Day 3 - Elephant Seals

I've been looking forward to today ever since I started planning this trip.  We've been through the Cambria/San Simeon/Hearst Castle area several times and until now, I never knew about the Elephant Seals that hang out on the beach just north of Hearst Castle.  I'm sure they've always been there, and I'm sure we've seen the "Vista Point" signs before as well as all the cars in the lot and people hanging out, but we just never stopped.  Never again will we pass by without stopping - it's very very cool!  If you are driving North on Hwy 1, about 5 miles after you pass Hearst Castle you'll see the Vista Point signs.  (If you get to the Piedras Blanca Lighthouse, you've gone too far.)  Pull off and look!  There are Elephant Seals on the beach all though the year - sometimes females, sometimes males, sometimes pups, and at this time of year, sub-adults - the teenagers of the Elephant Seal world.

When you first arrive at the Vista Point and look down to the beach, it appears the seals are dead, they're just lying there . . .

Elephant Seals on the Beach

There were docents on the bluff with a wealth of information about the seals.  We learned that they are normally solitary animals, and the only time they are together as a group is when, as now, they are molting, or during the breeding and birthing seasons.  Otherwise, they travel alone, and when I say travel, I do mean travel.  These seals have come all the way from the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska, and will rest on the beach here for four to six weeks while they molt.  When they arrive, they are very bulked up and plump, but they will not eat while molting, and by the time they leave, they will be much much sleeker and thinner.  They will lose an entire layer of skin and all their hair during this time.  The reason they look "dead" is because their heart beat and respirations go way down as they lie on the beach and molt.  When they are done molting, they will leave the beach one by one to swim north back to the Aleutian Islands to feed.  Adult male seals spend eight months of the year at sea, females and juveniles spend ten months.  These marine animals are really submarine animals, spending most of their lives traveling undersea routes in search of food and trying to avoid predators - great white sharks and killer whales (orcas).  They can stay underwater for 20-30 minutes and their average dive is over 1,000 feet.  They surface for only a few minutes between dives.  A full grown adult male will be 16-18 feet in length and can weight up to 5,000 pounds.  An adult female is about 12-14 feet in length, and a new born baby seal is about 3-4 feet in length and weighs about 350 lbs.  These are  B - I - G  animals!

While molting, the Elephant Seals like to use each other as pillows

Another thing we learned - you will never see an Elephant Seal in captivity.  You won't find one at Sea World or in any Aquarium.  I'm sure I've never seen one before, and I was riveted, just watching them do nothing.   But as we watched, we did start to see movement . . .

This guy was using his flipper to throw sand onto his back - a way to keep cool

These sub-adult males are somewhere between 4 - 7 years old, and probably weight around 1,000 pounds.  They look really huge, but are actually small when compared to a full grown adult male.  Their noses are beginning to widen and hang down, and will continue to grow longer each year until they reach maturity.  This proboscis that resembles an elephant's trunk is what gives them their name - elephant seal.  To me, their face looked more like a camel than an elephant . . .

A face only a Mother could love!

When the seals first arrive on the beach, they are a dull tan or brown, and they may have patches of skin that are beginning to peel off like a really bad sunburn.  And as I said before, they are nice and plump.  After the molt, they are a smooth silvery color. 

Various stages of the Molt

It might seem like these guys are all very peaceful and relaxed, but remember, these are "teenage males".  So trouble is never very far away.  And like all teenage boys, they have to defy and dare each other, and soon they are sparring and challenging each other, banging their chests together and nipping at each other's necks in mock fights.

"You want a piece of me?"

"Take that!"

"What else you got?"

"Wanta dance?"

The battles continue into the water . . .

Can you say "water fight?"

And all the while they're sparring, they are making these deep belching sounds - I'm not sure if they were threatening each other or claiming victory.  It was very entertaining to say the least!

While all of this is going on, there were also regular seals (the kind you do see at Sea World or in Zoos and Aquariums) resting on the rocks a little further out  . . .

Seals on the rocks

A closer look

It was really hard to tear ourselves away, but finally we got back in the car and drove further north to see the lighthouse, which you have to view from a distance . . .

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

A Closer Look (still loving my new zoom lens!)

 We drove a little further up Hwy 1 towards Big Sur, just to take a look . . .

So pretty, despite the coastal fog

Overlooking Big Sur

We slowly drove south on Hwy 1 back to Cambria, and found this very interesting sight . . .  Nitt Witt Ridge.  Here's what I found on Wikipedia about this place, which is California Historical Landmark #939 . . .

"Nitt Witt Ridge is a house on two-and-a-half-acres in Cambria, California. Artist/recluse Arthur "Art" Harold Beal (d. 1992) bought his hillside lot in 1928, and spent most of the next 50 years carving out the terraces with only a pick and shovel, and creating his own "castle on a hill."

"Arthur Harold Beal is known as Der Tinkerpaw or Captain Nitt Witt. Beal was garbage collector for the town of Cambria in the 1940s and '50s, and made good use of what Cambrians were throwing away, as well as the natural materials on the property, in the nearby pine forests, and on the area's beaches. Some parts are also reportedly remnants from Hearst Castle where he reportedly worked for a time. Other common building materials are beer cans, abalone shells, and concrete. There are also washer drums, car rims, tile, car parts, and old stoves."

I wish we could have seen the inside (although I'm not sure I would have felt safe walking through it - it looks rather dilapidated) - they do have tours but you have to make advance arrangements and we didn't.  Very interesting - the more you look at it, the more you see . . .

Nitt Witt Ridge

So that was the end of our day.  We had a nice dinner at Linn's Restaurant. . .

Linn's Restaurant in Cambria's East Village

. . . awesome Olallieberry Pie for dessert - (olallieberry is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry), headed back to the Hotel, and called it a night.

Tomorrow will be an uneventful drive home.  But I'm definitely going to plan another trip up here to see the Elephant Seals again - I understand the very best  time is around Valentine's Day - when the beach is crowded with adult males, females, new born babies, and it's also mating season.  Plenty of action in the rookery!  Sounds like a must see!