We enjoyed our second outing of the year to Half Moon Bay, the red star on the map below.
We actually rented a home in Pacifica right on the ocean marked below with the blue arrow.
There were lots of big waves to watch just steps away!
And we could see the pier and enjoyed walking down to it a couple of times and one day at sunset.
Here I am on the pier our first night.
We headed towards Half Moon Bay on our first full day. Unfortunately we learned that several of the beach and tidepool trails we were interested in were still closed due to the storms earlier in the year.
Fortunately we found the Marsh Preserve Loop at Pescadero Beach. It took us down from Highway 1 to this beach...
...and then looped around through this marshy area.
Way off in the distance in the picture below you can see a bridge. That is Highway 1 and on the other side of it is the beach in the first picture at Pescadero.
You can tell it was a beautiful sunny day!
Then we went to see the Pigeon Point lighthouse.
It was built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the west coast of the U.S. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. It is 115 feet tall.
Then we drove north from there to Pillor Point Harbor...
...and had lunch here. The clam chowder was so yummy we came back another day and got take out.
Every day we saw these beautiful patches of yellow flowers. The color was amazing. We took a lot of pictures trying to capture it all and here are a couple of them.
Another day we ventured away from the coast to visit Pirisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. That's a mouthful! We enjoyed two beautiful hikes in the area. These pictures are from the first hike.
Fun to see a redwood tree right along the path.
These are the tall, thin coastal redwoods.
And now for the second hike. This is not an old-growth forest because it was logged back in the day. But many of the redwood trees we saw were 100 years old or more. The coastal redwoods grow together in groups.
The next two pictures show stumps from the logging days and how redwood trees are springing up around them. Don't you love nature?!
On our last day we found a hike at Burleigh H. Murray Ranch State Park--another mouthful.
We followed the old ranch trail along Mills Creek.
Heading back I took this picture. You can see our car in the parking lot beyond the gate. I wanted to remind myself that we were the only people there and that is an amazing feeling in our modern age.
I understand this whole area of Half Moon Bay is bursting with stop and go traffic on weekends and all summer as Bay Area residents head to the coast. But today it was all serenity and peace!
The main feature to see on the hike is this Bank Barn. Here is what we learned:
"Originally 200 feet in length and capable of housing 100 dairy cows, the Mills Barn is one of two known examples of a bank barn in California. Bank barns are named based on their construction, typically built into the side of a hill or a bank which allows the two-story structure to be accessed via the bank. The foundation of the barn and other buildings, including an unreinforced arched stone bridge, rely on Italian masonry techniques dating back to Roman times."
We also spent some time at the many beaches. This is Poplar Beach.
You can see the beach extends for miles and has other names.
This is Three Rocks Beach near the hotel which we drove to see.
It has some nice stairs down.
And we crossed a bridge over the creek that flows to the ocean in the above picture and this picture below shows it cascading down.
Another beautiful beach at Half Moon Bay.
Montara Beach always had surfers.
It's hard to get a photo of them when they are up on their boards but very fun to watch them as they try to "catch a wave!"
The sun setting from the patio of our rental home and we finish Outing #2. It was great!
Just our shadows!
1 comment:
Looks delightful and colorful!
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