Winter Sunset

During the late fall and early winter, the sun sets over the island of Santa Barbara. We get great views of it, even though it's a long way from our house.

Distant Isles

Although this looks like a mountain range, the peaks in the background are some of the islands that are part of the Channel Islands National Park. Today, I could see Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands. I think some of the others are visible, too. Sunset is the best time of day to see this distant islands that are 60-70 miles away.

Close-up of Santa Barbara

I can see the Channel Island National Park, especially the Island of Santa Barbara, mainly in the winter. It's quite far away from my patio here i Rancho Palos Verdes-- I think more than sixty-two miles. I love the way it looks at sunset.

New Year's Day, 2010!

This is the lovely sunset that we had last night. The island in the distance is Santa Barbara-- not the city, but one of the Channel Islands

Sunset over the Island of Santa Barbara

This time of the year, we can see the Island of Santa Barbara-- especially at sunset.

Beyond the Isthmus

The recent winds have blown the moisture away from shore. It was clear enough for me to see the water on the other side of the isthmus on Catalina Island-- more than twenty-two miles away.

Painted Cave

We're on a boat coming out of the Painted Cave, Santa Cruz Island, which is one of the deepest ocean caves in the world.

Hiking on Santa Rosa Island

This is a view of one of the hiking trails that we took last week on Santa Rosa. We were hiking in the national park portion of the island.

Santa Rosa Island #1

Bechers Bay welcomes you to Santa Rosa Island. The island also has nice hiking. (Stop by for the next few days to see more pictures of the islands.)

Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the Channel Island. It's 22 miles long and from two to six miles wide and contains 62, 972 acres. It's one of the prettiest, too.

Channel Islands National Park Endemic Plant

This plant, commonly called red buckwheat, is endemic to the Channel Islands National Park. These islands are sometimes called the Galapagos of North America because there are both plant and animal species that occur no where else in the world. The flowers get a deeper red as you move from Santa Cruz to Santa Rosa Island to San Miguel. This particular specimen was on Santa Rosa Island. Catalina Island is also part of the chain of islands, but not part of the national park.