Sunday, October 7, 2012

Open Street and Monarchs

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, 
but there just hasn't been a lot going on.

But today, there was a great event in Santa Cruz. 

Called Open Streets, 
it involved the closing of West Cliff Drive 
to all cars and motor vehicles.  
Usually a great place to walk, ride bikes or roller skate, 
this event amped up the whole atmosphere. 

There were drummers


Several animal booths, but this was my favorite.
A dedicated owner was trying to coax her pup through a tunnel.
He wasn't having any of it.


There were lots of bikes, unicycles,
and even this fellow.


There was also Zumba, Yoga
and even a rock climbing tower.
It was all free for the community to enjoy.


I thought this guy was very cool.


I liked that his body paint featured a tree
and he was set up beneath a beautiful old tree on the cliffs.


Someone had crafted these birds from old tin cans,
they decorated the walk.
Quite lovely.


These next two are for Russ



I believe he loves the pelicans as much as I do.


As an added bonus, after walking West Cliff,
we ended up at Natural Bridges State Park.
The Monarch butterflies migrate here every year,
and they're just beginning to arrive.


Beware, too many butterfly pictures here.


I love them so much,


really, 
I tried to edit my photos 
down to just a few


But still wanted to keep all of these.


My favorites from the day.


And this my special favorite.
Feel free to click to enlarge.


Just so you know, 
there will be many trips to the butterfly grove,
so more pictures will follow.


3 comments:

Jerry and Suzy said...

What a fun day! But to get there you have to be in California, and from where we are, that's a lot of $5 + gasoline. So we thank you for letting us ride along in your backpack and see the sights.

Erin said...

Such lovely pics of the monarchs.

Russ Krecklow said...

Kate, I don't know how I missed seeing this post before, but it might have been because we had some places without Wifi. Catching up with your blog, I see some fine pelican shots just for me. Thanks!! You know what I like. I really enjoyed the monarchs, too.