One thing I love about the Northern California coast in the fall and winter is the changeable weather. In a single day, you might get rain, then sunshine, then fog. On this day in the middle of November we arrived on a warm, bright afternoon at the north entrance to the Stornetta Public Lands, along Lighthouse Road. In less than an hour, the blue sky had vanished behind a thick pea-soup fog that made hiking back to the car something of an adventure.

Crossing the first creek, 2:15 PM

Pebble beach

Low tide, 2:30 PM

Low tide revealing the “causeway” to Sea Lion Rocks, in the distance

Crossing the second creek, 3:00 PM

White horses, 3:30 PM

Sea Lion Rocks again, 3:40 PM

The worst is over, as the fog begins to slowly lift