California Central Coast

We are coming to the end of a 5-day stay at a state park in Morro Bay, a part of the Central Coast of California that seems to have everything a reasonable person could want. First, the scenery is drop-dead beautiful. The entrance to the bay is marked by Morro Rock, a 23 million-year-old volcanic plug, the first of some nine that are arranged in a line between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. Morro estuary is considered to be the least disturbed and most important saltwater marsh in the state and provides critical habitat for thousands of ducks, geese, and shorebirds. So, the birding is great. We have been kayaking every day in the bay and estuary, accompanied closely by several species of loons and grebes, all kinds of sea ducks, and sea otter and sea lions. A pair of peregrine falcons can be regularly seen at Morro Rock, and there is a heron “rookery” next to the state park. Wow!

The campground is situated in a mixed woodland planted by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1930 and is crawling with white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows and California and spotted towhees. The fresh seafood is cheap and very good, the crowds are scant, but the weather is boring—highs in the low 70’s, with sunny skies, and 10% rain chances everyday for the 10 day forecast. Who needs the weather channel? The state park not only includes the campground and lots of trails to beaches, the estuary, and several of the volcanic plugs, but also a full marina, a restaurant, and an 18 hole golf course (golf clubs are the only thing we did not bring along!). Lynn noticed a powerboat at the marina that was called “Sailbad the Sinner”, and thought that was pretty funny. Adjacent to Morro Bay state park is another, much larger state park called Montaña de Oro, which has little camping but miles of trails and beaches. We spent yesterday driving and hiking around there. Also, a Small Wilderness Area Preservation (SWAP) natural area called the El Moro Elfin Forest Natural Area preserves a section of unique coastal dune scrub habitat and has extensive boardwalks and trails adjacent to the estuary. We decided that this travel blog entry should be largely photos, since words are inadequate to describe this place. Saturday we leave Morro Bay for Big Sur.

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