Today's field trip was to see some seals. And we sure weren't disappointed. To make this trip, all we had to do was jump in Katie's car and drive for about 8 minutes. We walked down an asphalt walkway that turned into a sandy slope with occasional timbers across the pathway. Near the bottom it turned into all sand and on a wide expanse of a rocky/sandy beach.
 We planned to arrive during low tide where there is more beach to walk toward the seals .
 We walked about a mile across the beach over ocean and sand polished rocks and soft sand then harder sand that had been compressed by the weight of the water and wave action. Bright green sea algae littered the beach and hung on to anything like driftwood or large rocks. On our left, across the Mad River were a large collection of Harbor Seals basking in the warm late morning sun. The seals were on a huge sand bar between the Mad River and the Pacific Ocean. Evidently they use this spot daily and nearly year-round to sun, relax and occasionally swim to catch fish. Katie said she had seen seals here every trip to this spot.
 I suppose we were about 300 yards from them, and they didn't pay any attention to us as we were far enough away. It was kind of funny, when one or several would let another one know it was infringing on its territory and let out a grunt or sound to warn the offending seal away. Their bellows startled me several times because they almost sounded human!
 Altogether we counted 93 Harbor Seals in this group. We spent several hours watching the seals, then returned to Katie's for lunch. A relaxing and fun day!

Enjoy the photos!

Love ya,

Cheers!

Jan, Dolly and Chi Chi