Franklin Point, San Mateo Coast
We are off to our favorite place on the San Mateo Coast - Franklin Point. Let’s hope it is not fog bound this time. According to the weather forecast, it looks as though Santa Cruz will be clear and bright but there is fog at Half Moon Bay. Franklin Point is between the two, so we will just have to take a chance.
(Click on the image for a larger version)
The journey to Santa Cruz was more or less mundane until we were headed down the mountain on the other side of Scotts Valley on Highway 17. Suddenly I saw a car on the other side of the road fly into the air and crash into the trees at the side of the road. Tom saw the dust but not the car. I was really shaken up but there was nothing we could do as there was a concrete barrier down the middle of the road. I looked behind and there were cars stopping so knew someone would be calling 911. I just couldn’t get the image out of my mind and was really concerned about the driver and any passengers there may have been in the car. I knew I would be worrying all day.
We drove into Santa Cruz for breakfast - see previous entry - and were back on the road again by 7.40. Our route took us back to Highway 1 where we turned north.
Just outside Santa Cruz we saw signs up warning of a bike race and soon we saw the cyclists. We passed a lot of them between Santa Cruz and Davenport. Most of them were serious competitors with their super bikes, Lycra gear, cool shades and space age helmets. Some were making light work of the hills and some seemed to be struggling. At the front of the cyclists were three motor cycle cops. I wonder how far they are going.
It must be getting close to October and the pumpkin season. We passed several pumpkin patches being made ready. In one there was already a huge display of pumpkins all waiting to be picked out by excited children, although, of course, it was not open at 8 a.m.
Oh no! We can see fog ahead. This looks like a repeat of our aborted visit last month when the weather was too bad to even walk to the beach. Maybe it will clear - always the optimist.
We stop at Big Basin Redwoods State Park where the redwoods come all the way down to the coast. Tom wanted to take photos of the fog over the creek and maybe the brown pelicans taking a rest in the lagoon on the beach. I stay in the car and write.
Here the sun is shining which is really weird as we are surrounded by fog. Out on the ocean I can vaguely see the die hard surfers waiting patiently to catch a wave. The sea doesn’t look high today so maybe they are just beginners.
Tom has now left the creek and has made his way across Highway 1 to the lagoon. There are several pelicans on the water but now dozens are on the sand and more fly in to join them. I guess this must be their meeting place every morning where they catch up with all the gossip.
I’ve been siting here 15 minutes and here come the three motor cycle cops and not far behind the first two cyclists appear. I guess we are going to have a bit of trouble getting away from here. Tom is making his way back to the car. Maybe we can get away before the bulk of them arrive. I can’t see any more coming at the moment. We were able to make our escape. As we turned back onto the road I could see a few cyclists coming down the hill behind us.
We pass Costanoa and pull into the parking strip near the tree stump., There is one van already there and three surfers are getting ready to walk to the beach. As I get out of the car I can smell the sea. Mmmm.
I set off first. Yes it is foggy but it is not as bad or as cold as the last time so we decided to go for it. At the top first rise I paused as I could see on the path ahead a mother deer and her young fawn. Both lifted their heads and looked at me. I would have waited until they decided to move away but at that moment two of the surfers come by. The two deer trotted off down the path and I never saw them again.
I love this walk to the beach. It only takes ten minutes but it is such a nice path (and no chance of seeing a mountain lion). The sound of the ocean and a bird call is all I hear and with the fog there is not much to see off to the sides. When I walk over the last rise and down the sandy path to the beach, I cannot see my favorite bench up on the headland to the south.
Every time I walk this beach I spot something unusual. Today it is a beached jelly fish. The only jelly fish I have seen in the flesh, so to speak, have been at the Monterey Aquarium. There they are spectacular and beautiful. This one today was just a lump of opaque jelly with three blue patches in the midst of the jetty substance. I was not going to touch it but I doubt whether it was alive or if it was, it was not going to survive much longer.
On to my bench. The wooden plank path to the bench is even more lopsided than the last time. Some of the posts are leaning drunkedly and vegetation is covering some of the planks. In places sand has drifted across it as well. It is still a magical place though and these inconsistencies only add to the charm.
The bench is too wet to sit on but that’s OK. I just put my pack on it and use it as a cushion. There is not much out on the ocean. Normally Ano Nuevo Island is visible to the south and Pigeon Point Lighthouse to the north. Not today though. But it is a soothing place none the less even though a little breezy.
Tom arrives and sets up his tripod. Before long a line of pelicans rounds the point, flying low and Tom is
happily clicking away. Quite a show was put on for us today. Not only scores of pelicans majestically sweeping by but hundreds of cormorants. There were a dozen or more large flocks of them in straight lines or in V-shaped formations, swiftly skimming the waves and all headed in the same direction. Not only that, but we were enchanted to see small bands of sea lions flying in and out of the water, headed north.
Out on a rock, just offshore, there were many resting seabirds - cormorants, a pair of black oyster catchers and a clutch of small black and white birds which may have been sanderlings. Even though it has become brighter with a bit of sun overhead, the fog has not lifted but it didn’t damp our enthusiasm, For over an hour we sat there happily enjoying the peace and quiet.
We then made our way back to the car. The cyclists were still on the move, most of them heading back towards Santa Cruz though there were still some coming the other way. I found out later that they were taking part in the Big Kahuna Triathlon. The first part was a 1.2 mile swim round Santa Cruz wharf, then a 56 mile cycle race to Pigeon Point lighthouse and back and finishing up with a 13.1 mile run. Phew!
We headed back to Santa Cruz ourselves and home over Highway 17. Even though we looked closely, we could see no signs of this morning’s accident. I just hope nobody was badly hurt.
September 12 2008 05:06 pm | Special Places
