A compilation of the hikes of Michael (Mike) MacIntosh in Davis, CA. Includes links to photos, directions, recommendations related to hiking, camping, photography and other outdoor activities.
I recently traveled down to La Selva Beach (south of Santa Cruz, near Watsonville) to visit my Aunt Lori and Uncle Rich (and my canine cousins Buckwheat and Blue, of course) and to attend my friend Peggy's 60th birthday party. It was great to catch up with family and I reconnected with a number of old and dear friends from my Tobacco Control days at the party.On the 19th, my aunt and I drove down to Moss Landing to do some sightseeing. We braved howling winds to photograph a group of at least a hundred sea lions which had commandeered a public dock. It was fun to watch them jockey for position on the dock, with big ones holding their ground by sheer mass while other young male engaged in mock battles with each other at the far end of the dock. We saw one otter out in the channel, but he was too far away to photograph well (even with the long lens).On my way home on the 20th, I took a slight detour back to Moss Landing to see if I could find any additional photo opportunities. I stopped at the beach off Jetty Road and photographed the beach and some interesting birds (attention birders: If you can identify, let me know), as well as some insane person who took their small sailboat out in those crazy conditions.Next, I headed about a half mile south on Highway 1 to Moss Landing Road. My aunt and I had stopped there the previous day, to see if any otters had taken refuge from the wind at the far end of the harbor, but none were there. This time, however, there were no less than FOUR otters in the cove. One was sound half-asleep while floating in the open water. Next was a mother and her overgrown pup sitting on her belly while she tried to clean his fur (the pup is almost as big as its mother). Last, but not least, was a sound asleep otter who had planted himself in a solid mat of seaweed. His little paws were pressed together, as if in prayer, so I nicknamed him "Buddha Otter." The ones of Buddha Otter are probably some of my favorite wildlife shots I've ever taken.
Mike's Recommendations (if you decide to visit):
This particular outing did not involve any hiking (unless you count running around a race track trying to get shots from different vantage points as "hiking").
My buddy Bob Gill, whom I've known since the age of 13, owns an Acura Integra which he has spec-ed out with racing tires, a roll cage, racing seat, removable steering wheel, fire-suppression system, etc, etc. He races about once a month during race seasons it at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, CA) and Thunderhill Raceway (Willows, CA) in the Honda Challenge Racing series. This particular shoot was at Infineon (formerly Sears Point) near Sonoma, CA.Probably will not be terribly interesting to you unless A) you're into racing or B) you own own of the cars pictured herein. This was primarily to get some good shots of Bob's new car. Bob is in the #4 car (the #3 car is driven by Brian Z, a fellow racing buddy).I go to these races fairly regularly and they're neat events, especially if you're a car person. It's fun to wander around the paddock, see the various cars and what people have done to them and just soak up the racing culture. If you're interested in tagging along with me sometime, just let me know! The next race is May 3-4 at Thunderhill, up I-5 in Willows
Enjoy the photos and let me know if you have any questions!
