I discovered them at Pismo Beach on the coast of California, between Los Angeles and San Francisco and where most of that group spend the winters.
I was late leaving Joshua tree, stopping at a Walmart in Yucca Valley for the night. The next day I met a friend traveling from British Columbia and had a long lunch sharing our stories. I would meet up with him again on the coast, then continue our journeys, his back to BC and mine east.
In my RV life. I've discovered the impermanence of everything in life, including friends. Having spent many years trying to hang on to people and things, this has been an interesting process. It is difficult to let go and requires a lot of trust and a leap of faith, like jumping out of a plane with no parachute but....the rewards are beyond what I expected: a fearless freedom I have never experienced before.
The route to the coast was spectacular at times with mountains then large groves of orange trees and fields of ?strawberries. There were many pickers, mostly Mexicans, bent over in the hot sun.I felt guilty at first, thinking of how easy and luxurious my life is compared to theirs but then I remembered that I've decided to delete guilt from my life and instead, to live in gratitude for all I have.
The countryside became greener and more lush as I approached the coast.
The roads were good but the traffic was very heavy most of the way with frequent stops and starts. Many drive much faster than the speed limit (65mph)and cut in and out. There were no rest stops as I whizzed past San Bernardino and Pasadena. Much of the traffic was from Los Angeles area.
I was exhausted and it was late by the time I reached Ventura (almost at the coast) so I just drove into a truck stop and crashed.
The next day, I reached the Pacific and its vast expanses of water, a delight after all my time in the desert! The 101 north along the coast was wonderful, although still fairly heavy traffic. My RV got a good workout driving up and down the mountains! It was a delight to see many flowering bushes, hillsides covered in spring flowers, and the blue water.
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| Montana de Oro |
I drove as far as Montana de Oro State park which someone told me about. The road to the park was steep, narrow , and had some awesome views. There was a bicycle and walking path all along the edge of the cliffs.
The area was named de Oro because of the golden colours of the flowers there. It was paradise!
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| Montana de Oro |
I stayed for 3 days, walking on the beach, hiking, and climbing up rocks. There was a big rock on the beach some people climbed up on. It took me a while to figure out how to get up there but the view was worth it. Then, how to get down?? I managed to get most of the way down then got stuck, afraid to fall. Someone on the beach saw me and helped me down. Am I getting too old for this kind of activity?
The weather on the coast was foggy in the morning then sunny later on and still pleasantly warm.
I decided to backtrack a few miles south to Pismo Beach.which someone told me was worth going to. As I looked for the State park, I saw signs with information regarding butterflies but I didn't see any flying around and only a few when I got to my campsite. I was a bit disappointed at first.
I then followed the signs and went to the group of trees where they stop for the winter. Looking up, I saw thousands of monarch butterflies flying overhead! They were on the eucalyptus trees in that specific area, a microclimate.Most were in clusters on the trees and difficult to see as they blend in. The park had a few small telescopes to see them and what a wonder!!
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| A cluster of monarchs in a eucalyptus tree |
Their lifecycle is amazing. There are 2 groups of these fantastic butterflies. This group flies from west of the rockies in BC and northern Us to this area for the winter, Pismo beach being the main stopping place although some go to other nearby places such as Santa Barbara.
The female lies the eggs on the underside of a milkweed plant (usually one egg per plant as the resulting caterpillar needs a whole plant for its food. The egg hatches on day 4-5. Milkweed has toxins in it that make the caterpillars and butterflies harmful to birds and mammals. Thir bright colours act as a warning.
On day 20, the caterpillar forms a chrysalis and goes through metamorphosis. This splits open in about 9-15 days and the butterfly appears. The adult monarch lives for only about 6 weeks and dies after laying the eggs. The males court the females on the ground then lift her up and fly her to a tree where they mate. this is not always successful as some females are hard to get a hold of!!!
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| Male monarch courting a female |
This cycle applies to those born in spring and summer.Those born in the fall, migrate south and live in semi hibernation
for up to 8 months! Then they mate ,fly north again, stopping at milkweed plants to lay their eggs, etc.
A major problem is that the plants of milkweed are disappearing due to pesticides and urban growth.
The gov't is now considering a law to make the flight paths of the monarchs free of pesticides and land clearing and many people now grow milkweed for the butterflies.
Amazing!!
Now I'm at Paso Robles, just north of Pismo beach and begin to head east and my journey back to Canada. My destination in 2 days is Death valley Park.
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| Pismo beach and surfer |
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| Where are they going in such a hurry?? |
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Many of these succulent flowers along the beach |
