Tag Archives: santa cruz

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Plants and Rock, Goat Rock

Leave a comment

Plants and Rock, Goat Rock
Plants and Rock, Goat Rock. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 19, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small cluster of spring plants comes to life in a crack in Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California.

This is another brief change of pace from the Death Valley photographs. I hike at Castle Rock State Park (the local version – it is a common park name!) quite a bit, especially in the spring at the end of the California rainy season when the new vegetation is starting to emerge. On this day I had gone out to photograph spring foliage, but the light was not quite what I expected – overcast and rather windy rather than the hoped-for sunny spring day.

keywords: new, growth, green, leaves, leaf, stem, plant, brown, nature, rock, lichen, spring, goat rock, castle rock, state, park, california, santa cruz, mountains, usa, color, photo, photography, stock, texture

Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Winter Surf – Pacific Ocean

Leave a comment

Winter Surf - Pacific Ocean
Winter Surf – Pacific Ocean. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: wave, reflection, fog, mist, sun, ocean, pacific, coast, sea, seascape, winter, san francisco, california, usa, santa cruz, landscape, break, minimalism, landscape, travel, scenic, stock, black and white

Photographs: Central California

Creek and Moss, Castle Rock State Park

Leave a comment

Creek with Mossy Rocks
Creek with Moss-Covered Rocks. Castle Rock State Park, California. February 24, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

I frequently walk past this fern covered section of creek when I hike the main trail to Castle Rock and Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of central California.

keywords: castle, rock, state, park, california, usa, santa cruz, mountains, skyline, road, trail, hike, rock, log, creek, water, moss, leaf, valley, scenic, landscape, winter, fern, stock

Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Gulls

1 Comment

Gulls2006|01|14: Gulls. Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. January 14, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Flock of Gulls. Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. January 14, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

As I drove up the Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz and San Francisco last weekend I came across a huge flock of gulls on a beach where a river flows into the ocean. As if they had just discovered an amusement ride for birds, the gulls dropped into the creek, rode it to the edge of the surf, took off to fly a loop back up the creek, and did this over and over.