One of my favorite places on earth, and yes, the water really is that beautiful turquoise color.
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
McWay Falls is an 80-foot-tall waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in central California that flows year-round into the Pacific Ocean from McWay Creek in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about thirty-seven miles south of Carmel.
During high tide, it’s a tidefall, a waterfall that empties directly into the ocean.
The waterfall poured directly into the ocean until a massive fire, landslide, and highway reconstruction project near the area in 1983-84 filled the cove with enough material to form a sandy beach several dozen feet out.
The falls, creek, and canyon are named after Christopher McWay, an early settler and farmer from New York state who arrived in the area with his son Christopher Jr. around 1874.
The park itself is named after Julia Pfeiffer Burns (1868-1928), a local and legendary early pioneer and resident who impressed Helen Brown and had run a ranch in McWay canyon with her husband, John B. Burns.
Not necessarily true in all scenarios, but it’s a lovely thought–especially when it’s a text from the original Angel Boy.
Here’s the backstory:
I didn’t want to go the gym ‘cos it seems like everyone is sniffing, sneezing, or coughing, and I don’t want to get sick.
It was a beautiful sunny SoCal morning, so I thought it’d be fun to try out my new hiking boots, spend a few hours out in nature and soak up the new growth sage-y fragrance blooming after our recent rains.
It is a fact that I have hiked this hill at least a hundred times. It is also a fact that when I go solo, I get lost 100% of the time. I don’t know why or how it happens, but I start out with a solid plan and by the time a couple hours has passed, I’m all turned around and can’t figure out where I am, how I got there, or how to get out.
One time I was lost until dark. I wouldn’t call for help and stubbornly walked until civilization emerged. However, I was fully prepared to sleep with my coyote family if necessary.
I don’t panic anymore. In my head, I say, “Well, Princess, it looks like we’re lost again. Let’s just enjoy the journey.” And then I laugh crazily to myself.
True to form, I got lost. Knowing that my DIL added me to the tracking GPS on her phone, she could be counted on for support if I was in real danger.
I texted my son, “Guess what, I’m lost again.”
He texts back, “All roads lead to home.”
Which wasn’t really helpful in my current dilemma, but it was awfully prosaic of him. (And snarky.)
After a couple of hours wandering around in an aimless pattern, I spotted two young boys riding their bikes. I asked them if they could point me in the right direction to get back where I started. They very kindly did (super nice that they didn’t start laughing at me) and I proceeded to follow their accurate directions.
Love my new hiking shoes, loved the hike, but glad to be back at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.
Apparently, all of MY roads DO lead home. My Angel Boy is a genius.
Who can guess where I was? It’s embarrassing to admit how often I’m clueless up here.
I can see snow! It was hazy today but that’s definitely snow.
When we first moved here in 1985, our street was a dead end (literally).
My son and I would walk our dogs to where the pavement ended and there we abruptly entered a wonderland of nature: along narrow paths with overhanging vegetation; sage, coyote bush, sumac — and wildlife; coyotes, bobcats, deer– even a mountain lion was spotted now and again.
In other words…heaven.
It was a sad day when the bulldozers appeared and in a matter of minutes completely raped the hills, scraping the native flora down to bare earth, uprooting mature trees, and displacing dozens, if not hundreds, of animals.
It’s unrecognizable now–if you hadn’t lived here as long as we have, you’d never know the rich beauty that once existed.
It’s regretful that the city leaders didn’t and don’t seem to care about respecting, protecting, and preserving native flora and fauna.
Instead of conserving and sustaining our unique beauty, they’ve allowed Carlsbad to become an Orange County clone — heavy on the ubiquitous business parks and subdivisions totally disconnected to the land.
They’ve mostly destroyed the unique personality and beauty of our little coastal town.
In my opinion.
Historically, Carlsbad/Agua Hedionda Lagoon was the former home to two Native American groups, the Luiseños and the Diegueños or Kumeyaay.
Did you know that Agua Hedionda means “stinking waters”?
(It does and it does.)
Although the Spaniards (and other settlers) decimated the Native American connection to this area, over the years I’ve heard about nearby sacred burial grounds that might still be intact, and that’s a good thing.
In spite of the destruction of habitat, there are still a few surviving animals attempting to coexist.
In the evening, we hear the song of the coyote, not as often as we used to, but it makes us happy. Check out this audio. So close!
I’ve seen fresh bobcat tracks, too, but no actual visual sighting.
On a recent walk, I stepped out of my front door, walked across the street, and was immediately greeted by this amazing sight, a Great Blue Heron nearly as tall as me. After I snapped a dozen photos, I continued walking, and spotted a White Egret.It was a day for wildlife; these are not good pics for some reason, but a couple of different rabbits made an appearance.
On a front lawn. Overlooking Agua Hedionda.
I believe this is a Cooper’s Hawk; don’t think it’s a Red Tailed Hawk.If I ruled the world (or at least my little part of it), I’d make sure that any planned development would respect all wildlife and make appropriate plans to not only preserve habitat, but encourage MORE animals to coexist with us.
Especially predators. We need predators. We need coyotes and bobcats and mountain lions and hawks and falcons for balance. Without them, we’re inundated with their food source; rabbits, rats, and squirrels.
A few days before Christmas, we picked up Angel Boy (my son– and yes, we still call him Angel Boy even though he’s thirty-two-years old!) from the John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
We drove RIGHT BY South Coast Plaza but my mind was too excited to see my baby to care about stopping at Chanel or Valentino or Cartier or Gucci or Harry Winston….HARRY WINSTON!!
Crap, did I just miss an opportunity to check out Chanel???
Sigh, a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park is a jewel of solitude and natural beauty in hectic Orange County.
It comprises approximately 4,500 acres of wilderness and natural open space land. Originally, part of the Juaneno or Acajchemem tribal land, it later was owned by Don Juan Avila, Louis Moulton, the Mission Viejo Company, and now is under the jurisdiction of OC Parks.
Within the park lands are mature oaks, sycamores, and elderberry trees, two year-round streams, and over thirty miles of official trails. Many rare and endangered plants and animals make this park their home. This park is designated as a wildlife sanctuary.
To get to the main trailhead for Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, exit the 5 freeway at Alicia Parkway and head towards the ocean.
Of course it was imperative that we feed the child. Whether they’re four or thirty-two, the first thing they think about is FOOD! I had prepared a huge amount of food for the hungry traveler and we ate it at a picnic table near the entrance to the trailhead, under a canopy of old shade trees. He ate a couple of his favorite sandwiches: tuna with celery, apples, nuts, avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce — along with Lentil Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Veggie Chips, Persimmon Bread, and an apple and an orange. We never fail to marvel at the AMOUNT of food Angel Boy can pack away…and that doesn’t include the nuts and raisins for the hike.
What’s up with that kind of metabolism?
He eats so much and burns it all and needs to eat again every couple of hours or so. This is just his normal — I once took him to an endocrinologist to make sure his levels were OK, and we learned that he’s just an extremely efficient food user. All I can say is that he didn’t get that from me.
After almost eight miles, we drove home — exhausted –but in a good way, and restored by the fragrance of Southern California buckwheat and sage.
Of course it was time for dinner and another feast of epic proportions: the stuff of mom-joy, that’s for sure.
Great blue heron.
A hidden pocket of water.
More water, rushing over rocks.
A gorgeous meadow and hills, but look at the houses on the hill.
So close to civilization!
Fairy-like foot bridge.
Another cool cave.
Some leaves DO change color in SoCal!
A happy mom ‘cos my Angel Boy was home, even if only for a few days.
A hidden pocket of water.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 