Sanctuary of the Monarch Butterfly

NOW is the time to visit Monarch Grove Sanctuary.  According to the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History in Pacific Grove, California (also known as "Butterfly Town, USA"), the butterfly population is currently estimated at 14,000.  The Monarchs cluster by the hundreds into beautiful orange cascades in the pine and eucalyptus trees of the Sanctuary.  We were recently at the preserve and saw the clustered butterflies awaken and flutter about as the sun warmed the area.  A remarkable sight.

The Monarch overwintering season is from November through February.  "Overwintering" means to pass through or wait out the winter season.  The Monarchs venture to the mild climate of the Central California Coast to avoid colder weather.  They may travel up to 2000 miles in order to make this journey. A docent at the Sanctuary, explained this phenomena is unique as several generations of Monarchs have lived and died since the departure of last year's gathering, and so this generation appears without ever having been to the Sanctuary.

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XplorMor: Monarch Grove Sanctuary

California's Meeting of Land & Sea

This may be where the phrase  "California Beautiful" was coined, or at least it should be...

Drive along California's Highway 1 for any distance past the sleepy beach town of Moro Rock and you quickly realize why the California Central Coast pulls thousands of visitors from around the world.  On one side, the road winds along rugged coast with gorgeous expansive scenic views, and on the other, it bends past rolling fields and jagged mountains.  Every car turnout has a worthwhile vista; there's high cliffs covered with colorful ice-plant, whales, seals, dolphins and otters in the ocean waters, and birds gliding in cool breezes of fresh salty air.  The climate is mild, excellent for trails to be accessed year round.  And, there are numerous hiking trails up into the hills and down to the sea coves and beaches.

XplorMor Big Sur Expedition

Places of interest along the coast are numerous, and may be accessed from easy walks to lengthy climbing trails.  In fact visitors spend anywhere from four days to two weeks, and still find they haven't had enough time to see it all.  There is Lover's Point, a large rock formation protruding into Monterey Bay, only a short distance from parking.  Or for the more adventurous, the Pine Ridge Trail in Los Padres National Forest leads into the Ventana Wilderness and Santa Lucia Mountains with access to rivers, waterfalls and thermal springs. There are stands of rare, endemic Santa Lucia Firs visible at higher elevations.

Point Lobos is also a popular destination offering hiking trails along its shoreline that lead to hidden coves.  (Note: Get there early as parking is limited and this California State Natural Reserve is well known.  Also, make sure to adhere to parking signs as I watched a ranger leave tickets on unsuspecting windshields.  Really this applies to the entire coast.)  There is also Andrew Molera State Park with hikes winding along the Big Sur River, and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park with groves of Colonial Redwood Trees.  Nearby is Pfeiffer Beach with a wonderful stone arch in the sea, excellent for photographs, especially at sunset.

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XplorMor Big Sur Expedition

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).

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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.

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XplorMor Piedra Blanca Expedition