La Jolla Seals

Coastline of La Jolla

The last big thing we did while we were in San Diego was to drive up the coast to the little town of La Jolla.  It's right at the ocean and there's a spot where hang-gliders will literally jump off the cliff above the Pacific Ocean and sail around for awhile before coming in for a landing back in their original spot in the cliff.  It's right next to part of the UC San Diego campus so I expect there are times in good weather where the place is packed with people.  The weather the day we went was nice, but apparently not for hang-gliding. We didn't see anyone flying around, which was probably just as well.  Looking at the huge drop to the water, you couldn't pay me enough money to try that trick myself!  My dad thought it would be cool and I"m sure if my brother had been there he'd have been first in line, but there's no way I'd do that.  My definition of "can't" might be changing, but there are still things that cross the line into "won't". Hang-gliding above shark infested waters is one of those.

Protected cove with cool rock formations and beach

A little further down the coast we stopped at an area where there is beach access.  It's amazing the difference a few hours drive makes.  Two hours from Ocotillo and you're traveling through mountains with amazing boulders everywhere, then you find yourself at the coast of the Pacific Ocean.  My idea of beach coasts and oceans is mainly based on my experience with beaches leading to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.  Gentle slopes, lots of sand, etc.  The Pacific, on the other hand, is mountains, cliffs of rocks cutting off sharply to hit the water, and coves of sand and protected shores. At least, the area I saw was like that. Up the cliff you're in a town with upscale shops and a retirement community, cross a road and go down a flight of stairs and you're at rocky cliffs and little beaches with seals.

Seal, sunning himself

There are signs all over the place telling you not to bother the marine life because it's only your common sense (and the lifeguards protecting the animals) that keeps you from walking right up to a seal.  They sun themselves on the rocks in low tide and there were a few swimming in the protected cove who would even come up to the beach.  This particular beach is closed during calving season to guarantee the seals and their pups a little peace, but the rest of the time it's open.  We didn't go down onto the beach but walked along the walkway that let's you get a slightly elevated view of the water and the rocks with the seals.  I have to tell you, seals aren't that graceful out of the water. What makes them so perfect in the water makes them a lot like giant slugs when they try to move on shore.  And it reminds all SharkWeek devotees that seals aren't the only thing swimming around out there.  Even if I could swim, you wouldn't get me in that water! The seals can have it!

Seal swimming in protected cove

                                 

                                  Seal, risking his life swimming in the shark infested Pacific Ocean

San Diego Zoo fun

My parents came out to see the museum and the town before we all headed back to Long Island.  We had a great time out in Ocotillo, but Monday we did a little exploring in San Diego.  We checked out the San Diego Zoo and then drove up the coast to La Jolla where I got to see the Pacific Ocean.  It's amazing how, within a few hours drive, you can get such different scenery.

Meerkat!

The zoo was much bigger than I expected it to be, and has a really amazing variety of animals.  We saw meerkats, grizzly bears, polar bears, all the big cats, and some of my personal favorites: Striped Hyenas, New Guinea Singing Dogs, African Wild Dogs, and Maned Wolves.  Part of the zoo is right up against a middle school- it was a little weird to be looking at camels while listening to kids playing basketball on the other side of a giant fence!

Polar bears enjoying a mild December

We went early so we managed to avoid school groups and small children for the most part.  The polar bears were amazing. They're huge! There is an underwater viewing area for them so we got to watch one of the bears in the water up against the glass playing with a ball and really entertaining himself with it.  The New Guinea Singing Dogs were beautiful, with great brown eyes, and you could get up pretty close to their enclosure. They are pretty shy and sensitive to noise apparently, but one of them came up to the fence to check us out.  I'd never heard of them before, but they are now on my favorite animals list!

New Guinea Singing Dog, posing for the camera

Their two nearest neighbors were already on my favorites list: the African Wild Dogs and the Striped Hyenas.  Few people I've met agree with me on how amazing and cute hyenas are, but these guys were great.  It's too bad the zoo didn't also have spotted hyenas, which I sort of think are even cuter than their striped cousins. It's probably the only time I'll see a hyena in person, so that was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

