Ano Nuevo

On our first day, we went to Año Nuevo State Park to see the Elephant Seals! We took a guided walk through the park to the shore where the elephant seals were. We learned quite a bit about elephant seals!

Between December and March, male elephant seals come to this beach to fight it out for Alpha Male. There are thousands of males once the season ends to only a couple hundred females. Once the alpha males are established, the women circle around the alpha male for mating. The non-alpha males lounge around the beach in defeat for the rest of the season. They seem to take their defeat in stride.

Males can get up to 4000lbs, however, they actually take their name from their trunk-like snout. A mature male can have a snout. The females are much smaller and do not have the snout. Once the females give birth (one pup only) they feed it for four weeks. After four weeks the mother leaves and the pup must fend for itself. 

Not only were these beast extraordinary, but they also pick a great spot to breed for 3 months. The views are terrific. We hiked about 3 miles around the park to visit the seals.

We hit a local brewery on Hwy 1 and made an impromptu stop on the beach to watch the sunset. It was absolutely stunning. We hiked around the beach and climbed up cliffs to find the best view. I think we found it.

It was a GREAT way to spend our first day in California!