Hanging out in Morro Bay

October 18th - November 10th 2009

Sailing by Morro Rock

Morro Bay 

We arrived at Morro Bay in calm weather and entered the harbour with no problems. ( If it is really rough or blowing the bar crossing can sometimes be a little intimidating!) A sea otter was hanging out in the entrance, they are so cute with their little whiskers.  

A bit about Morro Rock

Morro rock is a volcanic plug and one of 12 in the area. A volcanic plug is created when the magma cools in the shaft.  The surrounding rock is gradually eroded away and the hard plug remains.  It was first named in 1542 by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo  and became a common stop for the Spanish galleons.  It was first claimed for Spain.  The first recorded settlement was in 1864 by the Riley family. In the 1870's schooners filled the  harbour as sea transport was the only was to transport the farm goods from the surrounding ranches. At this time you could enter the harbour on the North or South side of the rock but it had a reputation for being a difficult entry through the surf. In the 1900's the area started to expand and they began to quarry Morro rock.  in 1933 they began using the rock to close off the north entrance and build a jetty.  The south channel was dredged and a breakwater constructed to protect the entry.  Commercial fishing boats filled the harbour and Morro Bay began to grow.  A power plant was built , bringing more work and more people.  The power plant is now closed but the 3 - 450ft towers still stand.  In 1968 Morro Rock was declared a State historical Landmark and it is now a sancturary for numerous sea birds and peregrine falcons.  (info from Morro Bay tourist info & brochure)

School included (aside from Math and Language Arts) a history of Morro Bay and a study of ocean waves, tides and currents.  It is cool to look at swells and think that the water isn't really  moving, its the energy passing through. When the waves get close to shore they slow down and get higher (surf). These are our favourite type of waves for playing on the beach!! While we were at Morro Bay there was a full moon and we could see the direct impact on the size of the tides. 

Hanging out in Morro Bay

 We anchored in the North end of the bay for a week before moving to a floating dock. The wind really blew (60knots!) so we were happy to be tied up.  The deep channel is quite narrow and right next to the anchorage it gets really shallow fast. We've seen a couple of boats anchor just a little too close to the sand bar and find themselves aground at the low tide. 

Our time in Morro Bay was spent hiking, sailing the dinghy and boogie boarding on the outside beaches.  There are really strong tidal currents in the bay so you learn pretty quickly to get in the dinghy and start rowing hard! It also made sailing a bit crazy if there wasn't enough wind to overcome the current.  Charlie got the outboard running and built a floor for the inflatable dinghy so we had an extra dinghy for exploring.  

Chris and the new outboard!

We spent most afternoons on the outer beaches, there were lots of dead things to look at. One day Steff counted 4 dead sea lions and one on its way! The vultures give them away as they circle above or feed greedily in groups.  It was interesting to watch them decay as the tide moved them further up the beach and the various animals and birds all seemed to take their little tastes. In no time at all there was very little left to identify.

There were plenty of sea birds - seagulls, plovers, long-billed curlews, pelicans and cormorants. The pelicans make a terrific noise as they dive and splash beside the boat! At night, the sea lions would start up with their chorus of barking which seemed to last until dawn. The next morning you'd see them lounging on the docks, resting up for another night of noisy barking!

Dinghy adventures in Azul

We named the dinghy 'Azul' - blue in spanish.  It was great sailing in the harbour. One very windy day Emily and Chris were rescued by the harbour patrol. They tipped over and were having trouble getting upright. They would just get the dinghy up and over it would go again as it filled with water. Oops forgot the bailing bucket! The harbour patrol were watching and finally went over to help them up and drop them back at the boat. They gave the kids points for lifejackets, tenacity and general good attitude! Em and Chris still claim they would have been just fine without help. 

It was nice to do lots of shore things and just hang out for a few weeks.  Russell came to visit and took the kids on a great tour of Cal Poly. It is a college nearby and the kids came back excited about school in a new way - they definitely have better toys at college!

