Germar's Monthly Updater

Four-National-Parks-Tour Day 13 The storm went on all night and the next morning. Before we headed south on Highway One, I had to refuel our motor home (it consumed about 29 liters per 100 kilometers). The attendant of the gas-station said "It will be a dangerous drive!". I did not quite understand the guy's concerns and replied, "Yeah, it's a bit windy, we just drive slowly and should be fine." During the next hours, I understood what he meant. The rain and wind lead to numerous land slides and we saw several trucks with shovels at front, ploughing away the debris. It almost felt like driving at home in winter. I had to keep an eye on the steep slopes next to the street, and pray that no big rock is coming loose. Land and ocean were in fury, which a picture can hardly capture. With god's help, we managed to get around all obstacles without damaging the car. We stopped for a break at Point Piedras Blancas, south of the Santa Lucia Range. The beach was complete claimed by elephant seals. Below, a small female is lurking around the corner. In the distance, male elephant seals were fighting for their harem. This was something I've never seen before, nor expected to see here. The bulls, which are more than 4 meters long and can weigh more than two tons, were battling ferociously. They were piercing each other with their long tusks and had to rely on the thick blubber around their neck to protects their inner organs. It can happen that the animals fight to the death, but fatalities are rare. We continued south; had a coffee break at Morro Bay, located just opposite of a unique 600-feet-high volcanic rock; turned inland; drove through San Luis Obispo; and headed further south on highway 101. It continued raining until we hit the coast 40 kilometers west of Santa Barbara. Then, the storm finally cleared, giving way to a phenomenal rainbow. A raven was joyfully announcing the return of the sun, lit by the rainbow in the back. We pulled in to El Capitan State Beach for watching the sunset. After the rain, everything looked fresh and clean. The rocks at the beach were shimmering golden as the sun went down, ... ... and the clouds in the sky tried hard to please us with hues ranging from yellow to pink. We stayed at El Capitan State Park for the night, at a spot overlooking the ocean.

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