Where Are We?

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life

Looking at the first six photos only,

no metadata peeks,

or google image seeks, please.

Where would you guess this is?

There are wild buffalo,

and vast empty spaces of nature conservatory land.

Now, with these photos, the answer is far more obvious!

We are off season in The Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. This is Catalina Island, the most visited of the islands and not a National Park,

but still replete with wild spaces and wild faces. There are about 150 buffalo roaming free on the island.

Off Season, we are mostly alone with the locals, and their four legged paddling companions.

Cheers to you from The Channel Islands~

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289 thoughts on “Where Are We?”

  2. Diane

    Geez, how utterly beautiful! I always wanted to see Catalina, but alas…life got in the way. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images. With all that sea, the actual island looks SOOOOOO dry.

    Reply

    1. Southern California is semi-desert, so you are quite correct about the dryness, even following a year of exceptional rain amounts, it will still look dry by summer. Hopefully we are getting an upcoming El Nino year with lots more rain ღ

      Reply

  9. Thanks for the fun tour of the Channel Islands Cindy! I had no idea they have buffalo roaming there. It seems a weird place to have them when their natural range is mid-west grass plains with cold weather.

    Reply

    1. Thankfully. Yes! There are two groups of wild buffalo in Southern California. The second group are on Camp Pendleton Marine Base also on the ocean. There are about 31,000 wild buffalo left in the lower 48, compared to the tens of millions that used to roam wild ღ

      Reply

    1. Thankfully there still are some, although most have been decimated. We have two groups of wild buffalo in Southern California, the other group roams on Camp Pendleton Marine Base also by the ocean. There are about 31,000 wild buffalo in the United States compared to the many millions that were here before ღ

      Reply

      1. Not familiar with the Camp Pendleton herd, Cindy, although our son was stationed there for a while… Possibly it was before the herd was established there? it would have been the 90s.

        Reply

  18. Well, certainly I didn’t guess right. I was guessing Alberta, Canada…until I saw the coastline.
    Beautiful place, fabulous shots. Thanks Cindy!

    Reply

  24. Great pics. Never would have guessed the location. Now, how would I go about kissing those cute, big noses? They can’t reach their butts, so they may be kissy ready. I have issues, but I know you get me.

    Reply

    1. That is a very good guess. No one expects them in SoCal but we actually have herds in two different locations. The second is on Camp Pendleton Marine Base. Hope all is well with you Josh დ

      Reply

    1. Yes, that is a sure bet. Montana and Wyomming for Buffalo. But we have them in two separate places in Southern California. Happy you enjoyed my friend & have a wonderful weekend დ

      Reply

  34. I was thinking Hearst Castle. It looked like California, and I know he had a bit of a zoo there at one point. I’d have never guessed Catalina Island – nice.

    Reply

  35. Thank you so much for taking us there with you! Gorgeous place. Beautiful photos. That far view of the bay one is my favorite I think. Hard to say. I love them all. ♥

    Reply

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  39. I tried to post, it disappeared, so here I try again.
    I was going to guess Heaven. 😇
    Thanks so much for sharing your heavenly visit with us. 💖

    Reply

  40. At first, I thought Wyoming, but I realized the vegetation did not look like it. However, I did not expect it to be California. When I think of California I think about palm trees, beaches, Hollywood, and Disneyland, but I admit I have not visited California a lot. Catalina island looks beautiful. Great photos.

    Reply

    1. Good deductive reasoning. We have varied ecosystems in Cali. The Sierras often get the most snow in the nation. Death Valley is often the hottest place on earth. We have the oldest living organisms on earth, the bristle cone pines, the biggest, the redwoods/sequoias, and the only Torrey Pine groves. We have 28 National Parks and two separate free roaming herds of buffalo in Southern California. დ

      Reply

  42. At first my only guess was Mediterranean climate, Spain, Argentina? But then, of course, California, where I live. It’s such a beautiful bio- and geographically diverse state with so many micro-climates. You can find almost anything here, even the tropics when the balmy winds are blowing and palm trees swaying.

    Reply

    1. I agree with you entirely. Cali has the oldest living things on earth, the bristlecone pines, the sequoias, the coastline, the deserts, the mighty Sierras, and 28 national parks. Hard to top this. I also agree with you that Catalina looks like the Med, Spain and possibly Argentina. Greek Islands too დ

      Reply
  44. Anonymous

    Late to chime in, but thank you for posting and sharing, wonderful photos, and adding that I too, had no idea there were/are buffalo on Catalina island!

    Reply

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