My Toro-Villa-San Simeon Creeks Kim Day

Today I needed a Kim Day and so I took one with some special friends and their family, fellow members of The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and some of their family. An awesome day was had by all and I got out of my cage and finally got to rockhound, and at the beach after phenomenal recent storms, no less! We started at Toro Creek Inlet at what I have always called Hole-in-the-Wall Beach which is owned by a petroleum company and not state parks so it is a popular dog beach. Our middle adventure was at Toro Creek Inlet and adjacent beaches. Our last stop was my beloved San Simeon Creek Inlet which adjacent beach I consider to be "my beach." Cool stones were found by everybody and we topped the day off with some grub from Main Street Grill in Cambria. I even got to have my Natter-Nutty Smoothie from Sandy's Deli across the street, a concoction I have chistened "sex in a cup." My buddy Ron disagrees and likens it to "foreplay in a cup." Apparently, he has experienced better sex than I have. Whatever.

Beach at Toro Creek Inlet with Morro Rock in the background.

Exploring Toro Creek may reveal fresh agates and biconoid material or even the occasional Chumash arrowhead.

Villa Creek Inlet with abalone farm on the coastal hill in the distance.

Ron and his son find a small gravel bar formed in front of a seaweed plant that washed up in the recent storm.

This is mid-January on the Central Coast. Guess why I live here? That is Point Buchon in the distance.

This is very similar to another image I posted a few images up but I can't resist including it as it is so idyllic a scene.

San Simeon Creek recently blew out the summertime sandbar as a result of the recent Pacific storms. It was pushing directly out into the ocean sans any major right turns up the beach as it will do later as the creek seasonally reduces flow amount and the ocean starts pushing back at the creek and damming it up with sand and gravel during the dry season.

This is the best kind of gravel in which to rockhound and beachcomb at this beach: right after major rains and storm waves have moved substantial volumes of material about the beach and down the creek from the Santa Lucia Mountains from whence the material originates.

This was one of the prettier stones (brecciated jasper with quartz fill) I saw all day and it was fairlyi large (6"x5"x4") this is as I found it having not yet picked it up when I shot this image. The stone was donated to the driver of our expedition.

To our amazement, five C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets of the United States Air Force ambled by way too close to the beach to be legal. We didn't mind as it was exciting to see them as they headed down to Vandenberg AFB en route from probably Travis AFB.

A wave surge enters the lagoon created at San Simeon Creek inlet by the ocean trying to wall off the creek with sand and gravel as it will eventually succeed in doing this spring as with every year.

This view is up the beach looking towards the bird rookery (sea stack in the distance).
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).