Morro Bay has a great book shop so we found some new reading material and traded in some old favourites.  We all went to see 'Where the Wild Things Are' in the local theatre - there were about 10 people in the whole theatre.  We all agreed it wasn't really a little kid show but it was good.  Chris and Charlie also took in the Hot Rod Car Show in Cayoucoos. We visited San Louis Obispo for Emily's 14th birthday. (It's about a 45 minute bus ride from Morro Bay)

It is hard to believe we've stayed here this long! Just as we got ready to go the weather turned and some big seas (19-20ft) were predicted so we decided to stay put for another couple of days.

Sailing again - Morro Bay to Newport CA

Morro Bay

This is one of our favourite places to stop! 

The Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree

We had a hard time deciding whether to visit Bryce canyon or the Grand Canyon so we took a vote and the Grand Canyon was the most popular.  It really is spectacular.  Not only is it enormous but the views are spectacular. As you drive toward the N. Rim you pass through forests and meadows. We saw lots of deer. The trees were just starting to turn color.

We were lucky to see a ranger presentation on Condors.  The ranger was great, she acted out all the things as she taught us about condors and their habits. They are not particularly attractive to look at but they are kind of interesting.  It was really interesting to learn about the program to save them. They wanted to collect them to breed in captivity but they didn't want to risk losing any so they collected some  from S. America and raised those. It worked so they collected the US condors -  imagine being the person who collected the last wild condor?? The program has been successful, they have released populations and they are growing in number. Both the condors bred in captivity and the wild are doing well.  If you want to read more try this site:

http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/condor-re-introduction.htm

The drive to Joshua Tree was long and boring and hot. We stopped in a place called Bishop, not very interesting.  We were all a bit unprepared for the heat!  It had been quite cool in the Grand Canyon and now we were scrambling to find shorts and sandals in our very full car.

Finally we arrived at Joshua Tree (everyone knows the trees from the U2 album). Joshua Tree is in the desert but actually combines 3 deserts.  The rocks are mostly granite, weathered into these incredible shapes and forms.  The rocks are a golden red color and seem to glow at sunrise.  We found a campsite and settled in  - climbing tomorrow! It gets dark fast in the evening but it is so warm it is kind of nice to sit around outside.

Last time we went to J tree, it was in the middle of winter, and it got REEEAAAAALY cold at night, and there was still snow on the ground.  I liked that better (so did Christopher).  It was cooler in the daytime, so it was much nicer to climb then, whereas in the summer, its so hot that you  can pretty much only climb early in the morning or in the evening.

Mom wants to put something educational and informative on J tree in here =D, so here you go:

Joshua Tree Geology

>Joshua Tree National Park is situated on the edge of the Pacific and the North American plates (tectonic plates),  which is marked by the San Andreas Fault. 

>The San Andreas Fault runs just south of Joshua Tree (but we didn't go there).

>There are several types of rock that make up J tree, most of which is granite. Granite is an igneous rock (formed volcanically) and is formed of quartz, silica and feldspar.

>Another type of rock found at j tree is gneiss ,(pronounced nice) which is a metamorphic rock. (metamorphic rock: rock that has been changed by heat and pressure.)

>There is gold at j tree, too, and people would look for veins of quartz to find it. (as rock hardens, the quartz takes longer to cool, so it runs into the cracks in the rock, forming veins. Gold and silver are associated with quartz)

( if you want to add something or correct what's already there, please do =D )

Anyway, J tree was lots of fun, (as always!) and then we went to Lake Tahoe to see some friend, mountains, at last! It was so nice to finally have, fresh, COOL air, because the desert is really nice, but after a while, its just too hot.  

At Tahoe, we went on this great hike, and it was so pretty! We hiked around these glacial lakes, which you could swim in, the water wasn't too cold, but we didn't because the air was a little cold.  After that mom, Christopher, Tony (we were staying with her and her husband, Russell) and I all went on a bike ride up to Squaw Valley, and we made some candles. (it was pretty cool!)

From Tahoe, we went back to Sausalito, and then we set off (sailing) down toward Morro Bay. On the way, we stopped at San Simeon, it was really sweet, and there's some of castle, called Hearst Castle or something.  Then we went down to Morro Bay, which is where we are now.  when we gor there, we went into town, and found some boogie boards, wet suits, and a skim board in a 2nd hand store! When we went boogie boarding that day, it was horrid and cloudy and raining a bit, but the wave were great, it was sooo much fun!!!!!

