Montana de Oro State Park

Time for some pretty pictures. Two weeks ago I was walking the Bluff Trail at Montana de Oro State Park. It was an absolutely glorious day! Even the locals that I met on the trail were remarking about how beautiful it was, mostly because of the very high surf. And to think that this was one of the parks that our governor wanted to close! Luckily, they found it would cost more to close it than to keep it open. I might mention that the cost for my day at the park was $0. Not even a parking fee.

I had been to the Morro Bay area many times but not since my husband died. I wanted to treat myself for my birthday, and I wanted to test out and learn to use all the new camera equipment I have bought. So I settled on Morro Bay. (It's warmer than the Sierras in December!) As many times as we had been to Morro Bay, however, we had never taken the time to visit Montana de Oro which is just south of the bay. These photos were taken on my first visit to the park. I lucked out! I don't know if I will ever see it like this again.

I have to say that the entire California coastline is gorgeous, but the stunning rocky shores don't really start until you get north of Lompoc and the Nipomo Dunes. I left the people in the top photo to give you an idea of the scale. It turns out that this couple are professional photographers and they were taking video footage of the waves. That sign to the left of them says, "Danger Keep Back," because all along the bluff, the land was falling into the ocean. I thought they were nuts!

And the surf was spectacular! I couldn't take enough pictures (ask my family).

I found some of the same rock formations that I have seen at Abalone Cove. It's interesting that the rocks break off in squares and then get edged with other colors. I wish I knew more about the geology of the coastline.

There was just one cove after another with the rocky cliffs like fingers reaching out into the ocean. The sea foam was so great that in the narrow cove below, the foam looked like whipped cream.

Just one more...