Big Sur in Winter

It's raining today, but yesterday was clear and beautiful, so Brooke and I did a Big Sur day...brekky at the River Inn then a short but interesting hike at Andrew Molera State Park. There is a walkin campground there with a lot of open space where deer like to hang out. I've also seen a bobcat here, but he was keeping a low profile today.

The trail on the north side of the Big Sur River winds up on a headland above the mouth of the river. This is a fine spot where you can look far out to sea, or inland to the Santa Lucia mountains with redwoods tucked in the canyons between the peaks. Birds are abundant, and you can do some people watching; surfers and kayakers catch waves here. There was a kayaker yesterday but he never caught any waves that we could see; he kept capsizing.

In addition to deer, bobcats, birds, and adventurous humans, there is a grove of eucalyptus trees along the trail that is home to a large posse of monarch butterflies. Yesterday was fairly warm, so they were flying around in the trees, adding splashes of color to the scene.

This monarch is probably more prominent if you blow the picture up.

The campground has huge sycamore trees with gnarly trunks and massive leaves. In the local fashion, the trees are confused by the lack of seasons and are still flashing rather nice fall color.

Here's a shot of the Big Sur river in winter, winding quietly thru the countryside on its way to the sea. The river has some nice holes in it which are great for a refreshing dip on a hot day in summer or early fall, but at this time of year other words would be used to describe the swim, all of them emphasizing obnoxious cold! We didn't go in.