). WE now left the Sonoran Desert, seeing that last Saguaro somewhere south of Parker. We stopped just North of Parker at the very pretty AZ Buckskin Mountain state Park, right on the edge of the river. A beautiful park only marred by the enormous number of recreational boats moving up and down the river, jet skis, ski boats, pontoon boats, power boats. Good fun to watch, but a constant noise. We discovered that the river from Parker to Lake Havasu is one enormous water activity centre. Footnote. Interestingly the weather in Yuma was getting noticeably warmer, with the temp creeping above 100F, so the tourist season was winding down for the hot summer. Whereas in Parker, 150 miles North, the temperature was getting noticeably warmer, with the temperature creeping above 100F and yet the summer tourist season was just starting! Go figure. (as they say over here). Lake Havasu and its links to London On Saturday, after our two nights at Buckskin Mountain, which were very pleasant, we were ready to move on. We planned to take a very short drive to Needles, just 70 miles north, but to stop off in Lake Havasu to visit the Famous London Bridge. We found the bridge without any trouble. It was bought by a man named McCulloch in 1968 , dismantled, stone by stone, transported to the middle of the desert and rebuilt by 1971. (Now a theory exists that the guy must have been insane, can’t imagine why). Then they dug a channel beneath the bridge to connect two more bits of desert together. Then they waited until the tide came in (a bit like Noah), in the form of Lake Havasu, which is a reservoir about 50 miles long which has been made by damming the Colorado at the Parker Dam. Now the bridge sits happily spanning a beautiful blue expanse of water. A far cry from its dirty damp days in the middle of London.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Arizona Desert Museum
Friday
Today we drove out from Tucson into the Sonora Desert to visit the Desert Museum.
A museum dedicated to the desert. Fortunately we took lunch with us as the visit took longer than we anticipated.
We followed the guided walk along its paved paths, visiting sections about the desert. It's geology, climate, minerals, animals, plants, birds, insects and, yes, fish!
The highlight was visiting the hummingbird enclosure, where we spent nearly an hour. It was lovely to see hummingbirds with their young, or sitting on their nest, or just bombing around finding nectar in flowers, or from the feeders. A great day that gave us a good insight into the Sonora Desert.
These and all ourblogs are indexed by date in the list on the right hand side of this page
Today we drove out from Tucson into the Sonora Desert to visit the Desert Museum.
A museum dedicated to the desert. Fortunately we took lunch with us as the visit took longer than we anticipated.
We followed the guided walk along its paved paths, visiting sections about the desert. It's geology, climate, minerals, animals, plants, birds, insects and, yes, fish!
The highlight was visiting the hummingbird enclosure, where we spent nearly an hour. It was lovely to see hummingbirds with their young, or sitting on their nest, or just bombing around finding nectar in flowers, or from the feeders. A great day that gave us a good insight into the Sonora Desert.
The visit prompted me to put a couple of more specific blogs up, so just before this blog you can find:
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Gorgeous day in Galveston
Today we hit the jackpot.
The sun rose in a cloudless sky - there is a cool breeze and it has been cloudless all day. High in the upper 70's. Even by Gulf coast standards this is a great day.
We had a leisurely breakfast (Sally's Special Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon), then we said a leisurely goodbye to the Canadian friends we have just made (they are going off to live the winter life boondocking on the sea shore further south). We then took a leisurely wander round one of the nature trails, followed by a leisurely walk to the beach (after parking the van 20 yards from the beach. We returned for a leisurely nap with a cool breeze blowing through the trailer. Then we gathered three weeks of washing and I have come to the local washateria, called Soaps, to do a leisurely (ha!) mega clothes wash. I am writing this blog as the three loads are going through the wash cycle. (another 4 minutes to go).
On our wander round we have seen the return of the Roseatte Spoonbill, Red tailed hawks, blue heron, large white egret and White Tailed Kite.
Tomorrow we move on towards San Antonia to do a remake of The Alamo.
The sun rose in a cloudless sky - there is a cool breeze and it has been cloudless all day. High in the upper 70's. Even by Gulf coast standards this is a great day.
We had a leisurely breakfast (Sally's Special Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon), then we said a leisurely goodbye to the Canadian friends we have just made (they are going off to live the winter life boondocking on the sea shore further south). We then took a leisurely wander round one of the nature trails, followed by a leisurely walk to the beach (after parking the van 20 yards from the beach. We returned for a leisurely nap with a cool breeze blowing through the trailer. Then we gathered three weeks of washing and I have come to the local washateria, called Soaps, to do a leisurely (ha!) mega clothes wash. I am writing this blog as the three loads are going through the wash cycle. (another 4 minutes to go).
On our wander round we have seen the return of the Roseatte Spoonbill, Red tailed hawks, blue heron, large white egret and White Tailed Kite.
Tomorrow we move on towards San Antonia to do a remake of The Alamo.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Leaving Louisiana
Tuesday
In leaving Sam Houston Jones State Park we were leaving Louisiana and the Cajun culture we had come to see this trip. In some ways I felt that I had not seen enough, yet we knew that we had had enough of Louisiana, not that there were any bad experiences, quite the reverse, just that we knew it was time to move on.
