Northern CA, part 2

Once we got to the coast, we drove south along route 1. We passed a lot of cows, grazing on hills that looked entirely too steep for cows.

Occassionally we passed signs, warning us to watch for cows in the road. Apparently, these signs were warranted. This cow ignored us as we passed. He/she seemed to be enjoying the water running across the roadway.

After driving for a while, we stopped at a beach. This beach is one of the most deadly beached in California. It was far too cold to even think about getting in the water, so we were safe.

There were a lot of people walking along the beach. There was also a group of lifeguards doing what appeared to be an extreme training exercise. (That truck in the distance is a lifeguard vehicle.)

It was so windy on the beach! The foam gathering at the shoreline was being blown across the sand.

On the beach, we discovered that there was an area marked off for seals, who use the area (and the river's mouth adjacent) for pupping. It was pupping season, so we got to see some harbor seals, which was very cool.

Here are some of the harbor seals. We didn't get that close to the seals--I used the camera zoom. Harbor seals are distinct from sea lions because they are smaller in size, they are multi-colored, and they don't make the loud barking noise that sea lions do.

This is just a pretty shot on the beach that I took with a large piece of driftwood/tree and our footprints. By this time, the sun was getting low, which makes the footprints stand out nicely.

Here I am relaxing against another large fallen tree that has been smoothed by the sea. The bit of water behind me is the last part of the river, which dumps out into the ocean to the left of the picture. The road we were driving on (route 1) is also visible in the background, about halfway up the green hill.