Where the Buffalo Roam

 

I ride past Golden Gate Park's Bison Paddock pretty much every day and have been waiting a long time -- seemingly all winter -- to be able to see and photograph these impressively huge animals out in the same meadow that they and their ancestors have been roaming and browsing in for more than a hundred years. 

Groundskeepers recently bulldozed part of the meadow, perhaps to improve the forage, and the scars are already filling in with grass. It's a good time to see the bison out and about.

As I stood at the fence with the bison just a few feet away I was struck by just how huge these impressive animals really are. I could only imagine what it must have been like to see vast herds of them on the open plains. It was interesting to see cape buffalo up close at the San Diego Safari Park last week, but seeing these American bison felt more special, more deeply touching. They impart a visceral appreciation of our link to the deep history of  the people and animals who call this land home.

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San Diego Snaps

 

The Research Vessel Sally Ride Enters San Diego Bay

Although the main part of our quest was to see a platypus at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, I knew as soon as we entered the dark, cave-like enclosure of those cute little egg-laying mammals that my camera would be useless. We got there early and had the cave to ourselves, but after waiting hopefully for more than half an hour we had to leave to catch our safari truck without so much as a glimpse of a platypus. 

Fortunately, one of the critters was out and about when we returned to the enclosure, and we blissfully hogged the tiny viewing area as long as we could, even seeing the platypus catch and devour a crayfish (or yabby, as they call 'em Down Under) before being ushered out. The third time we showed up we had to wait in line to get in, but we did get to see the second of the two platypuses in a different part of the enclosure, so it was worth the wait.

Another highlight at the zoo was seeing California condors up close. I felt a special kinship with one of the birds that had come to the zoo as an egg in 1982, the same year I moved to the Golden State.

After enjoying the platypus and condors we spent a couple of days closer to the city. We stayed at a hotel near the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and visited Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and Cabrillo National Monument (where we were a little early for the tidepools, but it was very windy by then anyway). 

Giraffes and Wildflowers

Hooded Oriole in Cactus Garden

California Condor

Tiger Pad

Torrey Pines Beach

Lifeguard Station #5
(what we saw)

Lifeguard Station #5
(what this person saw)

Torrey Pines Reserve
(Thanks to the the philanthropy of Ellen Browning Scripps, this high spot along the shoreline didn't get turned into a housing development.)

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Carrizo Plain

 

Wildflower Mosaic

Just wanted to share some Panasonic FZ80 shots made last Tuesday (4/4/23) as we drove through Carrizo Plain National Monument on our way to San Diego to see the only live platypuses in the United States (and thereby scratch off one of my wife's longtime bucket-list items). 

We were surprised right off the bat by how full of water Soda Lake was. So many times I've seen it much more soda than lake (see 2013). This time it was too full for even a 180-degree panorama. 

I love fiddleneck as much as anyone, but I was a little perplexed by how much of the plain had been taken over by it. I'd never seen it before in such monocultural abundance. 

Although I only had time to use the point-and-shoot on this trip, I'm giving serious thought to heading back down there with my DSLR. Judging by the look of things we saw during our drive home today, there's plenty of time left to catch great color all over the place.

[UPDATE] If you click on the image below titled "Carrizo Plain and Temblor Range" to see it full-sized, you'll note a purple stripe in the distance. I believe that stripe is part of the huge purple splotch of color that NASA satellites captured on April 6.]

Along the Soda Lake Overlook Trail

View Over Soda Lake

Carrizo Plain and Temblor Range

Carrizo Plain and Caliente Range

South End of Soda Lake Road

Cloud and Paint Spill

View Toward Elkhorn Road From CA-166

Orange Poppies, Orange Jeep: The Grapevine This Morning

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Pt. Reyes in April, Pt. 2

 

Drake's Beach Sunrise

Iris Sunrise, Bluffs at Drake's Beach

One Elk

Two Elk

Three Elk

Five Elk

Wooly Sunflower

San Francisco Owl's Clover

Cotton-Batting Plant

Dead Cow Removal

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Pt. Reyes in April, Pt. 1

 

Elk in Velvet

Sea Rocket & Cattails, Abbotts Lagoon

Abbotts Lagoon

Sunrise With Iris Patch

Tracks #1

Tracks #2

Tree Swallow, Abbotts Lagoon

Pussy Ears at Abbotts Lagoon

Deer Among Wildflowers and Coastal Scrub

* * *

April on Mt. Vision

 

Sunrise from Mt. Vision

Just a few shots from a dawn patrol to Pt. Reyes National Seashore where the moon was setting as I passed through Point Reyes Station on my way to catch sunrise at Mt. Vision (in early April 2015). 

The Old Western Saloon With Setting Moon

Point Reyes Station With Setting Moon

Iris Sunrise, Mt. Vision

Mt. Vision Dreamscape

Bishop Pines in Chaparral

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Merced River Canyon

 

Looking through file photos for good wildflower destinations to check out this spring, I found these shots of crazy swathes of California poppies I photographed in the Merced River Canyon in 2009. I doubt it's always like this, but I do wonder what it's like right now, either here or elsewhere, in the Sierra foothills.

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