California - Fall 2003 Coast to Mountains
is seaweed (an alga, in the Kingdom Protista), not a flower (or even a plant for that matter), but it was so interesting I decided to include it on the site. It took three of us, my cousin Glenna, my husband Ken, and me, to hold up this huge kelp frond. Glenna is holding the "holdfast," the root-like end that attaches to rocks and I am holding the large, hollow, air-filled bladder that floats on the surface of the ocean. This was taken at the beach at Julia Pfeiffer State Park south of Monterey, California. (Photo by Duane Meneely)
These trees had fallen across the trail and had been cut. They were not full-grown trees, but they were huge! The dark center part is the heartwood, the strong dead wood. The lighter wood is the sapwood which transports sap from the roots. Note the thick, fibrous outer bark.
Tuolumne Meadows is a beautiful area in Yosemite. We drove through here on our way to Mono Lake.
These granite boulders, called "erratics" were left by the retreating glaciers eons ago in Yosemite.
Long before the trees in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks were protected people enjoyed cutting tunnels in them to allow wagons, and then cars, to drive through.
Things aren't bigger in just Texas! California has its share too! This bigger-than-life cutout of a produce farmer is located in Salinas. (photo by Duane Meneely)
We joined the crowd watching the sun sink below the horizon at Carmel Beach. A beautiful end to a fabulous trip!
is a massive monolith that is a magnet for climbers.
Tufa is quite hard and has the consistency of concrete.
was built in the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a reservoir for the water supply for the city of San Fransisco. Construction on the dam slowed our hiking trip because we had to wait to be escorted past the crane. It is said that the naturalist John Muir was so distraught at the thought of this beautiful valley being flooded, he died of heartache.
Cut-leaf Daisy; Erigeron compositus
Lee Vining, CA 9-30-03
Hole-in-rock at Julia Pfiffer Burns State Park. Constant pounding from the waves is breaking up the rock wall making not only this big hole, but also smaller rocks and eventually sand.
on Hwy. 1 is often seen in car commercials. It was built in the 1930's.
. The land next to the mission sunk several feet during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. This area is quite seismically active.
We climbed up a dome and got a fantastic view from the top. Note the smoke from a wildfire on the far left of the photo.
The second time we planned to go to Yosemite Valley, the smoke from the forest fires was so thick it was difficult to breathe. Backcountry, lightning-started fires are allowed to burn themselves out.
It is amazing where some trees can grow! The roots of this tree may crack the rock even more, helping it turn into smaller pieces.
The Big Sur area of the California coast has spectacular views. We were excited to see a whale spouting in the distance from the cliffside.
is a massive granite monolith that was slowly sliced by a glacier millions of years ago. It is amazing to realize this beautiful valley was carved by ice and water. This is not a good park for people who are afraid of heights!
The black objects are alkali flies, the white ones (upper right) are dried pupae cases. Early native people ate these salty, crunchy, protein-filled morsels! Yum?!!! :0
, a little-visited area of Yosemite because of thick smoke in Yosemite Valley. There is a nice hiking trail that passes over the dam and then along the edge of the canyon. The white waterline can easily be seen just above the lake.
Elkhorn Slough as seen from the sanctuary visitors' center. There are hiking trails here that go down to the water.
is planted along scenic Highway 1, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, to help slow cars down if they drift off the road (at least that's what I heard!). I'm not sure I'd want to trust it to stop my car from careening off one of those cliffs! The leaves are thick and succlent. There is a pink-flowered type that has icy-looking, liquid filled leaves.
California Fuschia; Epilobium canum
Yosemite National Park 9-30-03 I was so frustrated by seeing these brilliant red flowers from the car with no place to stop. Finally, I noticed a scenic overlook where we could pull over safely. These flowers were nearby!
This patchwork quilt of green and brown is an aerial view of the San Joaquin valley, the "Garden Basket of America". Much of the nation's produce --- lettuce, strawberries, artichokes, garlic, and other fruits and vegetables --- come from this area. The next time you are in the produce section of the grocery store look for Salinas, Watsonville, Prunedale, and Gilroy on your bags of fruits and vegetables!
People enjoy watching climbers on El Capitan. A good pair of binoculars will help!
