Monterey Harbor to Sand City, California

 Waxing Crescent Moon

Today's walk from the harbor in Monterey around Del Monte Beach to Sand City and back was more like a little vacation than a workout. Most of the way was firm, level foreshore until I was almost back to Sand City, where I hiked yesterday. By then the tide was rising so my path was in dry, soft backshore sand - a little slower going. All of this walk was absolutely gorgeous, though, with lots of happy, smiling, recreating people. Pelicans, too!

Most of the beach was very clean and almost all the canines were leashed - a big plus when lots of kids are taking boogie board lessons and multiple sandpit-digging families with plastic accoutrements are goofing off along the way. The canine people tend to do a better poop-bagging job when Fido is kept close by. I think most of us can agree that it's good not to step in any icky stuff while recreating. I got a kick out of watching the kids play as I passed by and just about all the parents were friendly. It took about an hour to reach the now familiar Sand City beach and turn around to see it all again.

I have walked the segment of the bay from Point Pinos near Pacific Grove to Monterey Harbor a few dozen times at least, so I won't repeat that part this summer. Instead, I will pick up next time where I left off at Seacliff Beach near Aptos and head toward Santa Cruz. Who knows, maybe I will encounter Cyborg Woman again. I'm not sure if all that section is public beach, but I will walk as much of it as I legally and safely can. So far, I am really enjoying this little project.

My intention is to walk the coastline between Pacific Grove at the southern
end of the crescent-shaped bay to Santa Cruz at the northern end.
All that remains is Aptos to Santa Cruz. Easy-peasy.

Peace, Love, and the Splash Zone,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022

Sand City to Fort Ord Dunes State Beach, California

 Waxing Crescent Moon

High tide + deep sand + high humidity + heavy pack = hot, sweaty hiker. Today was warmer than usual and really muggy for our area, but I had promised myself that August 1 was my deadline for beginning to practice carrying a pack with some extra weight in it. I didn't mind very much during the hike, but I definitely feel a little fatigue sinking in now as the Sun begins to set. Other than that, it was another great day on Monterey Bay. I had never walked down to the beach access in Sand City before today, even though I had cruised by it countless times when bicycling on the Monterey Bay Recreation Trail. It's pretty cool!

I knew the tide would peak toward the end of my walk so it was no surprise that there was a whole lot of trudging going on. But trudging builds character, they say, so trudge I did for two and a half hours. There were gulls and cormorants and the occasional curlew, but only one solitary pelican. People were few and the ones I saw were quiet and shy. This seemed like a beach locals go to when they want a little solitude, at least on this particular Monday. Okay by me, I'm flexible.

There was quite a bit of beach glass here, almost all sort of a smoky white color, not the sort of colorful beach glass I am tempted to collect. The most unusual things were the scattered, bleached vertebrae and skull of what I was guessing to be a sea otter. It could have been a small seal, I suppose, but whatever it was, the bones had been separated and tossed here and there over a distance of a hundred meters or so. A few decomposing jellies were randomly beached along this stretch, too.

The beautiful dunes and some complex clouds took my mind off all the dead stuff after a while until it was time to turn around and head back to Sand City. Out and back hikes are not my favorites usually, but I am enjoying this summer's beach explorations two times over! I just wish that some of those clouds would produce some much-needed rain.

Peace, Love, and Bring Us Some Rain Clouds Please,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022

 As of today, year-to-date hiking total = 1,140 miles

Fort Ord Dunes State Beach to Marina State Beach, California

 Waxing Crescent Moon

Continuing with my mini-goal of walking the shoreline of Monterey Bay, yesterday I added the piece of sand between Fort Ord State Beach (9th Street access in Marina) to Marina State Beach (Reservation Road access). Most of this beach was part of the military training facility at Fort Ord for many years. There are still a few relics of old facilities, but most of them have been removed. 

Possibly a former landing ramp or small wharf-like structure?

The dunes and sandstone cliffs are impressive and the coastline is prime real estate, absolutely beautiful and mostly quite clean. Low tide would be the preferred walking time, but I managed the out and back six mile hike pretty well in deeper sand. There were far fewer birds on hand this time and there was no visible sea mammal activity. One turkey vulture was picking clean an otter carcass. It didn't even bother to fly off as I passed by - perhaps it could sense my lack of appetite.

I did not see a single fisherman or fisherwoman on this walk, which is unusual compared to all my other beach hikes this summer. Normally when the tide is rising, there are people out there casting into the surf. They probably know something I don't know. Or maybe they had the good sense to stay home because it was so goldurn chilly. Come to think of it, I only saw a half dozen other humans the whole time. Whatever, I had a good time and I warmed up pretty fast after I got moving.