We rose early today and were on the road by 10.10. One of the things I have noticed with Sally that I think may be the result of her diet is that she is waking much earlier and has been alert much earlier in the morning, which has been great. We bumped along the rough Louisiana Interstate 10 and crossed the Sabine River to land in Texas. The first thing I noticed is that the roads are much smoother.
We were planning to stop at Galveston State Park, now Galveston is a town built on an island, well really a 20 mile long sand spit which has been cut off from the land. We found it difficult to understand the scale of the waterway it is built on. It is at the mouth of what is called the Bay area, this bay is about 15 miles wide. The Intracoastal Waterway is the strip of water between the sand islands and the mainland. This waterway is up to 10 miles wide and stretches for many tens of miles along the southern coast of Texas. It is part of the offshore sand strip which is a couple of hundred miles long and goes from Louisiana to Mexico.
This was a long trip for us – 180 miles – and we were both weary and stiff by the time we arrived in Galveston, only to find that the State Park was 9 miles the other side of it. Still it is a beautiful park, if you like sand dunes and wetlands. We had the choice of a site right by the sea shore, but out of site because of a fence/hedge, or a waterside site on the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway, so we chose the waterside site. We have a great view right across the waterway. Out of the trailer window we can watch pelicans dive bombing the fish, Macawber like herons, waiting for something to turn up, large Red Tailed Hawks soaring across the wetland, an Osprey perched on a stake sticking out of the water and Killdeer skittering round the wet sand/pools. I have been keeping a good lookout for dolphin, but have not any confirmed sitings. But it is very relaxing just sitting watching.
As we were leaving Sam Houston Jones S.P. we met a couple of Canadians, who were also on their way to Galveston, so we endeavoured to meet up when we arrived. I had to go back to the Rangers office this morning and ran into them. They have moved onto the Intracoastal campsite and invited us to eat with them, we have just come back from a lovely time spent with them.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
When The Wildlife Gets Friendly
Following our somewhat hectic 'Cajun Tour' we have slowed down a bit, taking more time to relax. Yesterday we went in search of a Cold Stone Ice Cream, but the shop was shut due to 'technical problems', so we settle for a Starbucks coffee and cup of Earl Grey Tea.
We are still seeing all sorts of wild life in the park. Last night we saw raccoons up close as they tried to empty our trash bin. I couldn't get a decent photo though, so we await a further visitation tonight. The park is just about empty now, although I am sure that more campers will arrive tonight and tomorrow for the weekend. I managed to take this picture of a pot bellied woodpecker
Sally went for a wander and took some good pics of a heron
and some turtles sunning themselves
Sally also took a good picture of the raccoon
.
As we are in relax mode we have had a campfire, while we sat round the fire, just watching the flames, who should come along but our friendly raccoon.
This time I managed to get some nice pics and some video.
It wandered up to us and sat around the campfire with us, then climbed a tree nearby and cleaned itself. Then came back down the tree and wandered off. Incidentally, in case you, like me, are wondering, a raccoon climbs down a tree forwards and makes it look easy.
We are still seeing all sorts of wild life in the park. Last night we saw raccoons up close as they tried to empty our trash bin. I couldn't get a decent photo though, so we await a further visitation tonight. The park is just about empty now, although I am sure that more campers will arrive tonight and tomorrow for the weekend. I managed to take this picture of a pot bellied woodpecker
Sally went for a wander and took some good pics of a heron
and some turtles sunning themselves
Sally also took a good picture of the raccoon
.
As we are in relax mode we have had a campfire, while we sat round the fire, just watching the flames, who should come along but our friendly raccoon.
This time I managed to get some nice pics and some video.
It wandered up to us and sat around the campfire with us, then climbed a tree nearby and cleaned itself. Then came back down the tree and wandered off. Incidentally, in case you, like me, are wondering, a raccoon climbs down a tree forwards and makes it look easy.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Lake Charles
Monday we left behind a nice State Park and a new friend. This week we have spent a bit of time with Camilla. We have done a bit of exploring together, shared some lovely meals, sat round a campfire together and even had a bit of a jam (she plays a pretty good violin). This left us a bit sad.
Now travelling West we made good time and found ourselves a nice spot at Sam Houston Jones State Park, right on the Western Border of Louisiana in time for lunch. We are now poised to travel into Texas. But first we want to explore a little bit around here.
The campground is split into two areas, we are in the smaller of the two. The sites are small and often very close together, however it is a pleasant enough campground, while it is empty. The facilities are good, with the newer style en suite arangement found at Chicot North Campsite. Four private rooms, each with a shower, toilet, basin and mirror.
Anyway we are now safely encamped in a nice little spot by a (now dry) swamp.
We have already had deer, squirrel and a pileated woodpecker come within 10 yards of the trailer. Sally has taken a number of really good pictures of some of them.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Deep in the woods
Thursday - With Sally slowly improving, but not well enough to go out, we have been looking in more detail at the wild life around us.
So far it seems that there are a lot of amardillos, like this one.
I saw a small group of Cotton Tail deer from the car.