Now we're just kind of hanging out in Morro Bay, relaxing and boogie boarding.  Don't know when we head to San Diego, probably in a week or so?

More on that later....

(we'll add pictures, too!)

The Road Trip Continues: Death Valley, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Zion Canyon and The Grand Canyon

Driving through Death Valley was hot with temperatures nearing 100 and this is the cool season! We camped in Panamint Springs that night.  As soon as we got out of the car the camp host told us to get out of the sandals and into shoes or boots - they have rattlesnakes and scorpions! 

The next morning we had school and then headed off to explore more of Death Vall

ey.  We stopped at Furnace Creek and t

hen the Dunes.  There are sand dunes in the 

mi

ddle of Death Valley - where do they come from?? We also saw lots of dust devils. You see a little sand moving then you see t

wo thin lines twist up and form a mini tornado. They were all around us, it was pretty cool.  We also stopped at the salt lake.  We hiked down to walk on it, it felt like you were walking on frozen ground as it crunched under your feet.  There were smooth round bubbles of salt and inside there were long thin slivers of salt 

connecting the sides of the bubble, they looked like stalagtites. We were below sea level!  We drove on and stopped at Zabriskie's lookout. What a view. The rocks were rounded and there were smooth worn cliffs. You could look down across the valley - it was so beautiful.

The drive down to Las Vegas was more desert. 

 Just before Las Vegas we saw Red Rocks in the distance. The rocks were sooo red!!! 

We Stopped and camped at Lake Mead.  Lake Mead has 550 miles of shoreline and was created when they built the Hoover Dam.  The campground was great with these little birds with tuffs on their head ran all around.  There was lots of Oleander which they warn you is very poisonous.  We could walk down to the lake and swim.  It was a long walk because the lake was quite low. We learned later they are in the 7th or 8th year of a drought. The lake was warm but weedy.

Next morning we were up early and off to the Hoover Dam. It was really cool. We did the tour and walked inside the dam and the power  plant. To start construction of the Dam they built four tunnels to reroute the Colorado River. The Dam is 221.3 m high and 13.7m wide at the top and  the base  is 201.2 m wide!  It is 379.2m long. They started construction in 1931 and finished in 1935.   They used  2.6 million cubic metres of concrete.  To help it set they put long pipes went in through the concrete squares and cooled the concrete - if they hadn't done it the concrete would have taken 125 years to cool which meant it would have cracked and crumbled.

The have 17 commercial generators in the power plant and the maximum power is 2.08 GW.  They moved all the big stuff with trains and you could see the rails in the plant. 

One side of the dam is Nevada and the other is Arizona.

We drove on  to Zion Canyon. Driving was boring again, mostly 

desert and dry hills. Once we reached Zion is was dark and the campground was full so we camped just outside. Next morning we were up early and found a spot in the park. There was a great creek for puddling and swimming. We stayed for two days.  So far it is the most beautiful place we've visited.  We hiked to Angel's Landing, it was a very steep hike with a stunning view of the canyon.  You took little shuttle buses around the canyon so there was not much traffic.  There were lots of little hikes into magical places with names like "The Emerald Pools" (they were named that because the algae made them look green). There are waterfalls and a place called the "Weeping Rock" where the water seeps out of the rock to create these wonderful hanging gardens. 

The canyon stared as sand dunes, 3 times higher than the dunes in the Sahara.  An inland lake formed, covering the dunes and hardening them into sandstone. Then the Virgin River began to cut its way down through the rock to form the canyon.  Some rock broke off in arches and some in squares so you see different shapes throughout the canyoon.  The fantastic colours of the canyon come from the minerals either running down and staining the rock, or leaching out of the rock. You see reds, yellows, desert varnish (black), white.  You also see green when it rains but that is a moss growing on the rock which becomes a vivid green whe

n exposed to water.

The second day we went on a walk with the Ranger at the Temple of Sinawava. It was called the Riverwalk and it ends at a place called the Narrows.  The talk was interesting, they have a really small snail only found in the park and they live on the walls where the water seeps from the rocks.  The ranger told a great Paiute story about the angry rocks which explains why rocks can't walk. 