I have two more sections of beach to do and then I'll be finished with walking from Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey to Seacliff Beach in Aptos. After that, there will be more populated areas with patchy access I think, but who knows maybe the Universe will surprise me. I mean, anything can happen in Santa Cruz, right?

Peace, Love, and Seacoast,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022

Marina State Beach - Salinas River Wildlife Refuge

 Waning Crescent Moon

Yesterday's beach hike was a mirror image of Saturday's southbound out and back. I walked northbound from Marina in deep sand  to the Wildlife Refuge, greeted the massive pelican colony again, and returned to Marina. The chilly marine layer once again gave way to sunshine as the tide receded, making the return hike on the firm sand a little more forgiving on the old knee bones. Guess what - it was a beautiful day at the beach.

There were several dead, decaying jellies on the way. I didn't count, but there at least ten I am sure. Old age? Sharks? Some other predators? I don't know, but there was plenty of jelly demise going on this month.

As I neared the mouth of the Salinas River (right now it is blocked by sand bars), the number and variety of birds increased. I walked past lots of little skittering snowy plovers, too many seagulls to count, a smattering of curlews, and once again a festive pelican-alooza. Crowds of the big birds relaxed in the surf, flew in tight formation, and dive-bombed after food into the waves. I could watch these critters all day long.

I am  pleased to report that the beaches I have visited so far this summer have been quite clean - props to Save Our Shores, a non-profit organization that sponsors cleanups and promotes safe, clean water up and down the coast. I think I will keep doing these beach walks this year until I have covered all of the public access portions of Monterey Bay. I absolutely love it.

Peace, Love, and Pelicans,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022

Cryptids, Shatner, and the UnXplained - Kid Stuff!

 Waning Crescent Moon

Thanks to good ole Netflix, I have recently been exposed to William Shatner's hilarious attempts to be cleverly scary. As a TV program, the show does not rank anywhere near Hitchcock or Serling or even The X Files, but Shatner's over-the-top renderings of oddball occurrences on, in, and around Earth are really funny. He really gives it all he's got, for whatever that is worth and regardless of whether he should.

Last night I watched a segment about cryptids (animals that have been claimed but never proven to exist), specifically the Mongolian Death Worm, a Thylacine (the Tasmanian Tiger), the Goatman, and the Mothman. I have to give props to the Mongolian Death Worm because it has such a cool name, but really, it only lives in the Gobi Desert, so who cares. All the others are pretty run-of-the-mill, although the Mothman does have his own statue in some little town in Pennsylvania or somewhere like that, which is impressive on a certain level. Plus he can fly over one hundred miles per hour. Wow!

Mongolian Death Worm

Tasmanian Tiger

The Goatman

The Mothman

All this goes to say that The UnXplained pales in comparison to the real deal and by that I mean, of course, Tremors, the series of movies starring the late, great Ed Ward. Kevin Bacon, Reba McIntyre, and Michael Gross had bit parts, too, but it was Ed Ward who provided the gravitas, the glue, and the beer that held these four cryptology classics together. Well, Ed and the Graboids, possibly the best cryptids ever. Like the original movie, Graboids had spin-offs, cryptids like the Ass-Blasters that starred in some of the sequels. But the Graboids were superior. They were Mongolian Death Worms on steroids. Nothing, not one thing, in the UnXplained segment that I watched even came close to the greatness of Tremors. I yawned and smirked all the way through, except when Shatner spoke, then I LOLed like crazy. 

The late, great Ed Ward and his sidekick.

Ed Ward in action.

This guy is so screwed.

Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide.

If you have nothing else to do, watch The UnXplained just to laugh at Bill. But trust me, Tremors is the discerning cryptologists' choice. 

Peace, Love, and Xplain That,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022

Salinas River State Beach & Wildlife Refuge, California - Pelicans Galore

 Waning Crescent Moon

Yesterday was another socked in morning at the beach, but who cares about that. The pelicans were having a convention and there were too many to count. I love these animals, so I was in beach walk heaven.

I'm not sure whether it was the weather or season or time of day or an abundant fish hatch or what, but I was lucky to be there to see them assembled near the mouth of the Salinas River and filling the sky just offshore. 

There were seagulls there too, of course, there are always seagulls, and the curlews were doing there thing, but the pelicans stole the show this Saturday morning. All the rest of us were just spectators.

On a normal day, this old barge might have garnered most of my attention as I approached from a distance. I am sure it has some interesting tales to tell, but yesterday I didn't pay it that must attention. Yesterday was all about the pelicans.

Peace, Love, and Thanks for the Show,

Jim

#2,022 in 2022