We had a pretty easy drive to Leo Carrillo State Campground from Pismo Beach. The campground is pretty nice and has over 130 spaces. We had one with electricity which was nice- even though it was coastal, the canyon was warm and we have AC! While we were setting up, 3 Monk Parrots started squawking from a dead tree right near us. Later as we walked the loops, we saw a very noisy flock of 9 fly over us. That was a bit different!
I was so excited to finally get to the Channel Islands NP. I’ve been to Catalina Island a lot, at least as a kid and hunting goats with my dad, but never to the other islands. It is such a remarkable story since these islands were never attached to the mainland of California. So even though some birds fly across, and some rodents and fox may have rafted across, the species here have been pretty isolated. At one time Golden Eagles had taken up residence, but that was not a historical species, so they were relocated. There was some sheep and cattle ranching, started by the Mexicans when they held the island, that continued through the 1960s. Now that is all “fixed” although we heard a story of 2 ewes still running around somewhere! Bald Eagles (which are a historic species) have returned to nesting here. And we even saw one flying/fishing right by Smuggler’s Point on Santa Cruz Island.
Santa Cruz Island is the biggest of the islands at 92 miles or so long. You can start to see it off the coast of Santa Barbara as you drive down Highway 1. We went to the very nice Visitor’s Center the day before the hike to get some maps and input. We knew that it lacked any conveniences and wanted to make sure we were ready!
The boat we took to Santa Cruz Island left from Ventura Harbor. For some reason I never realized how big of an ocean front and marina Ventura had, or that Oxnard is also a coastal city! Both have very nice coastal presences. The ride along Highway 101 and 1 are so picturesque! And I had completely forgotten how amazing the beaches are in Malibu!
After the boat ride out ( not seasick!) we hiked a little over 5 miles along a trail that took us onto the bluffs (decently steep but an OK trail) and then to Potato Harbor. A fair amount of up and, unfortunately, steep downs, and no shade what so ever. As we hiked, Dave was trying to identify the endemic plants, bugs and lizards on Seek, and while we were watching a pod of Common dolphins, an Island Fox walked right past me on the trail. Within a foot and a half! They are very small, smaller than a cat, and very cute! It just kept going up the trail away from us. We got to the harbor and could hear some Ca sea lions and saw a few Harbor Seals. No elephant seals though.
After that, we cut back through the “middle” of the southern part of the island to a campground. The campgrounds are primitive but do have water. There is NO trash service so everything is carry in, carry out. At the second campground there was a class of 26 6th graders camping there for 3 days. As they were learning about the “fox” boxes ( otherwise known as bear boxes!), here comes another Island fox. Walked within feet of us, and then trotted over to a gaggle of screaming, picture taking kids to rifle through their backpacks for snacks! The foxes are completely docile and human habituated. They have no predators so are normally out all day! Apparently they know all about backpacks and tents as food providers!
We finally made it back to the pier, but unfortunately there is very little shade anywhere except the campgrounds, so it was pretty hot and humid. We decided to try waiting right on the dock and we did finally get a breeze. Even the museum “Visitor Center” was way too hot/humid to really go through even though it seemed pretty interesting. While waiting and talking to a few others, we were able to watch a Bald Eagle fishing. On the way back on the boat, we went through a giant pod (1000?) of Common Dolphins who were playing in the bow waves and wake. The captain would speed up and slow down, and the dolphins just kept changing it up with him. That went on for at least 20 minutes as we crossed the deep water channel! They told us that 25,000 dolphin live in this area. If it weren’t for the oil derricks out there, it would have been magical!
The next day, we walked the entire Zuma Beach area of Malibu, past the firefighting recruits, and had a picnic lunch at El Matador Beach. Then we relaxed and hung out at the Leo Carillo State Beach. We went to the northern edge which was very nice and had few people. We had Dave’s birthday dinner at Neptune’s Net ( meh) and talked to the kids for a couple of hours. All in all, a great, relaxing and fun time.