Part 2 is now posted below.
Part 3 is now posted below.
Part 4, the final part, is now posted below.
Much like the popular reports by Ski3pin, I will be doing this report in several parts. The main reason for this is one part may be something people do not want to see, so I want it to be separate from the whole report so that people can skip it. Nature can be cruel and we witnessed an event that was difficult for us and even for some of the highly experienced docents.
PART1 – The inaugural visit.
The Northern Elephant Seal was hunted nearly to extinction in the 1800s. The population has made a comeback and there are now several locations along the California coast where you can observe them. One of those is the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Viewing Site just north of San Simeon and the Hearst castle. Elephant Seals spend most of their lives at sea but there are three times of the year that they do spend time on shore. In late April and early May the females and juvenile males come ashore to molt. In late October and early November there is the juvenile haul-out. And in January the females come ashore to give birth and the bull males arrive to mate with the females. In November we visited the viewing site during the haul-out as part of a coastal trip. We decided to return in January for a longer visit to see the pups and maybe see the bulls fighting over their harems.
For both trips we camped at the Hearst San Simeon State Park. There are two main campgrounds. The upper one has only vault toilets and costs less. The lower has flush toilets, solar heated showers, and costs more. There is also a group site limited to tents only between the lower campground and highway. The upper campground has views of the surrounding hills and some sites have limited ocean views. The lower campground has no views and some highway road noise but you can walk along the creek under the highway bridge to access a large beach. On our second trip we camped in the lower campground. The turnaround point shown below will be referenced in Part 4.
It is only about a five mile drive to the viewing area from camp. Hearst Castle is also along the way if you wish to visit it. Just south of the campground is Cambria, a small coastal town with many eateries and shops for visitors. Gas on the coast is expensive, so fill up in the bigger cities before hitting this location.
On our November trip we walked along the beach across from the campground. The highway is raised at the back of the beach for the bridge. It is a nice size beach with some dunes. It becomes narrower at the north end with short cliffs covered in ice plant and a couple of custom homes on top. I do not have photos of this but mention it because there will be photos of it from our January trip that reference these points. Mrs. Ted did take pics of the driftwood structures, though. And there were was a majestic Blue Heron hanging around.
The Elephant Seal visiting site has two parking lots. There is a boardwalk between the two lots and one to the south of the south lot. These access the beaches with the most Elephant Seals. There is also a trail from the north lot that follows the coast north. There are several other beaches along it with Elephant Seals. The trail takes you by the light house. There are volunteer docents at the viewing area to answer your questions. Many of them are also bird watchers as there are lots to see here.
The elephant seals gathered on the beach at this time are all females and juvenile males. There is not much activity at this time, though some of the males may practice fighting for their adult days. There were even some very young seals in the group.
They are graceful in the water, but moving on land can be exhausting.
On the trail you get a great view of the lighthouse and offshore rocks. The sign says the whales swimming north in April often pass between those rocks and the shore. Sounds like a good reason to return in April. Note how calm the ocean is around the rocks.
Our Tiger is an uncommon RV and gets lots of attention. Many people ask us about it and take photos. But when a European world expedition rig parks nearby, we are just another vehicle lost in the crowd.
Part 3 is now posted below.
Part 4, the final part, is now posted below.
Much like the popular reports by Ski3pin, I will be doing this report in several parts. The main reason for this is one part may be something people do not want to see, so I want it to be separate from the whole report so that people can skip it. Nature can be cruel and we witnessed an event that was difficult for us and even for some of the highly experienced docents.
PART1 – The inaugural visit.
The Northern Elephant Seal was hunted nearly to extinction in the 1800s. The population has made a comeback and there are now several locations along the California coast where you can observe them. One of those is the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Viewing Site just north of San Simeon and the Hearst castle. Elephant Seals spend most of their lives at sea but there are three times of the year that they do spend time on shore. In late April and early May the females and juvenile males come ashore to molt. In late October and early November there is the juvenile haul-out. And in January the females come ashore to give birth and the bull males arrive to mate with the females. In November we visited the viewing site during the haul-out as part of a coastal trip. We decided to return in January for a longer visit to see the pups and maybe see the bulls fighting over their harems.
For both trips we camped at the Hearst San Simeon State Park. There are two main campgrounds. The upper one has only vault toilets and costs less. The lower has flush toilets, solar heated showers, and costs more. There is also a group site limited to tents only between the lower campground and highway. The upper campground has views of the surrounding hills and some sites have limited ocean views. The lower campground has no views and some highway road noise but you can walk along the creek under the highway bridge to access a large beach. On our second trip we camped in the lower campground. The turnaround point shown below will be referenced in Part 4.
It is only about a five mile drive to the viewing area from camp. Hearst Castle is also along the way if you wish to visit it. Just south of the campground is Cambria, a small coastal town with many eateries and shops for visitors. Gas on the coast is expensive, so fill up in the bigger cities before hitting this location.
On our November trip we walked along the beach across from the campground. The highway is raised at the back of the beach for the bridge. It is a nice size beach with some dunes. It becomes narrower at the north end with short cliffs covered in ice plant and a couple of custom homes on top. I do not have photos of this but mention it because there will be photos of it from our January trip that reference these points. Mrs. Ted did take pics of the driftwood structures, though. And there were was a majestic Blue Heron hanging around.
The Elephant Seal visiting site has two parking lots. There is a boardwalk between the two lots and one to the south of the south lot. These access the beaches with the most Elephant Seals. There is also a trail from the north lot that follows the coast north. There are several other beaches along it with Elephant Seals. The trail takes you by the light house. There are volunteer docents at the viewing area to answer your questions. Many of them are also bird watchers as there are lots to see here.
The elephant seals gathered on the beach at this time are all females and juvenile males. There is not much activity at this time, though some of the males may practice fighting for their adult days. There were even some very young seals in the group.
They are graceful in the water, but moving on land can be exhausting.
On the trail you get a great view of the lighthouse and offshore rocks. The sign says the whales swimming north in April often pass between those rocks and the shore. Sounds like a good reason to return in April. Note how calm the ocean is around the rocks.
Our Tiger is an uncommon RV and gets lots of attention. Many people ask us about it and take photos. But when a European world expedition rig parks nearby, we are just another vehicle lost in the crowd.