Guadalupe Dunes 2002
Look at the pictures!
Terri and I were looking for something to do and decided to go to San
Luis Obispo. Along the way, we had considered seeing the Guadalupe Dunes.
We never made it to San Luis Obispo, but we had a good time anyway.
We had a late start on a somewhat cloudy day, not leaving until about
10:30am. Tone kept talking like Suzanne Pleshette that morning, which
isn't entirely significant to the dunes, but gives you an idea of what
that morning was like. Terri had heard from her friend Tamara that
this the Dunes was the place to be, so we gathered some lunch and headed
North on 101.
Early on in the trip we hit the sun! Off to the right side of the highway I
saw clouds skirting the hills. We decided to stop to take a few photos. There
was a cool little path next to the CHP box, but we saw poison oak and decided to
boogie on out of there.
Terri had mentioned that she didn't have the right kind of socks for hiking.
I suggested that we stop at Target in Santa Maria since it was on the way. Terri
didn't find her socks, but I found a microwave oven for $35!, some bike accessories,
and a few other goodies upon which to squander my money.
We missed the turn to Guadalupe, but soon turned around and were on our way
to the Dunes.
There was a tiny shed at the Dunes with two guys chatting, one of whom appeared
to be a ranger of some sort. There was a $3.00 suggested donation, but we
felt that we would see the scenery first. On our way in, traveling over a
sand-covered road, we saw a sand mining operation with lots of rusty machinery.
The dunes themselves are right on the beach, but since the fog was
back in force, there was hardly anyone there. There was a LOT of sand that
stretched for miles and miles. It was really quite impressive.
Terri and I began our trek towards the Dunes, which was a few miles
South along the coast. First I wore my shoes, then took them off as
the sand kept entering, then put them back on once more as my feet
began to chafe on the sand. There was a large area blocked off
for wildlife conservation. There is always a large area blocked off
for something or other.
We saw many birds, including Sanderlings which are some of my favorites.
Their legs move so quickly that it appears as though they don't move
at all.
Atop the Dunes the view was fairly impressive - you could see ocean
below and sand for miles.
I wasn't feeling so well so I dozed off at the top of a dune for
about a half hour while Terri scouted around. She checked out the
views from a little further along the dune ridge -- lots of sand-loving
vegetation, a wide stream that emptied into the ocean, and, of course,
more dunes. Upon awakening I had some bread and cheese for lunch.
Soon we headed back to the car to head back home. We took a different
route back, passing a very cool site along the way -- a kind of sand
avalanche that had left an interesting mark on the side of a dune.
We also found some cool rocks, and an interesting, purple-striped clam
shell. By the time we got back to the car, it was nearly dinner time.
So we decided to forgo San Luis Obispo until another day. On the way
out we decided that the experience warranted the $3.00 donation,
so we stopped and gave some dough to the ranger.
Before we made it home, I turned off to the Vista Point bridge
about 20 miles North of Goleta. This is a fairly impressive
concrete bridge that still stands next to a still operational
train bridge. It is a cool experience to stand on the bridge
and look over the edge; it is a long way down.
Guadalupe GPS Waypoints
Here are some of the GPS waypoints I recorded on this trip. These points are in Degree.MinuteSeconds, not Decimal Degrees.
Click the GPS image for the Waypoint+ (Waypoint Plus) file for a Garmin eTrex.
| Select GPS Waypoints |
| TARGET | Target where we bought microwave | 34.551985900 | -120.2601504000 |
| CHP | Our first stop on 101 next to CHP box | 34.312647600 | -120.1206804000 |
| GDDUNE | Guadalupe Dunes | 34.575913200 | -120.3901854000 |
See some images of our trip.
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