African Wild Dogs, one of my favorites

As impressive as the variety of animals is at this zoo, I have to admit there were times when it couldn't compare with our zoo in New Orleans.  The maps weren't good and you never could tell what exactly the zoo had until you walked up to it, so you couldn't know if you were missing somebody completely awesome or if the map was just stupid.  They didn't even have a good overview of the animals you could see on their website, which you'd think would be a big deal.  The enclosures weren't great, many were much smaller than you'd think the animals would need, and many didn't really seem to be what the animals would be living in if they were in the wild.  Lots of mesh fences instead of the kind of pit and overhanging fence arrangements Audubon has.  And few educational plaques telling you about the animals you were looking at, beyond their species and where in the wild they can be found.  Maybe I'm just spoiled from how great Audubon is?  Although not even Audubon can be counted on for having members of the weasel family, beyond otters.  What kind of zoo doesn't have a whole section dedicated to mustelidae and how awesome they are?  At least this zoo had hyenas.

My personal favorite and the highlight of the zoo: the Striped Hyena. Isn't she cute?

Fossil Canyon Hike

Entering Fossil Canyon, in the Coyote Mountains

My last hike of 2012 was the first group hike to use the museum as their start point, and the hike itself was right in our front yard: Fossil Canyon, in the Coyote Mountains.  Any of you paying attention to my pictures will have guessed that the Coyote Mountains are my favorite view and I was excited to do some hiking there.  It was also exciting that among our intrepid group of hikers were my parents.  They came out to see what the museum and the area was like, and were interested to go on the hike with us.

Fossil Canyon, as you might guess, is known for fossils.  I expect most of the major ones have been taken out by geologists, archaeologists, tourists, and rock hounds, but you can still see some of the fossilized shells in the rock that remind you the area used to look quite different. That's one of the fascinating things about the area: as static as it looks you can also see the movement of the rock in the strata and fossilized clues that the area used to be under water.  We did see some shell fossils but the coolest stuff was the formation of the canyon itself.  I am always fascinated by the patterns of rock carved out by wind and rain, maybe because it's not even close to anything I experienced growing up.  When I try to explain to someone that there are no rocks in New Orleans I tend to get a lot of blank looks. When you're in an area like Imperial Valley it is hard to believe that there can be a place where there are no rocks.

Rock formation carved out of wind, water, and probably earthquakes

The hike was lots of fun, an easy walk for beginners and those of us who aren't in great shape. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery.  One of the most exciting moments came when one of our hikers spotted a big horned sheep up on the ridge.  Apparently people can live in the area and never see them, but this one was hanging out watching us.  My little camera couldn't do it justice because of the distance, but if you zoom in on the picture you can actually tell you're looking at a big horned sheep. That was pretty cool.  Another animal checked off my desert bucket list. Now I just need to see (and get a picture of) a roadrunner and get a picture of our local coyote.  I've seen him around, but documentation of the sighting hasn't happened yet. And tracks aren't quite the same as an actual roadrunner.  But I'm going back out in January, so there's still hope!

You have to zoom in to see well, but that's a big horned sheep up there!

"Can't" is an ever-changing mark

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken

-Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

Apologies to Shakespeare for altering his words, but as I look back on three months here in the desert, I have discovered that the word "can't" is an ever-changing mark.  What I would have said I couldn't do three months ago, and what I would say I can't do today, is very different.

Slot Canyon, Calcite Mine hike

Four months ago I would have said I couldn't move to the middle of nowhere CA's desert to build an archive.  I didn't have the experience, the knowledge, the abilities.  So I moved to Ocotillo to work at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum establishing their archive from the ground up.  Three months ago I would have said I couldn't climb a mountain.  I couldn't rock climb up a little slot in a canyon. Between not being in great physical shape, lousy balance (especially compared to my mountain goat roommates) and my own delightful TBI challenges, I couldn't have imagined climbing mountains, even small ones, to see the view from the top.  Now I'm posting pictures from the tops of (granted, small) mountains.

View from top of Coyote or Laguna Mountains. 12/4/12

I am by no means an extreme hiker at this stage. But yesterday we went on a "staff meeting" to hike Canyon Sin Nombre in Anza Borrego State Park. Last month we hiked the Calcite Mine hike. Both times we came to rocky slots of canyons that I would have looked at and assumed that was the end of the trail.  I watched others climb through and said "I can't do that." And then I did it.

I guess the point of this is that I am learning what most people already know.  Challenges, both physical and mental, are good for you.  There will always be things that you can't do. But just because you can't do them one day doesn't mean you shouldn't try it again in a month. Because then, maybe you can do it.

And since I'll be coming back here in January, who knows what "can't" will mean for me then?

My definition of "can't" is always changing.