To Pacific Grove, CA, and back to Placentia, CA 05-29-20

The trip to Pacific Grove was a really fast one.  Up one day and home the next.  Perhaps more than this old lady can do anymore. In the future  I think I need to plan more rest time between two long drives.  I chose to drive up on Hwy 101 along the Pacific Ocean and to come back through the inland valley on I-5.  A nice loop that I have driven many times before, but separated by stays in Pacific Grove or San Juan Bautista.  

North of Santa Barbara there was fog over the ocean and hamging over the highway.  No delay, but I couldn't see the blue ocean except for a few glimpses. 

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This is one spot where I caught a lucky shot. Nothing out there for thousands of miles. 

Hwy 101 switches from freeway to surface in the blink of an eye.  There are always signs indicating what the designation is, but you can also tell when you see farm equipment moving along in the lanes.  Not on a freeway!

This is the same picture I showed earlier, but it is such a great shot and it contrasts with the next image.  This is looking east from 101 where there are miles of low hills, some with cattle, some just grass covered vacant land. 

But the railroad runs along the valley and brings signs of the big city.  Lots of graffiti on the low freight cars stopped along the way.  

And then I was in Pacific Grove where I stayed at the nice Centrella B&B which is about a block and a half from Back Porch Fabrics.  It is an old house (1893, I think) and the décor is in keeping with that era.  I have stayed there previously and it is quite comfortable and convenient to the main part of town. 

They have interesting plants in their landscaping including a bush that produces these pendulous flowers.  I can't remember their name, but they grew them in Portland when I was growing up there.  

Along a picket fence these nasturtiums were peeking out, like colorful prisoners trying to escape. 

And along the road that follows Monterey Bay there are carpets of ice plant.  This house has it instead of lawn. 

The color is wrong in this image, the flowers are much pinker. There used to be  great fields of the ice plant along the water, but it is not native and most has been removed and replaced with native plants in keeping with the state parks of California rules. 

It was a gorgeous day with just a slight breeze and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the sunshine.  Didn't see any masks or social distancing.   There were vehicles parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the road. 

The water was quite calm and the tide was high as I was driving along.  My intent was to drive through Asilomar, but access was blocked off.  Of course, it is a California State Park and therefore closed due to the virus.  So, I drove back along the Bay and headed north and then east. 

And then over Pacheco Pass along the San Luis Reservoir. 

The reservoir has many fingers that go to into the surrounding hills.  At some time since it was constructed the water rose to the level of the top of the darker area.   Not for a lot of years now.

The hills are covered with the grass which is yellow-white most of the year.  The green trees are live oaks that are native to the area. 

On the opposite side of the road from the reservoir the hills are fenced and there are many fire breaks cut into the soil.  They do have fires that run for miles through the dry grass.  With the closeness of the roadway I suspect a lot are cigarettes thrown out of car windows.  Dumb.  

Soon I was on I-5 heading south for another four hours or so.  I did stop at Harris Ranch thinking I would rest for a half an hour or so, but it was 103F and I wasn't tired enough to sleep.  Arrived home about 8:30pm and waited until the next day to pick up KoKo from the KoKo Keepers.  They enjoy him and he always seems happy to be there.  But happier at home, I think.  I'm going back into isolation.  Who knows what I might have picked up on my journey.  

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Contining driving home 03-10-17

Last night Blogger wouldn't let me post pictures.  So, I will try again.  Hope to post class pictures tomorrow night. 

This is on the inland side of Hwy 152 which goes along the side of San Luis Reservoir located between Hwy 101 and I-5.  This is the first time for a number of years that I have seen water in this extension of the reservoir.

Going around the top end of the reservoir, the lowest spot in the distance is the dam.

Same as above a little further along.

Looking west across the reservoir.  And, yes, the color is pretty accurate.

On the inland side of the highway are the rolling hills, now a bright Irish green.

Further south on I-5 just south of the Stockdale Highway, on both side of the road, are flooded fields.  Some years in the distant past I would see flotillas of ducks and once a dozen or so white pelicans floating here.  Only a few ducks this time.  

 

Looking to the west the water stretches out in the fields.

Trees that have taken hold in the last five years stand in the water.

 

As a contrast, here is San Luis Reservoir in a drier year.

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Rain - maybe! Sep 19, 2007

Rain is forecast for parts of California (including the LA basin) tomorrow through Saturday. It won't be enough to even make a dent in our drought, but every little bit helps put a damper on the wild fires. I have been looking through my photos for some design inspiration and noticed the enormous difference in these two photos of the San Luis Reservoir on Hwy 152, just off the I-5 going west to Monterey and the Salinas Valley.

This one was taken Aug 31, 2005. You can just see the high water line on the distant shore.

This was taken July 11, 2007. There is a huge difference in that distant water line and the bottom of the lake is showing! This is agricultural water for the Central Valley, so it is important to all of us. It goes with the signs along I-5 and Hwy99, "Crops grow where water flows". Corny, but true. I hope that the rain goddess is kind to us all this year.