About Last Night's Bow Echo

Last night saw the Central Coast visited by an unusual phenomenon for this area of the world, to wit, a bow echo complex of thunderstorms. These are more common in Tornado Alley and the Eastern U.S. This bow echo formed west of the Santa Barbara Channel and moved eastward through the channel and into coastal Ventura County where it made landfall. To my knowledge there were no reports of water spouts over the channel or tornados over coast valleys although they can occur with bow echos. There might have been some straight-line wind damage and minor flooding along the Gaviota Coast of Santa Barbara County but I cannot confirm that at this time. This bow echo passed south of me, but I did directly experience a more powerful bow echo in Liberal, Kansas, in 1993.  

Courtesy of Jordan Root @ AccuWeather via Twitter (all rights reserved)

Courtesy of Jordan Root @ AccuWeather via Twitter (all rights reserved)

Courtesy of Kevin Takumi @ KTTV-TV Los Angeles via Twitter (all rights reserved)

Amongst Elfin Pigmies

For many years I've heard about the Elfin Forest in Los Osos adjacent to the Morro Bay Estuary. I've driven by some of its trailheads on previous occasions, too, but never took the time to stop there and walk. That changed today as I visited it with my friends Kameron, Blake and his girlfriend Krystal. It was overcast with a thin veil of coastal stratus which gave some measure of respite from the harsh August sun and heat battering points further inland. I was in this area last week looking for a place to walk my dog which I was unable to do given California State Park's open hostility towards dogs or anything else non-native aside from people. This locality is under the management of San Luis Obispo County Parks and allows dogs on leashes which means I'll be back soon I hope with my little monster Tequila.

This tragic fiery head-on collision on Highway 46 East near Shandon is still seared in my mind. I was rather surprised that it was in any connected to this place but it is a most appropriate tribute.

I'm glad I visited this place before it might burn given the ongoing drought cum new drier normal and how heavy are the fuels here. A fire in here would really change the place in a way that it would take longer than my remaining lifetime to return to its former state.

I love the artistic patterns created by the Creator on this mudflat.

That is Morro Strand in the distance capped with sand dunes.

This was my first encounter with a dwarf forest of pigmy oaks.

Although not present in this image, there were patches of ferns growing scattered throughout this preserve.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Central Coast Tsunamis Aren't An Abstraction

Earlier this evening I became aware of the AGU abstract below written by E.L. Blanck and entitled Large California Tsunamis From Central Coast Historians And Central Coast Newspaper Records which for an aficionado of local history as well as disasters is 100% pure gold. It gives some detail to some events for which I had no previous knowledge. What this document demonstrates is that the Central Coast has been hit by tsunamis much more frequently in the early historical period than more recently which is a bit ominous when you wrap your mind around all the repercussions of that reality.

"Approximately, 1996, Unocal historian Darwin Sainz mentioned the newly built Union Oil “Oilport” refinery in what is now Shell Beach (between Pismo & Avila Beaches and at 50 to 100 feet elevation) was destroyed by a tsunami in the early 1900’s. July 2009, George Plafker reported, “a bigger earthquake and a more destructive tsunami than the 1964 event are possible in the future”.

The 1812 Santa Barbara Channel earthquake produced 5 tsunami waves approximately 50 feet in height to the front of the Santa Barbara Presidio based on a Franciscan Father’s journal. A book on “Shipwrecks, Smugglers, and Maritime Mysteries” by Wheeler & Kallman reports the largest wave was 48-50 feet estimated by the USGS west of Santa Barbara near Goleta.

The “History of San Luis Obispo County, California” by Thompson & West (1883) reports 12 feet tsunamis occurred on August 13, 1868 (Peruvian earthquake) and April 16, 1877.

On November 22, 1878, turbulent water in the absence of wind produced tsunamis that broke over the Morro Bay sand spit (current quad sheet high elevations 66 to 97 feet N to S), destroyed Avila & Pt. Sal piers, damaging Cayucos pier.

A Japanese earthquake resulted in a tsunami at 12:40 PM December 9, 1907, near high tide and in already heavy seas, that stood out from the rest of the storm due to its’ enormous height. It wrecked the Ventura pier (12-13-1907, SLO Tribune) and the Oilport pier (12-13-1907, SLO Tribune & 12-6-1976 also 12-14-1907, Santa Maria Times & 12-10-1907 SLO Telegram) at Shell beach and destroyed the Oilport refinery (Darwin Sainz, personal communication).

