Elephants of the Sea

From last week's find of petroglyphs near the Piedra Blanca rock formations in Los Padres National Forest (See Pictographs Found), we head to the rocky Pacific Ocean shore of Piedras Blancas Rookery.  

Friends of the Elephant Seal explains the area best: the "Northern Elephant Seal, Mirounga angustirostris, is an extraordinary marine mammal. It spends eight to ten months a year in the open ocean, diving 1000 to 5000 feet deep for periods of fifteen minutes to two hours, and migrating thousands of miles, twice a year, to its land based rookery for birthing, breeding, molting and rest. The Piedras Blancas rookery, on Highway 1 seven miles north of San Simeon on the California Central Coast, is home to about 17,000 animals."  This number is difficult to fathom.  Yet in visiting the breeding ground, we were able to take in the sea of seals, masses of birds, and even an otter!

XplorMor Big Sur - Elephant Seal Rookery Expedition

Unfortunately due to the crowd of onlookers pushing to get a shot with their cameras, smartphones, camcorders, it was difficult not only to glimpse the main Elephant Seal beach but to even get into the main parking lot!  Fortunately, a few hundred feet up the road there is another smaller parking area.  We easily found a space here, but don't count on it as this lot filled up quickly too.  Get to the Rookery early to beat the crowds.  It is definitely worth a stop as you may even witness a pup being born (peak time: mid to late January).

Continue reading about Elephants of the Sea....

XplorMor Big Sur - Elephant Seal Rookery Expedition

Friends of the Elephant Seal is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about elephant seals and other marine life and to teaching stewardship for the ocean off the central coast of California.  If there is something you would like to know about elephant seals, or about other marine mammals that inhabit this area, these are the people to contact!  Membership is also offered to help support this wonderful cause: JOIN.

Pictographs Found

Success!  Team XplorMor has hiked the Piedra Blanca Trail in Los Padres National Forest, located near the Ojai Valley in Southern California, numerous times to study its unusual rock formations, and to seek out the well hidden petroglyphs.  On this last expedition we located them, and discovered three important points: first, there's more than one location, second, it's good they are hidden as one of the locations has serious vandalism, and third, they are not petroglyphs but pictographs.  I'll explain the difference...

XplorMor Piedra Blanca Expedition

There are four major types of rock art: petroglyphs, cupules, geoglyphs, also known as intaglios, and pictographs.  Petroglyphs are rock engravings produced by carving or striking the rock surface using various techniques (See photo: Darien Gap).  Cupules are small cup-shaped indentations made in rock that may appear in a pattern or at random.  They are a type of petroglyph in that stone is ground or carved out to create them.  Geoglyphs are giant drawings made on the ground presumably depicting geometric designs, human forms and animals.

Pictographs are a fragile cousin to petroglyphs.  They are designs drawn on rock surfaces with paints made from natural mineral pigments applied with fibrous brushes or with hands and fingers.  These pigments were mixed with binders such as oil, blood or urine.  Hematite (iron oxide), the most common color in Southern California, was used for creating red paints, and presumably those of Piedra Blanca.  Pictographs were typically drawn in caves, overhangs and alcoves where they would be better protected from harsh weather elements.

Continue reading Pictographs Found...

XplorMor Piedra Blanca Expedition

The Sun Sets on the 2nd Annual Project Solar Day

MANY, MANY THANKS TO ALL PARTICIPANTS!  And, a special thanks to all of you who braved the cold weather in order to share a photo!

The 2nd Annual Project Solar Day took place on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2013. Hundreds of people from more than 40 countries joined the event.  Photos were posted from 20+ of those countries, and 15 states in the USA.  Many more participated through "likes" and comments.  Click on the following links to view slideshows of the photographs submitted to the 2nd Project Solar Day: Sunrises, Sunsets, Panoramas, Vertical Images and Everything in Between!

                        

   

                        

View slideshows for information on the photos posted here, and to see photographs from other locations including the United States of America, Nepal, Brazil, Myanmar (Burma), Libya, and more!

The event ended but comments, interactions and posted photos may continue to be viewed in the Project Solar Day Event on Facebook.

Next XplorMor Project to take place on the Spring Equinox.  Stay tuned for details.  In the meantime... Get Out there. Photograph. Share.

2nd Annual Project Solar Day 12/21/13

Join the Event on Facebook. Everyone is welcome!

Project Solar Day aims for participants to post photos of the sun traveling around the planet on a single day as seen through each person’s perspective, and to promote getting out there and sharing the experience through photography.

Inspiration from 1st XplorMor Project Solar Day 12/21/12

The reason for participating is to have fun.  It’s about coming together as a community and sharing our vision, creativity and a moment of our day.  The photos may also allow us to see other parts of the world.   And, if the weather is bad and the sun doesn't come out, add some innovation.

Read more about Project Solar Day 2013.  For frequently asked questions, rules and other notes visit FAQs.