Kayaking around Scorpion Rock, above, is truly a great national park experience. You are completely surrounded by wildlife, with brown pelicans flying in formation above, various seabirds perched and nesting on the rocky cliffs, harbor seals and California sea lions popping up curiously, and a brown kelp forest below with colorful sea stars and garibaldi fish. Our adventure tour had us on the water for several hours exploring both east and west of the scorpion ranch dock. Due to a fault line running through the volcanic rock, combined with powerful waves, this particular corner of Santa Cruz Island has perhaps the largest concentration of sea caves in the world, and I kayaked past a big blow hole, through several arches, skirting a gyrating whirlpool, around a pillar, and far enough into the back of one cave that the entrance almost disappeared in the swell. Wonderful!
If that’s your cup of tea, get in touch with the Santa Barbara Adventure Company, who can arrange a whole day tour, my favorite paddling tour. The guides were excellent, despite being frequently interrupted by seals and sea lions, and offered memorable stories to explain what we were paddling through and to inspire us to pay closer attention and care more about the natural world around us. Some flexibility helps, as weather can affect camping, ferry crossings and kayaking conditions significantly. The ferry operator contacted me the night before my trip to advise me of a storm that would bring hazardous winds, rains to turn my campsite to mud, and the likelihood of a canceled return ferry. They suggested changing to a day trip to avoid all that, so I left my camping gear in my trunk and had a spectacular, slightly rushed, day on the water.
I feared that I would not get to see the Island Fox, but one popped out as we were eating a late lunch (see below). Frankly, I needn’t have worried about not seeing any wildlife, especially on a kayak tour. Black oystercatchers, several different cormorants, the island scrub jay, pigeon guillemots, and a wandering tattler were just a few birds we saw. A large pod of common dolphin greeted our ferry’s arrival at Santa Cruz Island and played in our wake, and I spotted several whale spouts on the ride back.
I recommend arriving the day before your trip, going to the visitor center near the ferry dock, and watching the park film, narrated by a local high school grad named Kevin Costner of Water World fame. There you can learn about the islands, the Chumash cultural heritage, and all that you hope to see. The five Channel Islands are often called the Galapagos of the US, and, having been to the actual Galapagos, I must say it’s not true. There are similarities, including some seabirds resembling penguins, numerous playful seals & sea lions, and the sense of being surrounded by species in an extraordinarily special place, but there are no giant tortoises or brightly colored iguanas or other tropical species. The Channel Islands are unique in their own right, in a Mediterranean climate, on a busy seaway for whales and other marine mammals, remarkably accessible from one of the country’s largest urban areas. Marvelous!
California’s Golden Age architect, Edwin Neff, designed a grand ranch, above, for King Gillette of razor blade fame, in the roaring ‘20s, who sold it to Clarence Brown, who directed dozens of successful films, including National Velvet and The Yearling. Later the property had numerous colorful owners, but eventually it was saved by conservationists who won national protection for the stretch of mountains overlooking the Pacific above Malibu. The recreation area includes state and city parks, numerous film locations, horse riding trails, scenic vistas and wildlife, not far from Santa Monica and the LA basin.
This was actually the first park I visited for this blog, on the same day I picked up my EV. But I was so upset by the devastation of Paramount Ranch after the Woolsey Fire, that I neglected to take a photo. So, since I driving by on Thursday, I decided to do this redux visit to get a proper photograph or three. The visitor center is in the old Gillette Ranch carriage house, with the horse stalls and round hayloft now an exhibit space. And if you walk up the hill, you get a grand view of the Santa Monica Mountains below.
The whole recreation area is fascinating, especially if you’re a fan of scouting old TV and film locations: the Rockford Files beachfront home/ office at Paradise Cove, M*A*S*H’s camp in ‘Korea’ and Planet of the Apes, including Zuma Beach where Charlton Heston famously dropped to his knees to curse us all.
