#FindYourPark

In Celebration of the National Park Service Centennial, Jim Hines walks us through the local National Parks and all their beauty.

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Reflection by Jim Hines, Sierra Club Central Coast

Time to take a break from our work and enjoy the specialness of our region. Here are a few notes from my Nature’s Notebook I wanted to share with each of you. Summer is slowly leaving us and the gentleness of the Autumn season will soon be upon us. Our natural world and all of her beauty beckons us to take time to enjoy and appreciate all she has to offer each of us. I never cease to marvel at the richness of our land, the strength of our vast open spaces, and the majestic wildlife abound in our region. Last week on a early morning walk in the 5000 acre National Park Service’s Cheseboro Canyon Preserve I marveled at three peregrine falcons in flight across the grassy meadowlands, saw an abandoned eagle’s nest, felt the early morning breeze, and wondered… All this beauty so close to where we live and work and it is all preserved for the future. A visit to the high country of Mt Pinos allows us to watch black bears wander through the pines, see the flowering penstemons which dot the land, and witness from atop the peak a solitary condor in flight. The waters offshore are teeming with marine life — humpback whales, blue whales, sea turtles and sea otters; yes, the ocean waters are filled with life. Island foxes scampered right up to us on a recent trip to Santa Cruz Island. The Gaviota Coast is blessed with ocean breezes this time of year, a farewell to summer from an imposing seashore. Wanderings in the oak studded Santa Ynez Valley allow us a sense of adventure as we explore and wonder, who lived here before us? Will our wildlife survive the dryness of this land in a time of drought? And we find ourselves drawn to the coast again. She beckons. The pull is great and soon we are Guadalupe bound to the giant sand dunes at Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Our region is filled with so much to inspire each of us. Go forth. Feel the land. Catch a glimpse of the wild. See the fleeting of wildlife and behold the marvels of wilderness and the sacredness of the rivers, the tides and the pull as nature beckons us to her bosom. We cannot live without the wildness of the land. Photos by: Donna Hendricks and Doug Mangum