A Day at the Beach

We gathered up our picnic gear, water and food, and headed to the beach this morning. It's less than a 1/4 mile walk, and could be shorter if it weren't for Pismo Creek that originates inland and dumps into the sea just opposite our park, so that we have to hike around it. The creek is in the foreground in this pic:

A view north toward the village of Pismo Beach:

The weather was gorgeous and the birds were out playing and fishin'……

Surf was up today, with waves higher than normal. Local surf fishermen told us that the tides had been higher than usual all summer long, probably due to weather disturbances in the west Pacific.

One of the highest waves brought in a sand dollar with a passenger.  The little hitch hiker kept poking out of his home and opening his mouth. Pretty cool!

We walked south on Pismo Beach until we reached the camping area.  The large dunes next to the ocean attract off road vehicle enthusiasts and the adjacent beach is open to drive on, so many people bring their rv's and ATV's and have fun. Several rental businesses will provide buggies and ATV's if you happen to have left yours at home. At the camping area we turned back north until we got to the south vehicle entrance to the beach and turned inland to find Oceano Campground. Located in the small town of Oceano, the state park has been a mainstay for campers in the area for years. We didn't stay there this time, but wanted to see it anyway. Unfortunately the campground has fallen on hard times, and is in major need of maintenance and repair. With a nightly camping rate of $40, the campground can't compete with the private campgrounds in the area that offer nicer, cleaner sites with more amenities for only a few dollars more.

Walking toward US Hwy 1 along Pier Ave, we crossed Arroyo Grande Creek and saw a beautiful Mallard guarding his flock.

Walking north along US 1, we noticed a very tired Monarch butterfly resting in the middle of the road. Donna rescued him and gently placed him/her in the shade of some nearby bushes. He continued to slowly move his wings, so he must have been happy!

This encounter reminded us that this is the time of year for the migration of the Monarch's. Pismo Beach has the ideal climate for the butterflies to overwinter, and in one small section of eucalyptus trees thousand of them congregate. A sign hanging on a fence gave us a short lesson on the life cycle of the insects.

As we walked quietly through the grove, we at first didn't see any butterflies other than a couple of hundred moving between trees. After a bit, we learned what to look for, and with the help of volunteers with stationary scopes, we identified literally thousands of them! The dead stick of a treed limb in the center of the photo seems to have a bunch of leaves at the end.  Nope! Those are Monarch butterflies grouped together!

On another branch, hundreds of butterflies hang in a large group.  Amazing!

Donna's Fitbit says we walked about 9 1/2 miles today, and our feet, legs and backs can testify to that!  But I couldn't leave without showing you my favorite photograph of the day:

Every body of water has it's own unique features, as we've shared with you over this last summer as we've seen just a few, but there is something very powerful about the Pacific Ocean.