Point Reyes National Seashore
Some pictures from 2 weekends ago at Point Reyes Nat'l Seashore.
Tule Elk
An otter peaking out of Abbott's Lagoon
Here's a peregrine falcon over Abbott's Lagoon
Shoreline, northwest Point Reyes, a few minutes after the rising sun completely cleared the coastal range.
This one was taken a few miles up the road, at Bodega Head, to end the day.
= new reply since forum marked as read
...but I won't. 
My only complaint is that you should have posted larger images; I want to linger over the details of shots like the last one.
R.e. the otter...there were 3 of them. The only other people anywhere close by that day told me that these were river otters. But Abbott's Lagoon is saltwater, so maybe they're sea otters. I don't know enough to be able to tell the difference (ahem...I otter remedy that).
Here's a larger picture of sunset at Bodega Head.
For some reason, that's still not showing nearly as large as the original. Here's the link to the temp gallery. You can hover over the right side of the photo and choose to view at original size if you'd like:
http://dclaybrook.smugmug.com/Temp/DU-Photos/13924522_d8Bpk4
The next time you make it to the San Francisco Bay Area, if you have any spare time, consider Point Reyes. It's close to San Francisco (an hour), it's free, it's teeming with wildlife. And it's got to be one of the most gorgeous places in California--and in my stilted opinion, there are lots of gorgeous places in the state.
In the summertime, the fog bank often moves in over land, especially the westernmost points, like where the Pt. Reyes lighthouse is located. These particular pictures were taken in the northern part of Pt. Reyes, near Tomales Bay and several miles inland from the "point" of Point Reyes. If you're into hiking, there are miles and miles of trails, covering lots of open grassland, mountains, and wooded areas. There are also spectacular trails in the southern portion of Pt. Reyes that hug the coastline and offer unbeatable views. Look up the Palomarin Trail out of Bolinas if you're interested in the coastline trails.
Speaking of Bolinas, it's very well worth a visit too. It's just a little hippie village right on the water, bounded by Stinson Beach to the south, and Point Reyes to the north. It's the kind of place where dogs and kids can and do walk in the middle of the street, and I feel like anyone could enjoy a nice afternoon in Bolinas.
Point Reyes website: http://www.nps.gov/pore/index.htm
Yelp review of Palomarin Trail (with photos): http://www.yelp.com/biz/palomarin-trailhead-bolinas
Finally, here's an NYT article about Bolinas. Ignore the cannibalism stuff--it's not true. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/09/us/bolinas-journal-welcome-to-bolinas-please-keep-on-moving.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
I lived there from 1970 to 1974 and absolutely LOVED it. What's not to love about laying around on the beach, playing music and getting high all day? 
My oldest daughter was born there at home up on the bluff.
And no, I don't think the sign is there anymore, where the road to Bolinas runs into PCH at the lagoon. Here are a couple of shots of your old stomping grounds, taken last month:
And again, the sunset picture is in a different spot, not far away. This is from a ridgeline on Mt. Tamalpais, above Bolinas, more or less.
I know exactly where those shots were taken. I was down there a few years ago and actually ran into some of my old friends who are still there after all these years. The place really hasn't changed a whole lot except for that new restaurant there where Scowley's used to be. We spent a couple of nights in the rooms behind Smiley's. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep for all the partying going on, but that was okay. It was just great to be back there. Those were some very good years for me.
Speaking of Mt. Tam, when I lived in the City up on Sacramento Street before I moved out to Marin, I used to hitchhike across the bridge and get let out somewhere on Mt. Tam. I'd spend the day up there (tripping usually -- it was my "thing" back then) , then hike down to Muir Beach where I had friends and spend the night, then hitchhike back to SF the next day. I never had a car when I lived down there, so I traveled a lot on my thumb. I only had a couple of close calls, but I talked my way out of any trouble. I gotta say I'm glad none of my daughters followed in my footsteps in that regard. I would have been worried sick.
Found that rollling down the window & turning the blower all the way up helped a lot.
Lived in the Bay Area for 18 years and still miss the awesome beautiful country. Andrew Molinas state park, right across from Big Sur, is my favorite place in the entire world when the monarchs are migrating. Good memories!!
