Day 103 – Yawn! Did NOT want to get out of bed this morning! 30 degrees, partly sunny at 8:30 a.m. We decided there’s lots to do at Point Reyes so we extended our stay at Samuel P. Taylor State Park by adding an addition 2 nights to our visit. Our site was booked though, so we’ll have to move to a different one on Christmas Eve. No big deal. We found one that was open just across the road, so we only need to move a few feet on December 24.
Since we’d covered most of the National Seashore north of the entrance, we went south to explore those areas. First we stopped at the parking lot of visitor’s center where you can connect to the Earthquake Trail. 35 years ago we walked this trail; it’s only a little over ½ mile so we did it again with Rob acting as Seismologist (he just finished reading a book about earthquakes, faults, techtonic plates, etc., and was filled with knowledge – my own private teacher.) There is a place on the trail where the San Andreas Fault is marked with blue posts in the ground. The trail follows it and shows a fence where it once was before the 1906 San Francisco quake and where it was after the San Francisco quake. I walked up and stood right on the Fault. The earth did not move. Later in the trail we came across a group of deer grazing on the grasses, very pretty.
Then we drove along Limontour Road south and west to the Estero and Beach. I guess school is out for the Holidays because it was crowded, but we took a trail between the marsh and the Ocean and that wasn’t very crowded. Eventually winding down to the Ocean we managed to avoid most of the people who walked straight in to the beach. Very pretty, a little overcast, 51 degrees. We walked back through the ice plants and sea grasses enjoying the view over the Estero.
We’d gotten some phone calls while driving in remote areas so we drove back to a place where we tried to return our calls. No luck, but it was the beginning of the Olema Marsh Trail and there were lots of birds. While I was playing with the phone, Rob got to take pictures. We will go back to this trail another time for a hike.
Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA
Hutton’s Vireo, Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA
Brown Towhee, Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA
We needed to spend some quality time with the cats, so we stopped at the grocery store in the very crowded Point Reyes Station, got gas, and headed back to the RV. Partly cloudy this afternoon, it never did warm up much. We were surprised at how full the campground was when we returned. People camping overnight while going to Christmas destinations? People on vacation for longer periods of time? We’ll see. Had a nice evening with the girls, a little wine & beer, and off to bed.