It went something like this:

One day two gods were talking and decided what they made was a bit boring so they said "everything take a shape" and the gods walked around and named the shapes: animals, mountains, trees etc. Then they came across a shape that had fallen off the mountain and didn't have a name.  It could only roll. It was angry and it rolled and tumbled after 

the gods until Night Hawk came to save the gods. She dove and dove at the rock, beating the rock with her chin and wings.  Finally the rock broke up and the gods decided to punish the rock so they decided that all rocks that fell off the mountain would break into many small bits.  The Paiute don't walk in the Zion canyon because the angry rocks might fall at anytime.  It also explains why the night hawk has the white markings under the wings and chin - that is where the gods bandaged her after she beat the rocks. 

Time was getting short so we had to make a choice:  Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon or straight to Joshua Tree. We took a vote and 2 voted for Grand Canyon so off we 

went.  The drive wasn't boring it was spectacular.  There were huge cliffs, banded with so many different shades of red and we passed this field of rocks balanced on little points.  You could see where the sand had been worn out around them and they were left on tippy toes - it was amazing that they didn't fall over!  We chose the North Rim because it was less visited so we hoped t

o have fewer people for a change.  We stopped at Jacob's Lake to set up camp and then drove on to the Canyon. WOW. We were all very glad we visited the Canyon - it was spectacular and amazing.  

More about the canyon tomorrow .......

California road trip

      We arrived in  Sausalito just in time for the Sausalito Art Festival! It was great, except that I lost my camera!  Grrrrrr!  Right now, we're on a road trip to Yosemite, which we did  yesterday and the day before, hiked up to Half Dome, but didn't go all the way to the top; there were too many people going up.  Now we're in Death Valley, heading for the Grand Canyon, and maybe Zion or Bryce, then Joshua Tree for Climbing, Tahoe and then back to the boat in Sausalito!  And for all that I won't have a camera!  GRRRRRR!

      Anyway, the driving so far has been pretty boring, (driving usually is!) but Yosemite was stunning, it's all forest, big, rocky mountains and glacial lakes and streams.  The campsite we stayed in wasn't actually in the Park, it was just outside of it, and we had a little stream that went by right below the campsite, so we could swim and puddle in it!  

      We left Yosemite through Tioga Pass and it looked a lot like where we lived in France, all beautiful alpine country, then when you get to the other side of the Pass, it looks more like a desert!  

       So far, the trip's going well!!!

  ( I'll try to get some photos on from Mom's camera.)

<(leaving victoria)

Victoria, B.C. - Sausalito, CA

We stopped in Gibsons and Victoria to see friends and finish last minute boat jobs.  Victoria was great fun hanging out with friends, climbing at Crag X (the indoor climbing gym), movies and swimming. 

August 13th, 2009 - We're good to go!! Off to Port An

geles to clear customs. Great sailing but not much luck fishing!

August 15th, 2009 - We're off!!  Out the Juan de Fuca Strait. Exciting moment as a whale followed us 10 feet off the stern - panic! Dad turned on the motor and we changed course. The whale moved on.  Caught a salmon while we were tuna fishing. Too funny. It was delicious and we figured a good luck omen for the trip. 

August 16th, 2009 - First night out was bumpy and rolly, there was no wind so we motored. Then the motor stoppped at about 6am this morning. We put up sails to drift along while Dad worked on repairing the problem. He thought it might be the lift pump (what is that? It "lifts" diesel from the tank to the engine so it's a bit important).  Hours later Dad had the engine running again! Go Dad!

The wind picked up and we had porpoises off the bow (Dall porpoises ) They are small and their dorsal fins are triangular. They are very cool and love to play around the boat. 

We hooked up the monitor windvane and nobody had to steer! The wind picked up and up and we were flying along at 6.5 knots with 2 reefs in the main and no head sail.  Another bumpy and rolly night! Em got up to look at the stars with Mom - the milky way was amazing. We have to learn the names of the other constellations.