Before 7 AM on November 26, 1913, tsunamis wrecked the Monterey area including waves 10 to 15 feet above the Del Monte wharf. At Seaside, “Immense domes of water and foam shot up above the general height” … “appearing from here to be higher than the highest sandhills along the shore.”(12-2-1913, SLO Tribune) Current quad sheet high elevations are 120 feet.

These reports of historic tsunamis represent wave elevations significantly higher than the 1964 Alaska earthquake tsunami that is typically used for emergency planning for tsunami inundation in California. Since it appears 4 much larger tsunamis occurred in the Central Coast area in 1812, 1878, 1907 and 1913; it appears we may have become complacent during this recent period of tsunami quiescence. Emergency planning for Central Coast tsunamis should be anticipating tsunami waves in the 50 to 100 feet elevation range."

Picture of the Day - Dune Lakes Sunset

Tonight I worked a wedding at Dune Lakes for the first time in my experience although our company has had this client for some time. Today the Central Coast experienced a significant surge of monsoonal moisture in the upper and middle levels of the atmosphere. Only widely-scattered hit and miss light precipitation occurred in our area from some virga reaching the ground. I had a feeling we might get a great sunset so I brought my camera to the job and was not disappointed by the result. Above and below are my two best images. This was the best sunset I have seen so far this year.

Both images by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

My Refugio Fossil Fest 2015

The last time I got out of my cage to rockhound was on September 4, 2014... today was March 11, 2015 (four-year anniversary of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, on an unrelated note). That is to say it has been a half-year and a week since last I rockhounded. Today I rockhounded. That was not "my" original plan for the day but often the best things in life are things that happen "off-the-cuff" or "spontaneously." Today I picked up a dear loved one from a medical facility in Long Beach and drove them home. On the way home we stopped at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County on the Gaviota Coast to unwind. There I looked around in the newly-sorted cobbles on the "beach" as I have done in the past. Unlike in the past, I found an abundance of interesting and even unexpected things, all in a rather small section of beach and in only about an hour's time. Earlier this winter some fairly vigorous wave events churned this coastline refreshing the cobbles and stones along the coast. As many of you know this coastline is famous for its petrified whale bone and less commonly, petrified wood and even sharks teeth and on rare occasions, whole shark jaws and whale brain casts. Today's visit was my most fruitful one ever for any location along the Gaviota Coast and I recommend my rockhound brethren check this place before the summer wave pattern starts dumpting sand atop some of this material. Pictured below are each of the items I found today.

Balanced-rock monument

My search area looked like this.

The rocks generally looked like this.

This specimen appears to capture a turbidity zone on the ocean bottom which might have been a submarine landslide.

Calcite nodule/geode.

Generic petrified whale bone specimens.

Petrified whale bone vertebra.

Heavily silicated petrified whale bone vertebra. 

Closer view of whale bone vertebra.

Even closer view of same vertebra: note bone cell structure.

Petrified whale bone in matrix.

Odd-looking petrified whale bones in matrix are cervical vertebra.

Different view of previous specimen with alternating layers of bone.

Large, well-preserved petrified whale bone vertebra with both disks attached.

Close-up of silicated fossilized coral.

Petrified drift wood encased in worm-eaten concretion. All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Picture of the Day - Parkhill Country

Today my buddy Mike and I and our dogs took another hike out at east Santa Margarita Lake off of River Road. And again like a week ago we ventured off of the familiar, beaten path and saw the eastern part of Santa Margarita Lake Park from a different perspective. I shot this image from a  hilltop perspective looking east toward just south of Black Mountain. Note the tectonically uplifted Miocene riverbottom deposits covered in chaparral so typical of the Parkhill Country in and around Santa Margarita Lake. Also note the clouds gathering as the big El Niño-esque "pineapple express" approached our region today. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse

Apparently they are currently in my San Luis Obispo County tonight.... reducing to ecstatic tears at least one girl seen on the local news tonight by the simple fact they are here. A pox on all their house! Note I do not mention them by name having already sullied this blog by posting their visages here.... I'm such a whore!

My First Photo In A News Story

Below is an article from yesterday's Cal Coast News which featured a photograph I shot two years ago of the Calf Fire which was featured in "Calf Fire Blow-Up".

