Wet Winter on the Central Coast

The drought that has plagued most of California for three or four years has ended in many places, including the Monterey area.  So far this year...as of February 11...I have had over ten inches of rain...and I'm in a rainshadow!  Many places in California from Monterey county north have had two to four times as much.  All the moisture has brought renewed life to the land.  Fields are waterlogged; new, lush growth is everywhere.  An example is Toro Creek.  This is about five miles west of Sallinas, 10 east of Monterey.  I have walked here at least twenty times over the past few years, probably more.  This is the first time I have ever seen water in the creek at this point!  And it was flowing strongly on February 10.

The trail I usually take goes through the dry creekbed here.  But on this day, wading is mandatory!  I talked to a jogger who ran through the creek with her dog; she said there was water here last month, when we had really heavy rains.  

Look closely and you can see buds on this plant, above the roiling waters of Toro Creek.

Another shot of Toro Creek, with a green hillside topped by a lonely oak tree.

I went over the hill to Garland Ranch, and found the Carmel River blasting along.  Though the trees are inundated, the river here is actually at least three feet below flood stage, which is reckoned by when the river starts flooding neighborhoods.  That happened earlier this winter.

Moss and lichen share branches.

The normally sunny Carmel Valley was misty and murky on this afternoon.

February is spring on the Central California coast.  New sprouts thrive on the pines in the rain.

A tranquil stream flows where almost always it is dry.

Upstream from the last pic is the waterfall in Garland Park.  I have been coming here for 22 years and cannot remember seeing the falls rolling any stronger than this!  Of course, to see the falls at their peak you have to hike up here in the rain, which I did.  The water from the falls form the creek in the previous picture.  For perspective, the falls are about 50 feet high.  95 percent of the time they are dry...at least in recent years.

Bill Hearst's Crib

Morning in Morro Bay.  The sun shone on the rock while a squall approached from the sea...great light!

Dick, Wilma and I toured Hearst Castle two weekends ago.  The pool was closed for repairs...if I recall, our guide said five thousand gallons of water were seeping out through the bottom each day.

Classic view of Hearst Castle.

This is the front door!

The dining hall.  Two drink maximum...Hearst didn't like drunk and disorderly people.  Guests could not drink in their rooms...strictly kapu.  You had to dine and drink formally, in this room.

These flags were imported from Siena, Italy; they were palio standards!  Many of the entire ceilings in the house are several centuries old and were imported from Europe.

The billiards room.  The tapestry in the background is about 500 years old and featured renaissance era sports in Europe...mainly hunting.

Frontal view of the castle.

Hearst Castle is 1500 feet above sea level, set far back from the sea.  The views are astounding.

There were four guest houses in addition to the main building.  Not a bad place to stay!  

In addition to the large outdoor pool, there is an indoor pool, modeled after a Roman bath.  The floor of the pool features tile like this, with inlaid flecks of gold. 

Just a few miles up the road from Hearst Castle, the elephant sloats are thriving!  I saw more pups than ever...just about every female appears to have one.