August 17th, 2009 - gale warnings for tonight and tomorrow so we decided to run into Newport Oregon. It was a bit of a race to get in before dark and the seas were picking up. We surfed a wave at 10 knots! The engine died as we headed to the bar but Dad dove below and got it running. He stayed down there keeping the engine going while Mom steered us over the bar. It was a bit bumpy and Chris got soaked by a wave! Once at anchor we all relaxed and tied up to the transient dock. We'll sleep well tonight.

August 18-19th, 2009 - Exploring Newport Oregon.  Great little town with some good second hand bookshops. Visited the aquarium which was pretty cool. The giant Japanese spider crabs were amazing, they are really big with very long legs. We also visited the Hatfield Marine Centre which was even cooler. It shows lots of the science behind the sea. We saw the machine designed to capture wave energy, we saw a film about bioluminescence, we looked at experiments on salinity and tons of other really good stuff. 

Chris found a great fossil shell at the beach off the South Jetty. It is really cool.

August 20th, 2009 - Off again. We are headed to Charleston (Coos Bay). We had our first watch. We steered the boat and didn't really do much else for the half hour.  Mom and Dad do 3 hrs  on and 3 hrs off.  We arrived early in the morning so bobbed around waiting for daylight. The bar was calm so we entered easily and tied up at the fish dock in Charlston.

August 21st-23rd, 2009 - Our friends Jason, Nicole and Rowan met us and stayed a night on the boat. They brought great veg from their garden. Mom was really excited about it and it did taste really good.  There was a  great beach 15 minutes walking. Lots of sand and big waves but the water was freezing cold. We tried flying the kites but it didn't go that well.

We all went to the Blackberry Festival in Coos Bay on Saturday - very yummy food and lots of art things to look at. 

Dad changed one of the Port lights the old one was not stuck in very well! He is going to change all of the them as we go along.

August 24-27th, 2009 - Off again. Left the dock early. No wind so motored and motored and motored. We sailed finally. We were going to stop at Brookings but the weather sounded good around Cape Mendocino so we decided to keep going.  Dad sorted out the autohelm  on the windvane so no one had to steer. We helped out on watches -  looking for boats and checking our course.  We had lots of dolphins on the bow and once we were surrounded by over 50 of them jumping and splashing. It was fantastic. There were whales too. Some close and some in the distance. As we passed Cape Mendocino the fog came and went. Sometimes you couldn't see a thing but we had the radar. At night the phosphorescence in the water was incredible, wherever you would see white in the waves during the day it was bright green at night! 

As we got near San Fransisco we started dodging big boats in the fog. Mom and Dad were a little busy. We anchored at Drake's Bay. It was cool how the fog lifted just as we passed Point Reyes.  You could see the fog pouring down the sand cliffs. Yuck, you could smell the birds and the sea lions.  The rocks were white with guano.

We anchored in the Bay, it was really blowing hard so we didn't go to shore.  Too funny, there was a buoy we passed covered with sea lions (Chris counted 15, a record so far) Then we looked over at a little boat on a mooring and it was covered in sea lions - we called it the Sea Lion Hotel. 

August 28th, 2009 - We were up early and started sailing to San Fransisco via the Bonito Channel.  The wind died and we ended up motoring again! There were lots of sea lions, dolphins and fish jumping! The Pelicans were pretty cool too. It was sunny with no fog.

As we approached the Golden Gate Bridge Mom had to take way too many photos! Chris steered the boat under the bridge and into the bay.  It was suddenly hot when we entered the bay. We anchored off Sausalito - it is really shallow! Dad rowed off the check in with customs while we cleaned up and tidied the boat.  Finally Dad was back and it was off to shore for a quick adventure!

Getting ready to go

We are just setting out on our adventures and getting used to being back on a boat.
(i.e: tight spaces :))

Here's a photo of Adios, taken by Tony Blair. (Tony and her husband Russel came to stay on the boat for a few days!)

Right now, we're in Campbell River, and we're gonna leave this afternoon and go to Von Donop. We'll probably stay for a day or two there, and then I think we're going to Desolation Sound, staying there a while, and then heading back to Van Anda. Being on the boat is taking a bit of getting used to after living at the house. But it is awesome to be able to go fising every day. (i dont like fishing!-E)