Mountain Chain Interrupted

I went for a bike ride today to get a break from studying. I biked up Highway 1 and over to Los Osos. I was captivated by the beauty of all the surroundings especially the estuaries and the winding streams that run through them. As I continued on I began to get tired and turned off the road into a street that was empty. I began to look at the hills and I noticed that they were a little different than what I am used to seeing. These hills that comprise of the seven sisters seem to be taking on something new. It might be because the rain has brought new life to the hills and the greenery has begun to spring up and overwhelm the rocky sides with soft life as supposed to the dry jagged rocks. It is a beautiful sight to see, as my eye traces up the ridge, my vision becomes obstructed by a low cloud that passes over the top of the mountain. The edges of the mountain are softened and it blends into the cloud. I continue to gaze upon the mountain and notice the amazing colors of the patches of rocks that still remain uncovered by the spring growth. As time passes, so do the clouds, and to my astonishment I see power lines coming over the hill. The tower is atop the mountain pinnacle, and a sense of disgust comes over me. I am angry because this once beautiful sight is now ruined with the power lines that I didn’t even see before. My eye draws down along the lines, and I see many more towers that I shouldn’t have had to see. There was a sense of natural unobstructed beauty at first glance, but once seen clearly, that has all vanished. This sight in my opinion is just another defecated landscape that I don’t want to wander into.

Dirty Carrot

Today for class we hiked around the Cal Poly fields, agriculture units, and the organic farm. During our trip we were able to walk through an opening in a fence and into the organic farm. We got our shoes muddy and we picked up the earth and held it in our hand. Dirt is often overlooked. It is seen as a thing that holds a negative connotation, like “your shoes are dirty” or “you my carpet dirty.” Why is it that this life giving substance from which everything comes from is so bad. I am not sure, but I do know that people do not say “why are your shoes covered in life.” As we progressed on our trip we ended up in the Cal Poly Organic farm when we were all given carrots. Typically the carrots that I eat come in a plastic bag and they are smaller than my pinky finger. Not today, these carrots were large, they were not a uniform size and shape, they had their stalk on them. It looked like the carrots that Bugs Bunny would have eaten. They were still dirty. I began to wipe off my carrot and thought to just a few minutes earlier how the dirt provides life. I then stopped wiping off the carrot, and took a bite into it cautiously. This was the sweetest and tastiest carrot I have ever eaten. I could taste the juices, and the sugar from the carrot. This one carrot alone made me want to buy a share in the organic farm. I am planning on doing so for spring quarter because I can’t wait to taste the rest of the vegetables that are grown organically.

The Wind’s Silent Tree

Today I decided to go for a drive to check out the new San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden building. It is an innovative building in the way it is constructed and how eco-friendly it is. As I was leaving I noticed a field between the entrance road and the playground area. There wasn’t much to it, it was just a plain open field with some trees, however it caught my eye. I was drawn to it for some reason. Today is a cool day and the wind is blowing at a constant rate. The fields are becoming green with the rain, and the weeds are infiltrating the land and consuming the bench posts and table legs. As I sit I see the blades of grass move in the wind and reflect the light back to me. The weeds with yellow flowers sway like a tall banner in the wind. The trees are bare, the intricacies of the branch structures are revealed. Their mass is evident, yet without the leaves, they bring individual identity. Something still doesn’t seem right with the trees. They are not blowing in the wind. They are remaining motionless. They don’t have their sails that created that “wooshing” noise of the wind. This lack of sound and motion I think is what drew me in. It started to think how peculiar this is because typically if you want to know if it is windy, you would look up to the treetops, but instead today you must focus on the blades of grass. As I look further into the field I notice a few crows that are taking shelter from the sun’s light under the picnic tables. This is just one more creature that relies on the tree leaves protection. I begin to notice more and more birds over by the creek edge of the field, They seems to be ground birds that fly in and out of openings in the creek side thickets. The sound of the babbling brook sends a long needed sound into the air. The water crackles on rocks and purifies the environment. Today the field was empty, it seemed as though today nature owned the land, however I know when spring and summer roll around the field will not be this peaceful. I take joy in days like these.

The Elephant Seals

Today on our way out of Hearst Castle, one of the people at the information desk gave me a flier about the elephant seals. I became very interested, and I decided that I would go check it out. I drove up along the Scenic Highway 1, and came to a turnout. I parked my car and began to walk up along the sandy tunes to a point where I could see these massive creatures. I recall seeing a video on you tube once of an elephant seal crushing a car, so I knew I had to proceed with caution. As I walked along a path I began to see hundreds of the seals as I turned a cove. They were extremely large, and their roars could be heard before they could be seen. I sat atop a little cliff about ten feet above the beach. One seal came in from sea and began to approach another. Then all of a sudden they shifted their weight backwards and began to fight. They stood up to a certain degree and barked and hit each other. It was clear to me that the one that came in from the water was more dominant because he then went up and approached what seemed to be a mother and its baby. There was no reaction from the mother so it must have been the alpha male. They began to rest as the sun was beginning to fall. I thought that it would be a good idea to observe these creatures from my point, and not enter their habitat like so many other tourists were doing. None were ever in danger, but it did upset and made a few scurry away. It was interesting to see the beaches and think how crowded they once were. I apparently visited during a time of the year that mating was just finishing up, so there were not as many as there usually are. As I watched the people walk away I see the footprints that they leave, and as I watch the seals move, they too leave a track. All of which gets washed away everyday as the tides rise. That realization enabled me to have a greater connection with the animals and the land.

