Russian Gulch State Park is such a beautiful place to explore, especially on a cool afternoon in October. The sky sent down a light drizzle as I started along the headlands trail, but by the time I had circled back and later headed to the landward side of the park — following the road that crosses beneath Highway 1 — the clouds were making way for the sun to peek through.

Brown pelicans and cormorants

Spanish moss

My phone’s portrait mode created a tilt-shift look