Friday, August 22, 2014

habitat ~ 08/22/14 ~ Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds

August 23, 2014

When I was younger, I had no interest in history.  None, whatsoever.  Now that I'm getting older, I'm finding I'm becoming interested in the changes that happen through time.  From a local events website I discovered free summer tours were being offered at Asilomar.  It was just last November when I was lamenting how I didn't appreciate this gem that's on the other side of town from where I live.  So, a friend and I did the State Parks tour Friday afternoon.  It was very informative about the history of the YWCA here (1914-1935), the impressive female architect Julia Morgan and subsequent architects, and the formation of this State Park (you can read the whole story here).  We also heard about the pitch canker that's infesting the Monterey pine trees and how the "restoration" of the Asilomar Dunes Natural Preserve (shown above) became a solution to the moving sands.  How will these dunes look in another 100 years?