El Nino Surf!

The El Nino is finally starting to take effect.  In November and December, we had a series of weak to moderate cold storms that approached  Northern and Central California from the northwest, giving us welcome rains.  But the moisture was still a bit sparse in most areas south of Mendocino county.  However, this week a couple of stronger, wetter systems have roared in from the west, soaking the entire state with several inches of moisture.  These systems fit the El Nino pattern and are the types of storms that, if they continue, will finally make a dent in the drought.  And of course, cause mudslides and snarl traffic.  My first full day back in Monterey...Jan 7...we had an impressive high surf event.  Here a big breaker is poised to crash down on Del Monte Beach.

Boom!  The public walkway in front of the Best Western is a good spot to take surf pics...I and several other folks were doing that yesterday.

Now I'm at Carmel River Beach, a perennially good spot from which to view big surf.  And yesterday it was BIG!  Buoy 42 out in Monterey Bay was recording 20 foot swells at about the time of this wave, and it was indeed close to 20 feet from trough to crest.

Another massive wave crashes down.

The power of the waves is awesome!

A pile of incredibly turbulent water.

There were apparently several high surf events while I was out of town.  This section of Carmel River Beach has had the sand entirely stripped off, and the waves then started carving away the cliff just mauka from the sand.  Haven't seen this kind of beach erosion since 2008.

Masses of foam sparkle in the low winter sun.

This scene is at Carmel Point.  The surf break here is especially huge and powerful.  Often, expert surfies come here to test themselves on the waves, but none were present on this occasion.

Waves maybe coming too much over the top for surfabillity.

In the midst of the masses of churning water, two birds cruise just above.  Blow up the pic; they're right in the center.

Water splashes at least 30 feet into the air when a massive wave crashes down.

Tor House, the poet Robinson Jeffers' Carmel home in the mid 20th century.  Nice view of the surf, which was at my back as I took the pic...except that the windows aren't very large.

A pelican basks in the sun.

A slightly more tranquil view of the Carmel surf, with The Cypress Tree to the left.  The tree is an institution hereabouts; but it grows right out of a sand slope that is in danger of erosion during high surf events.

Rainy Desert Sojourn

I've been on the road the past two days, covering about 580 miles between Sun City and Tehachapi.  Desert all the way...wet most of the way!  A series of storms is bringing welcome rain to the Southwest.  Somewhat unusual picture ops ensue...a traveler encounters rain and gray skies only occasionally in the desert.  But, the arid lands of the Southwestern US do get 3 to 12 inches of precipitation annually...so it does rain once in a while.  This is a view of the Colorado River near Blythe CA.  It could as well be almost anywhere in the US, possibly the Great Plains?  But here the river flows through an area dampened by no more than four inches of rain per year, while at least half the days see the mercury reach 90 degrees or higher...much higher.

Jagged mountains rise through the mist in Imperial County CA.  Looks a bit like Mordor.

A blooming brittlebrush soaks up the drizzle and lends a little lushness to the barren scene.

The Algodones Dunes on a gray day.

This sandstone hillside in Anza-Borrego Desert SP has been eroded into a myriad of small caves by wind, water, sand, and freezing and thawing.

Fishhook barrel thriving in the rocks.

Near the edge of a cliff at Yaqui Pass in Anza-Borrego.

The vast Colorado desert from Yaqui Pass.

An alluvial floodplain in the fading light of a winter sunset.  It doesn't rain often here, but when it does the effects can be dramatic.

And, an oasis!  The fine grounds of the Casa del Zorro in Borrego Springs.  Very comfy spot to chill after a day of exploration.  Great food too.

The Casa has tile mosaics scattered among the buildings.  Zorro means fox in Spanish...and indeed Don Diego styled himself "Zorro the Fox" in the old TV series.

Yesterday (Jan 4) rain fell during most of my drive through western Arizona and far eastern California.  Today a second storm moved across Southern Cali.  In the morning there were only a few sprinkles at Borrego, but the mountains to the west wore an ominous shroud of clouds.  Borrego got a couple tenths of an inch later in the day.  On the other side of the mountains, San Diego was drenched by two inches...almost an inch fell in one hour alone!  The earth is happily soaking up the moisture.  With more storms on the way, the spring wildflower season promises to be a good one.

East of Borrego Springs, the Borrego badlands feature a maze of sharply eroded canyons and gullies.

Palm Springs was also drenched today, with nearly an inch of rain.  As the storm moved in, nearby windmills combined with the gray skies to present an industrial look.

The sun did make a couple cameos today...just enough to muster forth a rainbow near Lucerne Valley.

Nearing Tehachapi in Kern county, the clouds again massed at the mountains.

The windmills in the Tehachapis were partly shrouded in the mist.  As I write this, I'm in the town of Tehachapi, between Barstow and Bakersfield at 4000 feet elevation.  It's pouring at 8 PM...a mixture of rain and wet snow.  The next storm is tailgating the present one and will arrive at midday tomorrow.  Though it may be inconvenient for travelers, the rain is good...the land loves it!

Southwestern Winter Scenes

A few shots from my current trip.  Around Christmas, the sun angle remains low all day, even in California and Arizona.  Light and shadow mingle softly.  This scene is near New Cuyama, between Santa Maria and Bakersfield.

This is old US highway 99 just south of Bakersfield.  This road was displaced by the current freeway around 1960.  Before that, it was traveled by everyone from the Okies of Grapes of Wrath fame to, probably, James Dean and Jack Kerouac.  It's quiet now.

Tehachapi had received a dusting of snow a day or so before I passed through.

Windmills near Tehachapi.

Rocks in Joshua Tree NP.  Especially mellow in the early morning and late afternoon.

The San Pedro River valley near Tombstone AZ.  The lighter colored trees, cottonwoods, mark the river.