Elephant Seals

Last February Scout and I drove down to Ano Nuevo state park near Santa Cruz, California. Every Winter thousands of Elephant Seals come to small strip of beach in order to mate. In order to get to the seals you have to book tickets in advance and take a 2 mi hike through sand dunes to get to the shore. I was two months into my chemo and not sure if I was going to make it, but I did! I was very proud of myself and had an amazing time.

The seals were HUGE (I think they weighed about 500-1000 lbs) but even more impressive than their size were the sounds they made. These enormous bellows that sounded like a cross between a sea lion and a Harley Davidson. I've been thinking of these guys a lot lately. Maybe because I seem to be crying a lot lately and making similar noises.

The nature guide gave us a lecture about the seals as we were walking to the mating site. The struggle the seals had to make to get to this beach hardly seemed worth it. Only a small percentage of offspring survive. Then they have to trek back to this beach. They weigh so much that they can barely move on the sand and mostly just lie around all day. Seems like a lot of effort. It made my two mile hike seem like a walk in the park. (Um, well, it was a walk in the park, but you know what I mean.)

Not sure why I'm posting this now. I've just been thinking about them. And how we are such different creatures, but we are both part of the same cycle of life.

Deep, I know.