Author Archives: Mike Chowla

The concrete pillars are the remains of an old pier from the 1930s that was used to load cement for shipment. There’s still a cement factory on the site, just across the coastal highway, but the pier long ago was abandoned.

It is possible to make your way down to the beach, and there were people on the beach when I was there. The path down is very steep, so I choose not to chance it. Given the angle of the sunset and the clouds, the view from the top was almost certainly on this day. Maybe one day I’ll try the steep path down to the beach.

California, Santa Cruz Coast, Silicon Valley

Davenport Pier

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The Carrizo Plain National Monument blooms with wildflowers every spring. The yellow patches are wildflowers. This is an aerial view over Soda Lake. Soda Lake evaporates and becomes a dry lake bed in the summer. The water deposits are where the lake has already evaporated.

Aerial, California

Soda Lake — Carrizo Plain National Monument

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Beautiful sunrise over Monterey Bay and Walton Lighthouse this morning. When the alarm went off, I was tempted to shut it off and go back to sleep. The view was worth the early wake-up and drive out to the coast.

California, Santa Cruz Coast

Santa Cruz Sunrise

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Sunset over the Sea Cliff Beach in Aptos. The wrecked ship is the SS Palo Alto, which was intentionally sunk at the beach. It used to have a pier that led out to it. The ship was briefly an amusement with a dance floor and swimming pool. That venture failed quickly. The ship was then used as a fishing pier. The wooden pier out to the ship was destroyed only a few years ago in 2023.

California, Santa Cruz Coast

Sunset Over Seacliff Beach

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Sunrise, Capitola, CA

Started my Thanksgiving Day with a trip out to the coast to see the sunrise at Capitola Beach.

California, Santa Cruz Coast

Thanksgiving Sunrise

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At the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto

California, Flowers, Silicon Valley

Red and White Tulip

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Calfiornia poppies at the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto

California, Silicon Valley

California Poppies

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A white tulip at the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, California

California, Silicon Valley

White Tulip

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Panther Beach is my favorite spot on the California coast between Monterey and San Francisco. On this evening, it was a beautiful drive down the coast to Panther Beach. Panther Beach used to be hard to find but when I arrived this time, I found a big parking lot under construction. The new parking lot makes me think the beach will no longer be a hidden gem that one has to know about to find.

California, Santa Cruz Coast

Panther Beach Sunset Redux

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