We are three days into our trip and I have finally learned what a double solid yellow line on a two lane road means in California. It means absolutely nothing. I have been illegally passed more times in three days than in my entire 45 years of driving. My theory is that everyone is rushing to the nearest filling station to get the $5.69 per gallon gas before it goes any higher in price.
We started our birding efforts on this trip at the campsite of the ill-fated Donner Party. It's hard to put into proper perspective that we were merely birding exactly where these pioneers were forced to cannibalism when their wagon train was stranded in the Sierra Mountains during the winter of 1846.
Just above the historical marker in a large dead tree that would have been alive and well in 1846, a pair of Pygmy Nuthatches were tending to their nest.
On Day 2, the State Park road I had planned to bird for most of the morning was closed so, it was off to Monterey Bay where we were treated to point-blank looks at a Whimbrel and Black Oystercatchers.
We enjoyed dinner out and ice cream in Carmel-by-the-Sea with my cousin's daughter and her 3 year-old twin girls. After skipping and trotting around Carmel, Dan had to help them with the sticker books Crystal bought for them.
Today we drove down Big Sur on US 1, hugging the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. While stopped to photograph this mother Sea Otter with its pup...
... A car stopped, a woman approached me, and the following conversation ensued...
Her: "I have a question for you." Before I could respond she said, "Is this road really closed in 10 miles?"
Me: "Yes it is."
Her: "You mean you can't go through? Really?"
Me: "Really, it's back to Monterey for you."
Her: Isn't there another road we can take?
Me: "No, no there is not."
She looked bewildered at another gentlemen standing there and he advised, "No, there is not."
Now, let me fill in the back story. US 1 is one of the most scenic drives in America, following the California coast between Monterey and San Luis Obispo for about 100 miles. There are no other roads that intersect the highway through this stretch because of the rugged Coast Range Mountains. In February, 2024, a highly-publicized massive mudslide closed US 1 about 30 miles south of Monterey. So, every 10 miles there are large signs indicating, "Highway Closed in xx miles. No detours."
Did she really think they were kidding? Whomever proclaimed "Ignorance is bliss" was an idiot.
So, with the road being closed, we ventured as far as Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to see the famous McWay Falls that drops 80 feet straight into the ocean. The park was closed but, we managed to get this view from the roadway above.
There is sort of a recurring theme I'm seeing with places being closed in California.
After a relaxing, over-priced lunch at Big Sur, we got great looks at the California Scrub-Jay...
And, the California Towhee.
We have also picked up the California Quail and California Gull. So, we only need to find a California Thrasher to complete the "California Suite of Birds."
Yet another drab bird, the Wrentit, not to be confused with the Bushtit, has been a common site. Really, who gave the birds their names? This one had dinner ready for its young'uns.
Tomorrow, we finish up on the coast and head into the Central Valley with Yellow-billed Magpies at the top of our wish list. So far, the trip has yielded 19 new species for 2025 bringing the YTD total to 483. 8 of the 19 have been lifers.
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