Day off! Today was an interesting exploration of the Elkhorn Slough state marine sanctuary... a group of eight started off the morning with kayaking on the bay... an awesome experience with a startling abundance of sea otters (cracking mussels on their tummies!) and harbor seals... I learned the difference between "harbor seals" and "sea lions" today... harbor seals have internal earflaps and tend to be smaller in stature while sea lions have "dog-like" ears and a much larger body mass... who knew?
Out on the "slough" were several marine biologist sanctuary rangers on kayaks who cycled around to make sure the visiting tourist crowds did not infringe on the sea life...
After our kayaking adventure, we spent some time at the Moss Landing campus of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (the deep sea research component) during their yearly robotics open house... pretty awesome to see the diving robotics in action! There is an obvious reverence for Steinbeck (the Western Flyer is a major research vessel and their most advanced robotic submarine is named "Doc Ricketts") throughout the program... too cool... afterward I went for a stroll on the beach and found a "sweat lodge" of sorts left behind by some California natives....
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| Elkhorn Slough Kayaking Adventure! |
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| Research Submarine Doc Ricketts I |
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| Research Vessel Doc Ricketts II |
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| Collection trays for the Doc Ricketts |
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| Robotic Arm Tests... |
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| James Cameron!!! Robot III |
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| Western Flyer Research Vessel (named for the vessel from The Sea of Cortez) |
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| The Salinas River runs through it all... |
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| A cool sweat lodge / teepee on the beach by the Salinas River / Pacific Ocean |
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