Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos

I’ve long been curious about the very industrialized area of Indiana that’s on Lake Michigan – I had assumed that much of the lakefront areas would be depressingly lined with smokestacks and factories. But, at the same time, I knew there was also a history of beachfront resorts and family playgrounds, so how did the two mix? From what I could see on various maps, it was impossible to see the industrial areas from the highways, so I basically gave up on that search. But, while looking for something else (later pictures) I came upon a scene that somewhat addressed my confused images of the Great Lakes Area. Clearly this is only one instance, but it seems to suggest that it was not unusual for industry and beach life to exist side-by-side. The stack in the background is at the NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.) electric plant (gas and coal-fired) that’s been in operation since 1925. Adjacent to it is the Washington Park Beach, which has apparently been a public park for almost as long. Fortunately, in this instance, the environmental movement is coming out ahead, since the NIPSCO plant is scheduled to be shut in the next 10 years and replaced by renewable energy.

Not an auspicious photo for the beginning of a journey, but it seemed like the best place to start. I was off on a 2-week trip to Chicago and parts of the Midwest, with my typical agenda of revisiting some places from the past, curiosity about infrastructure and economics, looking to see what I could see about why the country is going crazy, and just simple exploration. The trip was going to be roughly a loop from Chicago down south through Indiana, west along the Ohio River to the Mississippi, and then up north through St. Louis and back east to Chicago. So why start with the East Chicago SSL (South Shore Line) station? I was going to need a rental car for all but the Chicago portion of the trip, but picking a car up in Chicago was exorbitantly high. It turned out there was an Enterprise office near the East Chicago SSL station where I could get the car for half of what it would cost if I picked it up at the airport. Besides, I like to explore how public transit works wherever I can. The South Shore Line had an easy to navigate website, the staff at the station were friendly, the trains were clean and comfortable, service was quick, and with my senior-discount, the ticket was only $3.25. So, save on the car and discover something about public transit.

Okay, how many elephant seals in the picture? I count 71 on the beach and 8 in the water. At the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal rookery on the northern edge of San Simeon. The state has done an exceptional job here – the parking is easy to use, there are excellent paths for viewing the seals at an appropriate distance, and somehow they’ve created an atmosphere where I’ve never seen any of the viewers doing stupid stuff (but I’m sure it happens).

In the distance, the Piedras Blancas lighthouse. The lighthouse started operation in 1875; an earthquake in 1948 significantly damaged the building resulting in the tower being reduced by 70 feet. Visiting the lighthouse is by tour only and I’ve never been in the area at the time when tours are offered, so I haven’t been any closer than this. Source: www.piedrasblancas.org/lighthouse-history.html

Molting on one of the elephant seals. Per the website below, they typically molt in May and most would have molted by the time that I was visiting on May 29th. More of a concern, and I didn’t notice it until processing the photos much later, is that one of the seals has a tight rope around its neck – the seal to the right and just above the molting seal. The rope is probably from an anchor or fishing – I didn’t find anything indicating that there were any groups monitoring the seals and taking care of situations like that. Source: sites.google.com/site/elephantsealnotes/events-on-land/molting

On shore at the the rookery, California poppys and other flowers in bloom..

Morro Bay is one of my favorite places along the Central Coast, mainly because of how Morro Rock (on my left) shapes the area, and because it’s a harbor town that has avoided becoming dominated by kitschy tourist stuff. The town initially grew as a harbor for agricultural products, later developed some fishing industry, and its economy now is mostly tourism and retirees. Always notable when coming to the coast at Morro Bay are the three smoke stacks from a generating plant. The plant was always a mixed fact of life for local residents – an employer and a source of tax revenue for the city, but very questionable environmentally in an area with high environmental awareness. The plant (natural-gas) closed in 2014 and there are debates about what to do with it, including what to do about the smoke stacks. I tend to agree with those who argue that the smoke stacks are such an integral part of the landscape for the city that they should remain. Sources: www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article39467643.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morro_Bay%2C_California

Morro Rock, from the trail on its harbor side. There’s an excellent aerial view of the rock on the link below; the spot where I’m standing would be in about the center of lower portion of the picture. Morro Rock is a volcanic plug, one of nine that form a line in the county and are called the Nine Sisters. Though you can barely tell it from this picture, if you zoom to the largest version, you can see that there are three sea gulls quite high up on the rock. That struck me as unusual since I’ve never seen gulls perched so high on a rock. Sources: Morro Rock picture (Wikipedia): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Morro_Rock_1.jpg Nine Sisters volcanic plugs: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Sisters

Dredging of the channel into Morro Bay. Per the Wikipedia page, the harbor (created by the Army Corps of Engineers) silts up fairly quickly and thus needs dredging every 3-4 years. It’s also considered to be a fairly dangerous harbor due to fog obscuring the entrance and due to frequent high waves just outside the entrance. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morro_Bay%2C_California

Somehow I had never before known that a great place for observing sea otters was in the Morro Bay harbor. There were 10 or 12 lazing around not very far from shore – see nearby pictures. I was again surprised at how well behaved were the people watching the sea otters – nobody threw anything out towards them, and boaters (except one) seemed to keep a healthy distance away. One man standing on a surf board, though, did get close to the otters – luckily there was a volunteer from the Marine Mammal Center on the beach and she directed him to get out of the area, which he actually did!

Sea otters were thought to be extinct after having been hunted very heavily by the fur trade in the 1700’s and 1800’s, but luckily some survived and with various protections there are now thought to be just over 3000 along the California coast. Source: www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-morro-bay-otters-20170324-story.html

Yes, they look cute. But from what I’ve read, they have very strong claws and jaws….

A hazy, gray, day along the coast – not good for photographing. The bridge looks like the famous Bixby Creek bridge, but the timing and view from here isn’t quite right, so I don’t have an exact location for this picture.

In the distance, the Point Sur Lighthouse.

Why California is constantly spending large sums of money maintaining CA-1 – a narrow path along the coastal mountains, with very steep drops.

Seven Stairs drinking fountain / picnic area, a place I’d never noticed when driving the route – it was at a point on the road where people wouldn’t notice it, so it was unused and pleasant. There’s a stone wall (and seven stairs), and what appeared to be a small spring flowing in the back of the area. I had a suspicion the area had been built during the New Deal and it turns out it was. It’s one of five drinking fountains built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930’s, during the construction of the highway. Source: mycoastalcalifornia.blogspot.com/2014/08/big-sur-drinking-fountains-snippet-of.html

Another slide area – the bridge in the middle of the photo is over Willow Creek.

More of the perpetual construction trying to keep the road out of the ocean….