Point Lobos State Reserve

After visiting the aquarium, we went to Point Lobos to view some of the local wildlife in their natural habitat. There are some gentler trails at this park, but there are also a lot of large rocks to climb on that can be dangerous if you are not careful. We hiked around a lot. I got a little surburnt, but it was totally worth it.

Peter & Joey at the edge of the trail (note the rope):

Rachel, Mom, & David with some of the rocky coastal terrain in the background:

Is Simon or the squirrel more curious? It's hard to tell, but I think it is good Dad is there to hold Simon back.

Brian & Dad:

Starfish on the rock. These weren't too hard to spot because of their bright color.

There were lots of crabs hiding in the crevices.

This picture is one of the tidepools we saw.

A nice large anemone in a small tide pool (waiting for the tide to come in):

Under another overhang, I saw this whole group of urchins.

Here is a group of sea lions. I had to use the camera zoom to get a clear shot, since the rock was a bit off the coast.

I really enjoyed looking at all the rocks, since their layers were so clear and such interesting textures.

Brian in the landscape:

A collection of seals on rocks, quite close to the path. Can you find all 4 seals?

A few coastal plants on the edge of the path, with a coastline background:

Gnarly tree on the edge of China Cove:

A clear view of China Cove. The water color is so striking, and there is an archway that was more visible from further down the path.

Here is another lovely beach, right next to China Cove. This is close to the edge of the park, so a few large houses are visible.

Brian walking on one of the paths:

I love seeing poppies!

Brian posing for a picture. His expression says, "why did you make me stop for this picture?"

Brian went way off the path out onto the rocks a lot. He was careful though, so he was fine. The best tidepools are way off the path. I soon followed, after taking this shot.

Me, pointing to an archway that is covered with each wave. There was lots of interesting rushing water to check out.

More anemones. These anemones were quite tiny and were in very shallow, narrow pools. The ones that were out of the water were all closed up. Luckily for them, the tide was coming in. Also, note all of the snails (just like when we had a tank).

Rachel, me, and Dad. Brian and Dad ended up taking pictures of each other. :)