For part of this winter I made plans to camp and photograph in the Big Sur area.  I had my campsite booked and was looking forward to 5 days of exploring the coast.  Then the rains came. The result was a considerable portion of Hwy 1 south of Big Sur was closed due to mudslides.  As it got close to my departure date it became clear that the highway was unlikely to re-open while I was there.  The campground, although accessible from a back route, would only allow access to a short section of the highway. So I cancelled my campsite reservation, booked a hotel in Moro Bay, and headed off to see whatever I could.

Although the section of Hwy 1 that I really wanted to see was closed, I still managed to see enough to make the trip worthwhile.  I was just disappointed that I didn’t get to see what I really wanted to see.  I guess that just means a return trip sometime.

Moonstone Beach

The evening of my arrival I enjoyed shooting sunset at Moonstone Beach.

Sunrise the next morning saw me photographing Morro Rock from the North.  The rock, a major landmark of Morro Bay, is the remains of an old cinder cone.

Morro Rock

Breakfast time!

Later in the day I visited Hearst Castle.  The history of the home of William R Hearst was quite interesting and the site was well worth a visit.

Hearst Castle

Sculpture

Golden statue

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle

Dining Hall

Hearst Castle

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the nearby coast.  Of interest were a number of beaches heavily populated with Elephant Seals.

Squirrel

Birds

Elephant Seals

Elephant Seal

Sand flipping

Yawn

Elephant Seals

Sunset

Sunset

An interesting shaped rock provided subject matter for my shoot the next morning.

Spooner’s Cove

I spent the rest of the day exploring the coast north of Morro Bay and, later in the day, Morro Bay State Park.

Precision flying

Snowy Egret

Dark-eyed Junco

The next morning I returned to Morro Bay State Park to shoot Morro Rock again at sunrise, this time from the south.

Morro Rock

My next stop was to check out the town of Cayucos.  There was lots to see, including a huge pier, surfers, and an interesting main street.  Of course I had to check out one of the landmarks, the Brown Butter Cookie Company!  I’m happy to report the cookies were great!

Surfing

Cayucos Pier

Cayucos

Cayucos

Just down the road a bit was the tiny community of Harmony.  With a population of 18 it is comprised mainly of artist’s shops.

Harmony

Harmony

I finished off the day photographing Ragged Point, which is as far north as I could go.  Just past the Ragged Point Inn the road was closed.

Ragged Point

On my final morning I returned to Cayucos to capture the pier at sunrise.

Cayucos Pier at Sunrise

I leave you with this final image that just seems to need Humphrey Bogart to complete it.

Cayucos Pier