Elephants on the Beach

Our adventures this fine Sunday sent us to the lovely Point Reyes in search of elephants.  On the beach.  Of the seal variety.  We've been meaning to visit these elephants while they're in town, but we haven't gotten there.  It was due time.  After all, it's the season.  And The Redhead was most excited about seeing these unusual creatures.  She's been anxious for their arrival since the moment we moved to the coast.  Perhaps even earlier.


If you've never been to Point Reyes National Seashore, it's this fantastic destination, a must-see, in fact.  So much wildlife.  Since moving west, we've visited a few times and have never once been disappointed, even if all we have seen were tule elk and sand dollars during a trip.  The vegetation is amazing as well.  And the views? Oh, the views are spectacular and the best example of what the Northern California coast has to offer.  And if you're there in the months of January through March (perhaps even in December), you are most likely to see some elephants on the beach.  And you won't be disappointed.  At least you shouldn't be.



It's the busy season for Point Reyes National Seashore.  With the elephant seals in town and the migrating grey whales, tourism has picked up, so currently the only way to certain areas of the park is by shuttle, which is $5 per adult, children free.  It's worth the price, I assure you.  We lucked out by showing up in the morning.  The peak season was late January, and most Californians show up in the afternoon.  It doesn't mean that all mornings will have few visitors, but that was the case for us.

  This is where the majority of these incredibly noisy beasts hang out.  The only way to view them is from this overlook near Chimney Rock.  There are quite a few volunteer docents inside the park, full of all sorts of information.  For example, day old baby elephant seals can be as tall as The Redhead and weigh more than fifty pounds (which is also her weight).  By a month old, they can be as large as 500 pounds.  Adult males can be seventeen feet long.  The Redhead was learning all sorts of things in addition to all the information she was sharing with us throughout the day.  We're really fortunate that child loves to learn and read.

The docents also have telescopes you can use, which is so awesome, even if you are like us, and already armed with binoculars.   Also, since the elephant seals are a protected species, like basically everything in the park, you can't get close to them.  That should be self explanatory, but, well, common sense apparently isn't for everyone.  The law is to stay 100 yards away.   Along with rangers (which can be spotted in at least one of my photographs), the docents may be seen closer to the animals, but they're allowed.






However, we did find a family of three secluded on a beach.  And when they said that sometimes you do accidentally come across them, they weren't kidding.  We thought they were rocks.  I didn't even recognize the baby.  It wasn't until the mother started slithering her way onto the shore like a giant slug, that I figured it out.  Once we realized they were present, we froze in place.  What's funny, is we weren't looking for seals.  We were busy watching dolphins out in the ocean and I was attempting to capture them with my camera, which I failed miserably at.  It's worked for me before, but alas, not this time.

Aside from elephant seals, there was so much more to see.  Deer, elk, lots of birds, and even cows from area ranches.

Not as impressive views included this mother trying to capture her child's abilities on this overlook railing. Incredibly steep slope behind her.  I tried so hard not to take a photo, but when I saw the child jump down, then get back up and almost stumble backwards, I couldn't resist any longer.  Then I had to turn away again, because I couldn't bear to witness anything terrible happening.  I try not to judge, I do, I really do, and later, I had all sorts of jokes to make in order to deal with it.  But we have all made decisions that other people wouldn't necessarily have made.

For example, The Redhead went out in public like this.  In Halloween socks.  That didn't match her outfit.

And she can't sit still either.  

It was a gorgeous day though, despite some fog rolling in.

Also, when the heck did this area get tide pools?!  Okay, sure, they probably always had them.  And sure, it was low tide, but we had never noticed before!

The best part of living on the West Coast is that we get to explore so many new areas, and embrace experiences such as these, things we never could have done in Kansas.  Especially elephants on the beach.