the wandering chick
...Morro Bay

The sunsets at Morro Bay are beautiful, and it's fitting that this would be my last place to visit in California before heading back into Arizona. Every area I visited in the Golden State starting in May I have truly enjoyed....and each was different from the other. But Morro Bay is special.

My journey started at the south end of Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras, through Bishop, Lone Pine, Lee Vining and Yosemite National Park, and on up to Lake Tahoe. From there I headed to Truckee and Sacramento, then took in the Sonoma and Napa valleys on my way to Bodega Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore. By late September I was in Monterey Bay and by mid-October in Morro Bay.

I have chronicled this incredible journey by way of these web pages. I find it easier to make up and post these pages than to send e-mails of pictures to friends who ask where I am and what I've seen.

But this particular page, Morro Bay, will be as much for me as for my friends. I will return to it often to relive this charming town and its soft sunsets.

Morro Bay lies just south of San Simeon. Tourists are drawn to it for its fine shops and restaurants, its bustling harbor and, of course, Morro Rock, which towers over the bay at more than 700 feet. Its wetlands are filled with shorebirds of all kinds, and its sand dunes fade gracefully into a vast sandy beach.

Morro Bay beach
Morro Bay shorebirds
a coastal jewel
Morro Bay surfers
Morro Bay, horse-riding on beach
Morro Bay wetlands
Morro Bay fog coming in
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay as seen from Highway 146 toward Paso Robles
Morro Bay's harbor
One can get a great view of Morro Rock from Highway 146 heading toward Paso Robles.
Morro Bay as seen from Highway 146 toward Paso Robles
Morro Bay fog
Morro Rock can barely be seen throught the fog from the next town north, Cayucos.
Morro Bay harbor from Tidelands Park
Morro Bay harbor at sunset
Morro Rock
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Rock
Morro Rock
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Rock
Morro Bay dunes
Morro Bay dunes
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
pelican at Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay seagulls
blue heron at Morro Bay wetlands
A blue heron searches for food in the Morro Bay wetlands. Below, the same bird is in flight.
blue heron in flight
blue heron
blue heron
brown pelican
Brown pelicans are as numerous around Morro Bay as the seagulls. A city park called Tidelands is a great spot in Morro Bay to see pelicans up close and personal.
brown pelican
brown pelican

Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I’m darned if I know how the helican.

By humorist Dixon Lanier Merritt, 1910

white pelicans
brown pelican
The white pelicans are much more elusive than the brown.
pelican and seagull fight for food
brown pelican
immature black-crowned night heron
Morro Bay sunset
An immature black-crowned night heron
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay wetlands
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Rock at sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay wetlands
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay sunset
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay harbor
Morro Bay State Park
Morro Bay State Park lies just north of town.
Morro Bay residential cottage
Morro Bay shoreline
seagull
Long-billed curlew
long-billed curlew
I believe the bird above and below are the same, a long-billed curlew.
Morro Bay sunset
marbled godwits
Marbled Godwits have a straight beak, though the rest of their body is hard to distinguish from the long-billed curlew.
blue heron
The blue heron is the most intriguing of the birds seen at the Morro Bay wetlands.

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