In 1981, during his first year as a volunteer docent at Carmel's Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, Reid Woodward stationed himself near China Cove with a spotting scope. As visitors took their turns surveying the scene, Woodward noticed a sea otter swimming along a mossy stone. She circled the area for an unusually long time, and then eventually climbed atop the rock and gave … [Read more...] about A Commitment to the Coast
Travel
Silver Linings
Big Sur Rebounds After Fire and Flood
Where there blessings—disguised or otherwise—following the wrath that nature unleashed on Big Sur last winter? Could someone really find silver linings in those dark clouds that dumped torrents of rain and misery on a close-knit community? Given the sheer destruction, the turmoil, the unemployment, the personal hardships, the beleaguered businesses and economic losses, it's … [Read more...] about Silver Linings
Flying High for 40 Years
The Ventana Wildlife Society Celebrates Conservation Success
Throughout the summer of 1991, wildlife biologist Kelly Sorenson crisscrossed the Central California coast in a dusty Mazda pickup. On one particularly memorable trip, he drove for seven days straight, up to 14 hours a day, to scout mountain peaks between Big Sur and Marin County. As part of an ambitious species recovery program spearheaded by the Ventana Wilderness Society … [Read more...] about Flying High for 40 Years
What Lies Beneath
I stand on the deck of the vision, soaking in the view of the big sur coast when a man wearing dry-suit underwear and ugg boots bumps into me, tossed by a lurch of the boat. “Come here often?” I laugh. Diving off the coast of big sur is not something anyone does often. There is nowhere to put in a boat south of point lobos or north of morro bay and those dramatic cliffs make … [Read more...] about What Lies Beneath
The Call of the Wild
Let’s get one thing out of the way: any day in Big Sur, whether the weather is foggy and damp, or the destination is tricky or trafficky, is a good day. Not to go all woo-woo, but Big Sur is a place that’s both extraordinarily lovely and a state of mind. Anyone can feel the difference–even if going from comparably appealing Carmel or Monterey–by simply opening the senses to the … [Read more...] about The Call of the Wild