Hearst Castle

Today I drove up to San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. I bought tickets to the experience tour which was to give us a general overview of the complex. Our journey began at the visitors center where we boarded a bus that was going to take us to the castle. The drive was about five miles to get to the top of the hill where Hearst Castle sits. Once we disembarked the bus, I had this sense of power overwhelm me. The surroundings made me feel important. I felt as if I was a visitor of Hearst Castle when the elite used to visits William Hearst. We began the tour, but the entire time I was enamored with the beautiful view it had to offer. The gardens were spectacular the architecture was spectacular, the animals that roamed were spectacular. But the view of the California coastline set it apart from any other castle. I sat on top of the pool changing room and gazed over the property. When I looked to the back of the property it reminded me of the views that I had from atop rockslide ridge. It was hard to take in a moment for too long because the tour made us keep walking. I would have given anything to just sit and relax for a day at the castle. On the way down in the bus I was able to see some of even more animals, and different views that were not just as beautiful as those on top of the hill. From the whole experience at the castle, there was one thing that kept me wanting to go back, and that came from watching the video after the tour ended. The video showed clips of how Mr. Hearst would take his guests on horseback rides of his land. I know that would have certainly been an amazing experience.

Restoring a Community

I had a site visit today for my EDES 408 Class. Our class is about the implementation of sustainable strategies in the community, and our group has chosen to help out the San Luis Obispo women’s transitional housing. The site itself is a beautiful plot of land Brizzolara Creek and San Luis Mountain. However, it is in an area that is very rundown, and part of our goal is to be able to revitalize it with sustainable principles. While I was on the site I walked up to the back of the property and noticed that there was a fence that separated the creek from the houses. It was really unsightly because it created this barrier between “nature” the creek, and “human living” the houses. I immediately thought that we could restore this area by removing the fence and adding some native shrubs and berries that would keep the boundary, yet it would also maintain the natural beauty of the creek. The site also had two very old avocado trees. They towered above many of the units in the complex, and provided a nice shaded area for the residents. Unfortunately they are so old that the residents can not pick the avocados because they are so high. Our group discussed some aspects of how we can restore a sense of nature to the site, and because the site is paved over we decided that we want to add a permeable paving system so that we can have the rainwater runoff soak back into the ground removing any pollutants from it, while adding a more natural soft landscape with grass growing between the pavers. I also feel that if we were to add a community healing garden to the complex then the residents would be able to fresh food from their own garden.

Rockslide Ridge

Today for class we hiked through campus to the top of Rockslide Ridge. Along the way I discovered so many new parts of campus that I never even knew existed. The hike began by walking through gardens of different regions of the world, and then we hiked up through what seemed to be a water runoff trail. We passed a pond that was built by Cal Poly students, and then ventured on further up into the canyon. As we approached Rockslide Ridge, the first thing I noticed was how steep it was. Based on past experiences I knew it was going to be a tough hike. As we began up the hill I wanted to blaze my own trail. I didn’t want to follow anyone else. I wanted to look to nature to guide me up the hill. I began to run up and got fatigued very quickly. I began to slow down and choose my path in order not to get poked by the native brush. The rocks were not stable so I had to choose wisely as I hopped up the ridges. It seemed to me that there was not much of a trail to climb until I noticed a pattern. I began to see the “drains” of the hill. I began to notice that there were paths that were covers by unstable rocks. They were placed there by water runoff or earth movements that have allowed the rocks to tumble to a settled position. The journey was great and each time I rested I would be able to see more and more of the surrounding views up until I came to the pinnacle. I was given a breathtaking 360 degree view. My eyes darted from looking at Cuesta Ridge to Morrow Bay to Pismo Beach. The view made me feel as if I was lifted up into the sky. I stood atop one big rock and basked in the setting sun. I then began to really look at the rocks. They seemed to be slashed and sculpted from the elements. The colors blended in so well that it was hard to differentiate between them up close. Only once I stepped back I was able to see the yellows, browns, and oranges that gave the rocks their colors. We were then lead to the cliff of the ridge where we were shown the event that named this Rockslide Ridge. It was scary getting close to the edge because it seems unthinkable that half of a mountain could have just fallen the way that it did. I learned today that even the calmest and most peaceful areas in nature an still contain great power that can alter the land.