Christmas Morning

[summer_jackel]

Kestrel and I did not end up going on a particularly long trip, but it was memorable. We kayaked across Tomales Bay to Pt. Reyes and camped on one of the beaches there. Unfortunately, we neglected to bring the poles for our exciting new 4-seasons, oh so warm and toasty, tent. (I managed this feat because, since I'd never used the thing, I didn't realize the poles and fly were stored in a separate bag as the tent itself. And Kestrel didn't double check). So when everything froze solid that night, we were, um, cold. But not too cold; it was still fun.

We saw tule elk, harbor seals, sea lions (which were huge! They were just amazing) and oodles of birds, including scaups, bufflehead ducks, terns, mergansers, osprey, surf scoters, loons, cormerants, murres, great blue and green herons, pelicans, egrets and all sorts of little songbirds. I went to sleep to the sounds of coyotes yipping, and saw their tracks on the sand, along with raccoon, fox and bobcat. It is a beautiful place.

...next time, I won't forget half of the tent. :P



Morning at Pt. Reyes


When we woke, everything was iced:


observe, Kestrel's pillow!


I warmed myself up by climbing this hill


And saw many tule elk. I wish my camera had a better zoom.


Ice on the meadow grass


an early wild iris

Comments

[snebold.livejournal.com]

Bliss.

Such beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing them!

(Although the pillow.. Well, that certainly speaks for itself. BRRRRR)

[kynekh-amagire.livejournal.com]

Beautiful photos. I have wilderness envy.

Off-topic, but did you get the card I sent? There were parrot feathers.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

OMG I got it this morning!!!!! (sorry; I was gone a lot this week and haven't checked my PO Box). That is the BEST holiday card I have EVER gotten EVER! <3 <3 <3 <3
and the little feathers! Awesome!!!!! I really appreciate it; you are the only person who has responded so far.

*love*!!!!!

[nesting.livejournal.com]

mmm....frosty :)
i love point reyes...such an amazing scenic place. I've only been there once.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

It's pretty amazing. The wildlife opportunities are stunning; I always see something interesting there. To top it off, there are herds of feral Axis and Red deer loosed there about a century ago for exotic hunting. They are so cool. And of course, there is a surfeit of native wildlife.

[baxil.livejournal.com]

Plucky little iris!

You're probably actually lucky you forgot the poles. That way, all the moisture in the air froze onto your bags and blankets, rather than condensing inside the tent, running down from the peak, dripping down the sides, and prematurely soaking everything.

Feels weird to see your photos sans canines, but it looks like you had fun.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

hahahaha, so true. Still, this was a complex 4-season tent that is supposed to be intended for snow camping. It has a fly design that is supposed to stave off this problem, but alas we didn't test it because I didn't bring fly or poles! /facedesk/

It was odd to be dogless, but the kayak is of necessity a dog-free craft. Being in the water with sea lions was amazing. Those critters were *big*...almost as long as the boat, and considerably heavier.