The May 2007 vacation started at 7 am May 23rd, when heading north along Highway 101 for Morro Bay State Park - where a campsite was booked at 8:45 am. With map in hand (from Morro Bay SP), I headed off to Montaña de Oro.

(Golden Monkey Flowers at Montaña de Oro )

The flowers were not as profuse as on the trip last year, but orange Monkey Flower were flowering in many numbers.

(Coon Creek, Montaña de Oro)

As I drove to Coon Creek, two birds that appeared to be some type of Sapsucker flew across the road. Coon Creek was lush, with mostly riverine vegetation. A very common plant was Twinberry. Birds were numerous, but difficult to photograph behind the vegetation. The trail was good exercise despite the lack of photographs or success in finding any Trillium.

(Boisduval’s Blue on California Croton, Montaña de Oro)

The next hike was on the bluffs overlooking the ocean, where interesting butterflies were seen.

(Gabb’s Checkerspot on California Croton, Montaña de Oro)

Home for the just one night was Morro Bay SP. The next leg of the journey was to San Luis State Recreation Area.

Slideshows

• Morro Bay & Montaña de Oro

Links of Interest

• Morro Bay
• Morro Bay Park State Park
• Sierra Club St. Lucia Chapter - Montana de Oro
• Montana de Oro Topo Map
• Montana de Oro Ranger’s Map

Next in Series

• San Luis State Recreation Area >>>>