Brian Smith's Photos

A road trip up the California coast, starting in Los Angeles and working north to the gateway of Sequoia National Park over five easy days. First stop was Marina Del Rey, with a look at the sea lions, then on into Santa Monica, a detour inland to Ojai, and on to Santa Barbara for the first night.

A full day in Santa Barbara next – the harbour first thing, a walk past the Amtrak station, and up to the Courthouse for the views over the red rooftops to the mountains behind. An evening walk brought a Red-tailed Hawk and a good sunset to finish.

Another Santa Barbara morning, then out to Solvang for a look at its Danish-village charm, before heading up to Surf Beach at Lompoc in the afternoon – sanderlings and pelicans working the sand right next to the Space Force launch site.

A beach walk in Santa Barbara started the day – a Great Blue Heron, a Whimbrel next to a Black-bellied Plover, two Snowy Plovers, and a Royal Tern. Then north up the coast, with a stop for the Elephant Seals at San Simeon, plenty of Highway 1 views, a couple of Southern Sea Otters cracking shells on their chests, and into Cambria for the night, finishing with the moon over the water.

The last day of this leg started with more of the Cambria shoreline – a surfer, a Great Blue Heron, a California Ground Squirrel, and a Double-crested Cormorant – before turning inland through Paso Robles, catching the view back to Morro Bay along the way and stopping for an Acorn Woodpecker and a giant guitar sculpture in town. The day, and this stretch of the trip, ended in Three Rivers, right at the gateway to Sequoia National Park.

Five days, one long stretch of coastline, and Sequoia waiting just up the road. Part 2 picks up from here.