Wild San Simeon

Just after New Year's I took my mom to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, which is just a little north of San Simeon on the California coast. This area is used year-round by elephant seals, but in January, the seal pups are born. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly popular with tourists who come to see these immense creatures from a vantage point that can be as close as 10 feet away, with no fence or cage to separate the people from the wildlife.

We arrived a little early in the season, it turns out, since only about 30 pups were on the beach. We were told that mid-January would be the peak, with over 3000 pups with their mothers on the beach. I made a note of this and planned to come back in a couple of weeks. Still, it was quite an enjoyable day. We even spotted a couple of sea otters resting in the kelp beds a safe distance from the elephant seals.

As we headed south on Highway way back towards Cambria, somthing caught my eye in the fields below Hearst Castle. It looked about the size of a coyote, but was greyer in color. I decided to turn around to get another look. Much to our surprise, it was not a coyote but instead a beautiful bobcat. Excitedly, I jumped out of the car at the side of the road with my camera and started taking shots. As I watched through my 400mm lens, the cat got bigger and bigger and I started to wonder if he would reach us. He kept trotting toward the road, but eventually made his way down a drainage ditch to a tunnel that ran under the road and opened to the beach on the other side. We didn't see him come back out.

Overall, despite the long drive (~3hrs), it was a great day and I plan to watch the fields more closely next time I drive along Highway 1.

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