Elkhorn Slough Safari

One of my besties went on this Safari at Elkhorn Slough as part of a birthday gift. She's an aspiring birder, but also managed to catch an ADORABLY cute picture of a sea otter. I immediately wanted to spot and capture (on 'film') a seriously adorable sea otter. Timing ended up working in our favor on my road trip, and we booked ourselves on a Sunday morning safari.

It was the best money I ever spent. Captain Yohn is one of those characters who is thoroughly enjoyable to hang around and listen to. He's a bit prickly in a charming way but has lots of facts and knowledge on hand, and he also has a naturalist on board to give us a history/science lesson while we're wildlife spotting. Plus he uses the kids and some adults to keep stats on wildlife for research purposes. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit chilly, 2 hours spent in the slough. And worth every second. I can't wait to go back.

[Mom - sorry, there are bird pictures but they're really cool. Please look.]

But me, I was there for OTTERS. I took 1200 pictures (thank you 32 GB SD card). Luckily we got  more than a few 'close' encounters with the second most cute and adorable creature on the planet (sorry, pandas still win):



 





Caught one chowing down:





This bird was hoping for scraps:







I cannot stand the cuteness:







We also saw these:



And a whole MASS of sea otters:





And a sea lion looking upside down:



Sea hares (bred for neuroscience research) used to breed here:



Sleeping harbor seals:



Awake harbor seals:



Don't mess with the brown pelican:





To see the rest of the 164 pictures, click here. Really - there are some really good close-ups of sea otters and other slough creatures in all their cuteness.

L - SO glad you recommended it and I MUST go back again!!