Spectacular outpost twigs off the trail? Woodrat houses, the first one built by a mother who turned it over to a daughter and who then built another a few yards away.) More than half of the reserve is underwater, meaning animals and plants in its rich marine habitat are protected. Don’t miss the tide pools at Weston Beach; the literal stars on the day of our visit were two huge starfish, one orange, one purple. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve Route 1, Carmel. Hours 8 a.m. to one-half hour after sunset (information station and Whalers Cabin Museum open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.). $10 vehicle entry fee. 831.624.4909; parks.ca.gov
Courtesy of Vision Quest
Another treasure is Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, three miles south of Carmel. Even those jaded by Highway 1’s endless vistas of crashing surf and rock formations are awed by Point Lobos’ natural beauty and thriving wildlife. Hike one of the trails along the shoreline to peer down into the coves and to admire the Monterey cypress. Photographers Edward Weston and Ansel Adams, among others, were captivated by the cypress’s fantastic shapes, achieved after years of battering winds. Adding immeasurably to a visit are the docents, many with telescopes, the better to view otters feeding in the waves and sea lions barking on the rocks. Our docent Paul Reps was a fount of information about Point Lobos’ history, flora and fauna. (An example: Those mounds of
Charlie Sammut (in brown shirt) with friends and participants in the Pachyderms & Patriots program.
One man’s vision The centerpiece of the Wild Things animal compound on Vision Quest Ranch in the Salinas Valley is the five-acre elephant area, where the pachyderms socialize, play, eat, sun themselves and dip into their pool. For many visitors, standing at the fence of the area is as close as they’ll ever come to these amazing creatures. Wild Things is also home to some 150 other exotic and domestic animals, including camels, a baboon, a hyena, and lions, tigers and bears. The daily public tour affords close-ups of many of them, as at that hour they’re in their outdoor enclosures. Many are veterans of film, television and live productions; several have been adopted from less-than-ideal environments. Owner Char-
lie Sammut’s passion for these animals, and for sharing them with others, is clear in his hands-on handling and website stories. Sammut, 50, stumbled into his passion. He studied to be a veterinarian, became a police officer, bought a kennel business, rescued an old cougar from a Seaside garage and gradually acquired a number of exotic animals, including an African lion named Josef whose good looks led to an appearance in a Dreyfus Fund commercial. That led to Wild Things becoming an animal rental company. Sammut now runs his sanctuary, animal rental company, kennel, an equestrian center, educational spring 2012 • Scene • 77