WE WON'T SLOW YOUR ROLL: Nobody but nobody likes to have their roll slowed, not when they've got their roll going at a fine speed and their destination is nearly within sight. This goes for you, too, even when sauntering down any street you saunter down -- you gotta get where you gotta get -- and this goes for travelers making half-planet hops to locales in places on the other side of the globe. And it definitely, and most certainly, goes for any animal, be it wee or ginormatron, making its seasonal migration. Ever seen a Pacific gray headed south in January? Those mammoth mavens are making time, hoo boy, and there isn't anything that's going to throw up a wall between wherever you see them and their final arrival (probably some cozy lagoon off Mexico). And while we regularly throw festivals honoring various creatures who call California home, either permanently or occasionally, a rarer party to see is one that involves the journey itself. And isn't the journey so much a part of nature? For sure, that sounds like a line from a greeting card, and no apologies: Watching a Monarch butterfly or gray whale go, go, go is uplifting to the soul. (Greeting card line #2.) Want to honor the migratory visitors to the Golden State? Then be at...
NATURAL BRIDGES STATE PARK... in Santa Cruz on Saturday, Feb. 13. That it is the Saturday of Valentine's Weekend says that this gathering will have a lot of heart, in the form of our love for animals and nature. Get ready for "migratory animal talks, active kids' games, crafts, skits, live music by the nature-loving 5M's Band, educational booths and display, along with the now-famous habitat-free cake served at the end of the event." Want to park? It's ten bucks. Want to revel in the migratory facts of those beauties of sky and water we seek out each fall and winter and spring? Drop in for an hour or two and expand your vision to encompass not just the beastie in question, but the beastie's vital annual quest.