Cal Fire sues local foundation

July 19, 2014

Cal Fire filed a lawsuit against the Hind Foundation this week for $2.5 million, the cost of putting out a fire that was started by a mower in 2012 in the Santa Margarita area.

The lawsuit claims that the Hind Foundation, along with Lewis Construction, caused the Calf Fire Calf Fire that burnt 640 acres near the intersection of Highway 58 and Pozo Road. Cal Fire is seeking the $2.5 it cost for firefighters to put out the blaze.

Cal Fire claims that a negligent mowing operation on the Hind River Ranch, an 800-acre property the foundation purchased to study and protect wildlife, caused the fire. The area is known to contain multiple eagle nests, homes to both bald and golden eagles.

Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes

During the mowing operation, a blade allegedly struck a rock and produced a spark the ignited the fire. The suit contends firefighting resources such as fire extinguishers were not on site during the mowing operation.

The Hind Foundation is “committed to funding community-based projects and programs that encourage people to work together to build an enduring legacy for future generations.” Projects the foundation helped fund include the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden enhancement, Atascadero Library expansion, and the Bravo SLO Performing Arts Showcase.

Source: http://calcoastnews.com/2014/07/cal-fire-sues-local-foundation/

Fatty Takes A Hike

I recently took a hike with my buddy Blake up to the summit of Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park near Los Osos, CA. I was still camera-less but he captured the following images of me in my current corpulent state.

Nice panoramic shot from the top of the first little hillock we encountered.

Valencia Peak is made of the same strata as the bluffs down by the water's edge.

It felt higher up than merely 1,347 feet and that was with the stratus obscuring our view of the surrounding terrain.

No, I was NOT picking my nose but rather pushing up my sunglasses.
All photos by Blake Burgess (all rights reserved).

SLO Road Trip Down Memory Lane

Tonight on Facebook I found this wonderful 1949 Chevy advertisement entitled "San Luis Obispo: Heart of Old Spanish California" from their "Roads to Romance" series. It features some wonderful scenes from around San Luis Obispo County that year including Atascadero "The Beautiful". However, I'm surprised Paso Robles did not get any attention.

The scenes of Morro Bay and environs interested me the most for some reason, perhaps because it shows Morro Rock sans the modern causeway that connects it to the shore and creates the northern part of the harbor's protection from the Pacific Ocean. At the time this film was shot the ocean entirely surrounded the rock.

Estero Bay Winter Sunset

Late this afternoon early this evening I drove over to Morro Bay, CA, to meet a friend. Since I was early (quite intentionally so I could go to the beach) I made my way to the Hole-In-The-Wall Beach (the dog beach between Morro Bay and Cayucos, CA) to watch the sun set and bathe myself in its photon-enrapturing glory and in the process make some Vitamin D in my skin and consequently make myself feel a bit happier during these darkest days of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere of my home world. Below are some images I captured of what I saw and experienced.

This view is directly out into Estero Bay.

For those of you unfamiliar with the landmark, that is Morro Rock in the distance and Highway 1 at left and Point Buchon at right.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

My Very First Full of Life Flatbread Pizza

Earlier this evening I had the honor and privilege of visiting and partaking in the culinary decadence that is Full of Life Flatbread Pizza in Los Alamos, CA. The occasion was my boss and I along with a mutual female friend joining us on a short business trip to nearby Buellton, CA, and on the way back getting paid for our assistance by way of gourmet food and nice local wines at this fabulous place. The three of us shared the Central Coast Sausage and Shaman Bread with goat cheese pizzas. Both of these pizzas were awesometacular! I enjoyed this with a glass of  Pinot Noir from Presqu'ile in the Santa Maria Valley. Usually I'm not a big fan of wines from that region but this one was quite excellent. I also shared half a glass of Grenache from Sorellina in the Santa Ynez Valley. The service was friendly and the atmosphere was funky and hip and cool. Watching our pizzas being cooked in the pizza oven right there in the dining room completed the experience. However, be forewarned: getting a table is quite an ordeal as this place is always packed and is only open Friday and Saturday evenings. Most of their business is by way of mail ordering of their pizzas with their two open evenings being a way to connect with the community and those out-of-town guests inclined to make the worthwhile pilgrimage.

The bar in front.

Wine selection at the bar. Can you spot me in this image?

Pizza oven in the main dining hall.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).