& The Rains Came~

The rain started late in the night~  The weather forecast had Not been promising!  By daylight - the rain was coming sideways - in torrential waves!  The awnings were working Great!  All our ponies standing dry & eating their hay!

Never to be deterred from having a good time & since Sandy's truck was available, we headed to Manzanita & the Big Wave Cafe!

Inside the Cafe~

Walking in the door, were more of our friends from camp, all of us with the same idea!  Much more pleasant to sit inside, be served a delicious breakfast & watch it rain :-)  With Butch driving, we took the scenic way back to camp & enjoyed a sun break on the way.

It's a dogs life~

Once back, we retreated to our camp, where Butch & I played cards while the dogs rested :-)  The only time they moved - was to occasionally swap beds :-)

Nika~

Every time the sun would break through & the rain let up, we'd get the leashes, the dogs, Farah & go for a walk!  Over the course of the afternoon, we took several walks!  Mid-afternoon, during a break, Sandy decided to pack up & head for home.  We were so sorry to see them go...

Horse Rental corrals~

Some riders tried to outguess mother nature & came back soaked to the skin!  Having been there & done that - I decided to wait.  Just after dinner I was rewarded by a dry break & saddled up.

Looking east at the trail from the horse rental concession~

We'd hiked out this trail earlier - I took it again.  From the high point, we could see east, over to the bay.   Both Farah & I felt an edge of sadness - with our riding companions gone~

Looking South~

The wind was blowing & it was the coldest evening so far.

8 p.m.  Heavy clouds moving in~

From the dark look of the skyline, there would be no beautiful sunset on this evening.  With the tide still coming in - our strip of beach was limited.

View north~

Due to the Snowy Plover - the dunes are off limits to horses - with the exception of the established trails.  During our time here, we saw a mother bird with three babies, playing in the surf.  I can remember years ago when we'd see them in large numbers - so sad that they are now threatened.

Back to our horse camp~

The terribly invasive Scotch Broom, growing ever thicker & was taking up even more of the dune habitat.  On every trail - it's now so prevalent & tall that the trails will soon be impassable without some type of intervention.

We returned to camp - I was amazed that with the dark foreboding clouds over the Ocean, the rain didn't come in at all!