Daniel Romero marched with César Chávez back in the day, so when a nationwide protest against recent cuts to the national parks & US forest service popped up today at noon, of course, he came wearing his ‘¡Si, Se Puede!’ T-shirt. He knows from experience that predicting turnout is a fool’s game, but instead of the expected 3, there were around 20, even at a very small park in a rural area best known for a loop of track for trains to change elevation to traverse the Tehachapi pass. Another was Fernando Chávez, a grandson of César, who discussed the need for solidarity, coalition building, and activism at the base of the old oak tree next to Martyr’s Garden, where his grandparents lie at rest. “We’ve been protesting forever”, said Romero. “Even though we are sometimes excluded, we have always tried to support each others’ causes”, said Chávez, recounting how spontaneous protests recently broke out after a particularly brutal local raid by ICE. Romero listed the unions that marched with them, describing diverse families and even weddings during the boycott and strike.
This was an early park visit for me, as it’s local. Unlike my quiet visit 3 years ago, folks here today were sad, angry and surprised by the chaotic decisions to cut 1,000 NPS staff and 10% of the USFS. One employee here had just transferred from New Mexico when his job was axed by Elon Musk. Many of those affected were young, promising staffers, full of optimism. Supposedly he is scrambling to get the transfer reversed to stay employed. While there may be some cost savings, in the long run, the work these folks do protects and adds a lot of value to our country, so cutting when hiring is needed is counterproductive. I felt the need to apologize for still driving a Tesla, but folks understood, knowing others who are now trying to unload theirs. I’m keeping mine, as the climate crisis is going to get worse, despite efforts to delete the word climate from government documents.
I know Saturdays are supposed to alternate state photos, so I’ll add another and a video below. But I thought you might like this real time update from a very appropriate park for a protest, with people whose lives were defined by the proud history of protesting in America. Next week will return with another western state. Thanks for reading!
7 trails cross the Southwest region, including 6 National Historic Trails linking multiple sites, plus a National Scenic Trail. Here’s a quick summary in case you are interested in exploring the trails in the region.
Butterfield Overland NHT passed through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico (although the photo below is near a stop across the Arizona border in Tombstone).
My medium term goal is to visit all the parks in the lower 48 states in my electric car, and that necessarily includes taking an occasional car ferry. I would prefer never to take carbon burning transportation, but I’m neither going to risk my life nor break the law, nor encourage anyone else to do so. Some river roads, coastal highways and islands rely on ferries—such as in the Outer Banks or San Juan Islands above—, without practical alternatives. The only way to visit the Statue of Liberty or Alcatraz is to take the ferry.
My general rule is to arrive at each park by zero emission vehicle but to take park transport as needed to enjoy the park, like at Steamtown. Whenever I can, I encourage park employees to replace their old transport with solar powered electric boats, which would be perfect at Fort Matanzas. And the NPS is slowly converting its transportation to renewable, for example at Zion.
Most of our border with Canada is a straight line from Minnesota to the Pacific, except for Canada’s Vancouver Island, which dips below the line. When the border was negotiated, the treaty put the border through the “middle of the channel”, i.e. the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca. Except where the San Juan Islands are in the middle, and then which is the main channel becomes a matter of interpretation. San Juan Island is much closer to Victoria Canada than to the mainland, so the British claimed it. But the Haro Strait is larger than the rest of the channel, so the Americans claimed San Juan Island too. Nobody really cared much about the sparsely populated islands, until an American squatter killed a British pig for rooting in his garden. Then, both sides prepared for war.
English Camp in the northwest is lovely, set on a well protected bay amidst large oaks, hemlock, and madrona trees. Well supplied from Victoria, the British created a formal garden above, kept calm and carried on. The Americans—actually the Robert’s Rules of Order writer—built a fort on the exposed southeastern point, conducted rigorous drills and maintained strict discipline. Large flag poles were erected at both camps. At the time, the US was entering the Civil War, so the government sent General Scott to negotiate peace. Fortunately, the border dispute was settled diplomatically.
There is an interpretive center at the American camp, while the English camp visitor center was closed when I visited late last September. Regular car ferries run to San Juan Island, with pleasant views along the way. Friday Harbor is between the English and American camps, 9 and 6 miles respectively, and has nice restaurants and more.
I also stopped at Cattle Point below on the southern tip which is part of a BLM National Monument protecting points, small islands and rocks in the San Juan Islands.
Zero Carbon Travel 