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

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?

habitat ~ 11/25/13 ~ Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds

Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds

November 25, 2013

I feel like I should appreciate Asilomar more than I do.  It's just 2 miles across town on the ocean side of the Monterey Peninsula, and the weather is often more so than the bay side with more wind and fog.  I hardly ever get over there, unless I'm visiting a friend or taking the scenic route home from the grocery store.  To roam around, I have to be in the mood to deal with the super fine, squeaky Asilomar sand that gets lodged between my toes (I still haven't found great shoes for walking in sand).  However, it really is a gem of a place.  I love the architecture, which was designed by Julia Morgan who also did Hearst Castle.  The Conference Grounds are currently going through a multimillion-dollar accessibility renovation.  It's looking very spiffy.

habitat ~ 10/30/10 ~ Fort Ord - Dunes State Park

Fort Ord Dunes State Park
October 30, 2010

This California State Park officially opened in March 2009. It's directly across Hwy 1 from California State University, Monterey Bay. Finding the parking lot is a bit challenging, because you have to maneuver through confusing old Fort Ord roads, past dilapidated buildings and massive piles of broken concrete. Unlike many other State Parks, there's no day use fee and not much in terms of services: a large porta potty, a couple picnic tables in the parking lot, and a short boardwalk with very good interpretive signs.

The dune bluffs erode away at about 5 to 8 ft a year. I got this information from one of the interpretive signs, which is quoted in the SF Chronicle. The evidence of this claim is Stilwell Hall almost fell into the ocean despite initial plans to make it a visitor center for the new State Park. The beach is definitely not a swimming beach and large signs warn of rip currents. However, the views of the entire Monterey Bay, from Pacific Grove to Santa Cruz, are incredible from atop the dunes or down on the beach.

To get down to the water there's a short walk through a dune valley of sorts. The dune bluffs go straight up on both sides with some unusual sand graffiti etched into the firmer parts of the bluff. It felt like a scene from one of those cheesy old Star Trek shows where they're checking out a new planet. Scotty, set your phaser on stun!

hottentot fig
Carpobrotus edulis
Aizoaceae

They're in the process of restoring the dunes by removing the invasive hottentot fig, which is just starting to turn red for the season. This is no small task since this iceplant from South Africa is everywhere. According to the interpretive signs, black legless lizards, Monterey spineflower, Menzies' wallflower, dune gilia, Smith's blue butterfly, and snowy plovers can be found here. We didn't see any of them but enjoyed our quick visit anyways.