We had a visit from a couple of raccoons last night, they were busy investigating some petrol cans I had left out at the front of the trailer, we could hear them moving around in the dark.
Yesterday while we were having coffee our on our patio we were fortunate enough to see a Pileated Woodpecker close up. This is the largest woodpecker, apart from the very rare Ivory Billed Woodpecker, which is now only found in one part of Sout East Florida. It is also the one which modeled for the famous (amongst oldies) Woody Woodpecker. It has a very loud drum which really does sound like a pneumatic drill. It is between 12" and 15" long.
So far it seems that there are a lot of amardillos, like this one.
I saw a small group of Cotton Tail deer from the car.
We had a visit from a couple of raccoons last night, they were busy investigating some petrol cans I had left out at the front of the trailer, we could hear them moving around in the dark.
Yesterday while we were having coffee our on our patio we were fortunate enough to see a Pileated Woodpecker close up. This is the largest woodpecker, apart from the very rare Ivory Billed Woodpecker, which is now only found in one part of Sout East Florida. It is also the one which modeled for the famous (amongst oldies) Woody Woodpecker. It has a very loud drum which really does sound like a pneumatic drill. It is between 12" and 15" long.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Chill Down
Wednesday, we are now well settled at Chicot State Park in Louisiana and it is very pleasant, it is 6500 acres of forest surrounding a huge lake.
The lake level is low at the moment, so lots of old cypress tree stumps are exposed. I took a walk down there this morning, dozens of large herons of all sorts, I heard an alligator belch somewhere, lots of mosquitos (but the good old 'Go Juice' took care of them).
I have a photo here of a large white heron, with an enormous, but dead, Cypress tree in the background, if you look very carefully there is a very large turtle sunning itself on a little saandbank. I have put in a close up of them.
It is very beautiful and very quiet and peaceful. One downside at the moment is that Sally is not feeling too well, so it is a good job we are taking a fairly long rest here.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Update from Connie's
Well it's Thursday already.
We have been here for five nights. So far we have cleaned out the Trailer, unpacked everthing from the vacuum packs and tidied everything away. Now we are ready to move from Connie's lovely house into our little home on wheels. Much of the time we have spent just relaxing and catching up with the time difference, today was the first time I didn't wake up at 2.00 in the morning and have dificulty getting back to sleep bceause my mind was telling my body that it was 7.00 in the morning. It has been difficult to stay awake after 9.00 in the evening. We have found some time to have some practice sessions with Connie and her sister Brenda, boy are we rusty!!! Connie and Jim only arrived from Rochester, New York two days before us, so they are tired and also sorting our the house here.
Yesterday the news was all about a tropical storm,- Nicole, moving up from the south, fortunately it passed about 50 miles east of us, so we only got one shower, however further up the coast (North Carolina) they have had more than 20 inches in the last three days!
We love seeing the wild life here. Out of the window we can watch the Jays, the Bluebirds (yes they really do exist away from the Land of Oz), the woodpeckers, the tiny Carolina Wrens, Mocking Birds, and the Grackles. There was a big hawk sat on the TV mast above the house. I managed to get really close to a Sap Sucker, it's a small woodpecker, without the pretty colouring.
When I went out on to the patio last night I found a couple of small Praying Mantises. There are also two large, hairy spiders which inhabit one of the window frames in Connie's dining room (outside, not inside fortunately) which are fun to watch.
So todays plan is to move the rest of our gear back to the trailer, then take a shopping trip to Publix to stock up the trailer, before having supper with Connie and Jim and hopefully another music practice.
We have been here for five nights. So far we have cleaned out the Trailer, unpacked everthing from the vacuum packs and tidied everything away. Now we are ready to move from Connie's lovely house into our little home on wheels. Much of the time we have spent just relaxing and catching up with the time difference, today was the first time I didn't wake up at 2.00 in the morning and have dificulty getting back to sleep bceause my mind was telling my body that it was 7.00 in the morning. It has been difficult to stay awake after 9.00 in the evening. We have found some time to have some practice sessions with Connie and her sister Brenda, boy are we rusty!!! Connie and Jim only arrived from Rochester, New York two days before us, so they are tired and also sorting our the house here.
Yesterday the news was all about a tropical storm,- Nicole, moving up from the south, fortunately it passed about 50 miles east of us, so we only got one shower, however further up the coast (North Carolina) they have had more than 20 inches in the last three days!
We love seeing the wild life here. Out of the window we can watch the Jays, the Bluebirds (yes they really do exist away from the Land of Oz), the woodpeckers, the tiny Carolina Wrens, Mocking Birds, and the Grackles. There was a big hawk sat on the TV mast above the house. I managed to get really close to a Sap Sucker, it's a small woodpecker, without the pretty colouring.
When I went out on to the patio last night I found a couple of small Praying Mantises. There are also two large, hairy spiders which inhabit one of the window frames in Connie's dining room (outside, not inside fortunately) which are fun to watch.So todays plan is to move the rest of our gear back to the trailer, then take a shopping trip to Publix to stock up the trailer, before having supper with Connie and Jim and hopefully another music practice.
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