Geo 730: October 14, Day 652: Sea Lion Cave Sans Sea Lions

Friday, we drove down to Florence, and after lunch, stopped briefly at Darlingtonia Wayside. Then we wound our way up onto the headland. Dana was not particularly enthusiastic about Sea Lion Cave, perceiving it- accurately, to an extent- as "just a tourist trap." I also have mixed feelings about it, often describing it as a very expensive elevator ride. On the other hand, it truly is a world-class sea cave. Whether it is, as they claim, the world's largest is debatable, and certainly depends on what metric you choose: Area? Length? Volume? Height? Bother to the question; it's irrelevant.

The geology here was what I was after, but the sea lions are a really nice bonus. When I saw the utter lack of pinnepeds on the monitor in the shop area, I was starting to wonder if this really was a good time to go. Then I heard the clerk explaining to a prior customer that sans sea lions, there was a two dollar discount, AND they stamp the receipt for a free pass any time in the following year. So we'll be back here before too long.

Dana and B. were duly impressed. That $36 was not wasted.

Photo unmodified. October 9, 2014. FlashEarth Location (approximate; it's underground).