I don't know about you, but I like to name my vehicle. I spend enough time in it that it just seems logical that it should develop a personality, which is typically dictated by it's name. My last vehicle, a Subaru, was affectionately named "The nerd wagon". Moving from a small SUV to a full size truck made it seem massive so the name "Big Bertha" fit pretty good. Plus it's fun to say I went on a road trip with Big Bertha. 

I scheduled this short road trip to Big Sur because I hadn't been to the coast in over a year and was itching to get some coastal shooting in. I started at Garrapata State Park in Big Sur and worked my way up to Davenport over 3 days. 

I arrived in Big Sur with enough time to scout for sunset and the following morning's sunrise. It was fairly quiet at Garrapata State Beach (Gate 19), probably because Highway 1 was closed roughly 20 miles south of here due to erosion making the road unsafe.
Boulders Garrapata State Beach, Big Sur

If you ever go to this beach, at the north end there is a creek called Doud Creek. In early spring, Cala lillies bloom and make for a nice sunset shot. They were a bit past prime when I was there but I carefully navigated the poison oak to check them out anyway. In the end, I decided to focus on Doud Creek itself for sunset pictures. 

Tide coming inGarrapata State Beach, Big Sur   Doud Creek Garrapata State Beach, Big Sur

Sunset was meh but I found a few good compositions and stayed a bit past dark to do some light painting. 

Tide pushing against Doud CreekGarrapata State Beach, Big Sur   Orb on Doud CreekGarrapata State Beach, Big Sur

Fire orb on Doud CreekGarrapata State Beach, Big Sur  

I planned to shoot at Garrapata State Beach (Gate 4) at sunrise but there was zero color or clouds so I grabbed a couple of waterfall shots at Gate 7, then I headed up to Pacific Grove to see if the sea figs were blooming, and they were!

WaterfallGarrapata State Park, Gate 7, Big Sur   WaterfallGarrapata State Park, Gate 7, Big Sur

Sea FigsPacific Grove

Echium bloomPacific Grove   Ground squirrel perched on an aloe plantPacific Grove

Harbor seal Pacific Grove

After a lovely morning walk and shoot, I headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and spent several hours looking at and photgraphing all the sea life. I could probably spend an entire day just watching the otters, which are super hard to get good pictures of because they swim really fast. Little known fact: Otters are the furriest mammal on the planet, with 1 million hairs per square inch. The average house cat has 1 million hairs over its entire body. This might be why those otters are so darn cute. 

MackrelMonterey Bay Aquarium

Sardines, long exposureMonterey Bay Aquarium

I stood at the Jellyfish exhibit for way too long. . .then came back and did it again later. 

JellyfishMonterey Bay Aquarium

JellyfishMonterey Bay Aquarium

JellyfishMonterey Bay Aquarium

JellyfishMonterey Bay Aquarium

Leopard sharkMonterey Bay Aquarium   Tide tunnelMonterey Bay Aquarium PenguinMonterey Bay Aquarium

Flatfish, great example of hiding in plain sightMonterey Bay Aquarium

Annoyed looking fish with onlookerMonterey Bay Aquarium

Sea AnemoneMonterey Bay Aquarium

Red PhalaropeMonterey Bay Aquarium

Lookdown fish, long exposureMonterey Bay Aquarium

After dragging myself away from the aquarium, I went over to Asilomar State Beach for another uneventful sunset. It was shockingly cold on that beach; so much so that I briefly used the furnace in my camper that night. Oh the luxury. 

For my next morning's sunrise, I had scouted a shipwrecked barge online located north of Monterey in the Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge. I decided it would make a good sunrise spot since the tide would be high and I could (hopefully) get some waves crashing over it. What I didn't realize is that after the 1 mile hike to the beach, it was at least another mile up the beach, walking through sand. I love walking but I loathe walking in sand. I was a little grumpy but I was super motivated to walk fast because I had to get there before sunrise. Even though there weren't any clouds that morning, the shipwreck was pretty cool, the waves did not disappoint, and the beach was loaded with shells and sand dollars. 

Shipwreck bargeSalinas River National Wildlife Refuge

Shells, sand dollars, and kelpSalinas River National Wildlife Refuge   Sand dollarSalinas River National Wildlife Refuge

After I finished at Salinas River NWR, I headed over to Moss Landing to Elkhorn Slough Safari. We saw a variety of birds, sea lions, harbor seals, and 77 otters! The captain and naturalist were both extremely knowledgable and friendly. I highly recommend this tour. 

Brandt's Cormorant, nestingElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

Brandt's Cormorant, nestingElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

These Brandt's Cormorants make their nests by collecting sea grass and kelp then gluing it all together with their poop. They essentially create a compost heap that generates heat to help incubate their eggs. That's pretty productive poop. 

Pelican portraitElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

Otter eating a crabElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

Otter and pupElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

Harbor seals with seal pupElkhorn Slough, Moss Landing

From there, I headed over to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum. I was hoping there might be a good amount of flowers in bloom. It was just okay, but at a $5 entry fee, I really couldn't complain. 

Unknown flowerUC Santa Cruz Arboretum

Pincushion detailUC Santa Cruz Arboretum

PincushionUC Santa Cruz Arboretum

Aloe plant, highly saturatedUC Santa Cruz Arboretum

After the arboretum, I scouted my sunset location, the next day's sunrise location, then enjoyed some down time before I ventured out for sunset. 

While I was setting up for sunset, a group of teenagers were passing by me in an area known as "The crack". They were walking over the slippery rocks, barefoot, while waves were crashing around them. I was terrified one of them was going to get swept out to sea but they all made it out alive. Thank goodness. 

The crackDavenport Beach, Davenport

The crackDavenport Beach, Davenport

I hung around a little after dark but I didn't stay for night shots because the beach was crawling with people. It was back to Big Bertha for a quiet night. 

MonolithDavenport Beach, Davenport

The next morning, I bounced out of bed early and drove a whopping one mile to my sunrise location at Shark Fin Cove in Davenport. Again - no clouds but it was still a nice location that I have now scouted for future trips!

Shark Fin CoveDavenport   Tunnel at Shark Fin CoveIf you look at the detail to the right of the tunnel view, there is a lot of graffiti on the rock. Most of these are a good 20 feet high. I have no idea how people got up there.