I've been to a few places on this Earth, around this country, around Europe and Asia and Mexico, and nowhere is quite like Montanya de Oro. It might not quite reach the lofty heights of stupefying beauty that the Grand Canyon inspires, but really, what does? It has its own specialty. Is it th equal of Yosemite? Of Yellowstone? Maybe not, but the fact that it touches people in the same spot as those places means something.
It had been years since we'd made a trip to Mantanya de Oro, and when I say we, I mean Corrie and I and our close friends. Corrie had hurt her ankle the night before, and unfortunately had to abstain from the hike.
I, having not hurt my ankle, did lose my sunglasses (they were found later), and had to pop the brim of my hat down to shield my blue eyes the entire time.
My good friend Ryan, the Super Trooper that he was, made it all the way down to the water and back up with me, during a time when both of us were feeling our age. I love this picture of him with the crashing waves behind.
Now, what follows will be a trip down memory lane for those of us who've been before, and a good play-by-play for those who've never been. The first picture is what you see when you pull over while driving into the park. Looking north up the Sand Spit, viewers can see Morro Rock and the hamlet of Morro Bay.
After parking at "the spot", you start hiking through sand and brush dunes towards the ocean, and the first landmark is visible: the Great Dune. We used to perform experiments with gravity and momentum on this Great Dune, throwing ourselves down it. Those experiments, while highly scientific, were also, eh, fun.
Once you get to the top of the Great Dune and face the ocean (your back must face the Dune), this is your view: another dune, sloping down to what turns out to be a sandy cliff face, and the ocean crashing over the up-ended Earth-crust that makes up the rock formations out here at Montanya de Oro.
Before you take the less-than-treacherous walk down the sandy cliff face, views of the entire tide-pool area open up in both directions, and since we were there at low-tide, lagoons like this become apparent that would otherwise be under more water. It might look inviting to swim in, but the water is frigid.
This is a look back at the walk-down area, the "sandy cliff" you slide-step down. Getting up is oh-so fun. It's probably four stories high.
Now I've got some artsy pictures...
The close-up of a wave crashing over a tiny tidal ecosystem...
The wearing pattern of some of the rocky slabs...
What I like to Mussel Canyon, where I got the camera low to take a strange perspective shot...
If you see anything that looks like black sludge, don't be alarmed...well, maybe you can be a little alarmed. It's not petroleum, but instead the spermatozoa of algal life forms.
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