Day 12 - Moar

Last night's campsite wasn't ideal - no services, no phone reception - so I headed out early-ish. Today would be another lazy drive down the coast, stopping for photo ops. The night's destination was Pismo Beach, a mere 60 miles away. Let's see if I can get there in the daylight.
First stop was within a mile of the campsite in the town of Cambria. More seal & seascape viewing.

But first...the cliff-top was full of this bright green brush and ground squirrels.

Cormerants aren't just a Canadian thing, though they were in the minority on the Cali coast.

A few of the locals were about taking advantage of the morning surf, and playing with the seals.

Seagulls were always present, but didn't garner much attention. Except this little guy. Didn't beg for food, just happy to hang out.

And of course the favourite - pelicans

Down on the beach now, saw and interesting rock formation

...and a curious seal

Large balls of tangled kelp littered the shore.

Rare sighting of an egret. 

I've only seen a couple so far on the trip.

More seals frolicing in the surf

Spent a good hour plus there, then jumped in the truck and headed further down the coast. Found another spot to pull-off the road that looked promising. A large natural spit jutted into the ocean just a kilometer or so in the distance.

Took a few pictures here, then decided to see if I could check out the spit itself. Sure enough, just down the highway was a large parking area. It was about 400 meters from the shore with a large open field inbetween. The field was bare except for about 10 snow geese. What was really interesting is they were completely spread out. No two geese were within 100 feet of each other.

The shore line here was a misture of sand and rocks, with a 30-40' high cliff. It was an impressive sight.

There were just a few moderatly easy access points to the beach. I found one near a rocky area, and headed down the cliff side. Thousands of hermit crabs called this area home.

From the hoards of empty shells on the beach, you could tell they were a favourite of the resident sand pipers.

A seal kept watch while I combed the beach for crustations.

A bit further away, a nice section of beach awaited.

Decided to take of the shoes & socks and wade in a bit. Cold, but nice.

Just before leaving, a pelican flew within 10 feet of my head. He was gliding along the top of the cliff searching for food - or maybe just taking in the view. I was lucky enough to snap one decent picture.

By the time I arrived in Pismo Beach, it was after dark.  Got some shopping done, gassed up, then headed for one of the local state parks for the night.  I was planning on staying in the area for a few days, so paid for two nights and got settled in.  There is an OHV area here on the beach.
Would be nice to finally get on the moto.