We feel so fortunate that these lands are now in the public domain. Allen Vinson recently hiked part of the lands and took these photos.
This last photo shows the Point Arena Lighthouse in the distance. What a beautiful place!
Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
John Sperry recently photographed a field of Zigadenes, Zigadenus fremontii.
Cece Case captured a Calypso Orchid, Calypso bulbosa.
And on the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands Rozann Grunig found this lovely wildflower with the unlovely name of Western Skunk Cabbage, Lysichiton americanus.
This plant loves water and is one of the few native species in the arum family. The plant is called skunk cabbage because of the distinctive "skunky" odor that it emits when it blooms. The odor of the blooms attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies and beetles.
Many more wildflowers will be blooming in the days to come as we have had the perfect equation for them to bloom.
Thanks to John, Cece and Rozann for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
There is a beautiful waterfall on the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands. However several years ago the waterfall "broke." The water no longer cascaded off the high bluff but it found a way down inside the rock. I'm happy to report that the waterfall is once again flowing over the bluff. In fact it is spilling off the bluff in two waterfalls. Margaret Lindgren recently photographed them.
To see this waterfall, which has been refreshed by the wonderful rains we are having this week, go down Lighthouse Road. Before you reach the pay station of the Point Arena Lighthouse, you will see a parking area to the left with a porta potty. Enter there and hike south along the bluffs. The scenery is magnificent there, with a sinkhole.
As you can see by the photo, with our golden retriever, Huckleberry, the sinkhole is huge!
Continue heading south - it might take fifteen minutes or so - and you will come to a seasonal creek. You need to hike down, cross the creek, and then climb back up. Go a little further south and look back. Here's a photo I took some time ago, before the waterfall disappeared for several years. You might be able to see the Lighthouse in the distance.
And below is a look at the waterfall when it fractured and the water went inside the rock face.
I am so glad the waterfall is flowing where we can see it. And because these lands are protected as the first land based part of the California Coastal National Monument, they are preserved for all of us to enjoy.
Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Margaret leads hiking tours here on the Mendonoma Coast. Her website is: www.unbeatenpath.weebly.com
Ron LeValley was out on the Point Arena-Stornetta lands when Secretary Jewel visited to see this beautiful land for herself last November. The hope of many of us is for this land to be included in the California Coastal National Monument.
While Sally Jewell visited the land, three Humpback Whales started breaching. Though it was a long ways off Ron got this photo. What perfect timing - even the Whales are in agreement!
Ron enjoys going on pelagic trips and sometimes gets some fantastic up close and personal photos of Humpback Whales. Below is one such photo.
