Going on Nature Walks in Pacific Grove (California) with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
A few blocks up from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you can do three nice, nature outings in Pacific Grove, California – the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, and the walking path at Asilomar Beach. All three can be reached from Lighthouse Avenue, which has several restaurants along it.
Whenever I took my daughter Florence to the Pacific Grove
Museum of Natural History, we would begin our visit of the permanent collection
by watching a film about how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The chrysalis developmental stage is crucial
for a butterfly even though it resembles a sticky mess when a butterfly
eventually emerges from it.
“Pacific Grove is called Butterfly Town, because orange and
blacked colored butterflies called Monarchs fly through it from Canada on the
way to Mexico,” I told Florence.
After the film, we looked at all the stuffed birds on
display including the brown pelicans and cormorants that we often saw flying
along the beach. We had fun putting our
hands in the mystery drawers exhibit to see what we could come up with –
feathers, shells, bones, and so on. It
was gross, great fun.
We admired the baskets woven by Native Americans that were
on display. Florence learned how to
weave baskets at her Waldorf School. We
both liked the Pomo Indian baskets that are roundish with shells and feathers
threaded into their weaving. The baskets
were functional and beautiful at the same time.
Many were used for cooking by dropping hot stones into baskets with hot
water in them.
From the Museum, we then went to the Monarch Butterfly
Sanctuary. It is a quiet place that is
perfect for a fleeting butterfly kiss.
Pine is the natural tree that Monarch butterflies go to, but there are
many eucalyptus trees in the sanctuary as well.
A tour docent explained to Florence and me that eucalyptus
trees were imported from Australia for wood, but Americans discovered that you
cannot cut these trees when they are young.
The eucalyptus trees were used as wind breaks on farms as those in the
Sanctuary once did.
The docent said the black line on the chrysalis makes it a
male. The docent also said that the
black dots on the butterfly show that it is a male.
“What are the black dots?” I asked.
“Pheromone cells for attracting female butterflies,” he
replied.
Florence played amongst the trees with the warning not to
touch the butterflies, so they would not get hurt or killed.
Our last stop was the walking path at Asilomar Beach. Native plants line the walking path. A field guide is a good book to have here to
identify the plants. The coast here is
rocky with waves crashing. It is a great
photo opportunity.
The sunsets are magnificent from Asilomar; they are worth
the walk any time of the year.
By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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