Fire is an important part of the life cycle of the giant sequoias. The trees have bark nearly 1-foot thick, so the trees are unaffected by quick-burning ground fires. The sequoia cones have to have the heat from fires to soften the resin to allow the seeds to be released.
Beautiful sandstone and conglomerate rock at Point Lobos State Reserve in Carmel, California.
The beach below Bixby Creek Bridge along Highway 1 is a fabulous view.
is one of the most photographed natural sites in the world! We were fortunate to see this, two days later smoke from a wildfire settled in the valley and we couldn't see a thing! El Capitan is the huge cliff on the left, Half Dome can be seen in the center far in the distance. Ken and I went to this parking lot one night and were amazed at the gazillion stars! It was the first time he had seen the Milky Way. The western parks are far enough away from cities to have problems with light pollution. map...
are allowed to burn. Fire crews stand by in case they get out of control. Fire is a natural and important part of the ecosystem. We had to keep reminding ourselves of that fact when we were disappointed by the lack of visibility!
Only three organisms can survive the saline water of Mono Lake --- brine shrimp, brine flies, and green algae. I enjoyed seeing the delicate half-inch shrimp swimming in the clear water. The black area on the beach is a layer of millions of brine flies. These small flies will scatter a few inches above sand when disturbed; fortunately, they don't bother people! The California gull will enjoy the flies as a snack since there are no fish in the lake. The shrimp and fly larvae eat the algae, which begins this very limited food chain. 3.3.spi.2, 4.3.tpi.5, 5.2.tpi.1
from the Point Lobos State Reserve Trail. The name "Lobos" (Spanish for "wolves") comes from the sea lions that are often seen on the rocks. The black dots on these rocks are cormorants, diving sea birds.
Great Valley Gumplant; Grindelia camporum
A sudden sound startled me as I was looking at these flowers, I saw several pheasants explode from the bushes!
It is hard to believe that the four huge trees behind my husband, Ken, came from seeds dropped from a sequoia cone like this one. This cone would have had numerous seeds, very few of the seeds from any of the trees will grow to become one of these giants. Even though these trees are huge, they are just "teenagers!"
Mule deer are common in Yosemite, we saw this one next to a trail.
The old road leaving Sequoia National Park went through Tunnel Rock. It has now been re-routed around the rock, but visitors can still walk under the rock.
We watched this coyote wander through a parking lot in Yosemite, they are quite accostomed to people.
This fire burned in Yosemite several years ago. It takes a very long time for the forests to recover from a devastating fire. Controlled fires, which burn quickly, do much less damage to the environment than uncontrolled wildfires.
More wave-polished sandstone at Point Lobos State Reserve.
Kris and Ken at an overlook along Highway 1. The breezes blowing in from the cold ocean make a day at the beach a really cool experience! Jackets are a must! It seemed strange that we were warmer in the high mountains of Yosemite than we were on the coast. Fog is a very common occurance along the coast. (photo by Duane Meneely)
Kris and Ken at Yosemite Valley. (photo by a bystander)
is near the eastern park border at nearly 9000 feet above sea level.
is a saline lake located in a Forest Service preserve just east of the Yosemite border. It is an interesting side trip. The fascinating tufa towers can stand as tall as 30 feet. These strange calcium carbonate towers form as a result of the chemical reactions of freshwater from springs coming in contact with the saline water in the lake. They became exposed as the lake level dropped when water from feeder rivers was diverted to Los Angeles. Like Great Salt Lake in Utah, Mono Lake has no outlet, so the salts and carbonates build up. When I scooped up a bottle of the water I noticed my hand quickly turned white from the salts and carbonates as the dessicating winds evaporated the water. map...
The geology of the California coast is fascinating. I enjoyed seeing these striated sandstone boulders. It shows the cycles of flooding that occured thousands of years ago. The coarse bands are conglomerate rock and the lighter, smooth bands are sandstone. The Carmel River, the source of these rocks, is now about a mile north of this area. 4.9.spi.2, 4.9.tpi.5
tree in Yosemite National Park is awe-inspiring. The branches are larger than many mature trees here in the eastern forests! map...
Lagunita School is a tiny school in Salinas.