Jalama Beach

JIM WOODWARD, CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS

Top: Agate hunting at Patrick's Point State Park

Above: Agate Beach

CALIFORNIA BEACHES, I THINK, are at their best and most dramatic in winter. Beaches become the domain of seabirds and those few hardy souls who brave the cold winds, salty dampness, and enshrouding mists to enjoy the relatively deserted sandy strands with their austere gray-on-gray beauty.
The best time to visit any of the California beaches specifically to collect beach treasures is just after a storm. This is when you are most likely to find a plethora of newly deposited shells, mineral marvels, driftwood, and coins. A heavy surf not only brings new goodies to the beach but excavates and turns over long-buried items, redepositing them within the beachcomber's sight and grasp.
Among the many California beaches, one of my favorites is Jalama Beach, between Point Arguello and Point Conception on the northern Santa Barbara County coast. It's a great spot to camp and collect treasures. I love Jalama for its wild beauty, especially in winter when coyotes come down onto the sand because so few humans are present. Owls nest in burrows in the cliff-face, and temporary tidepools give the visitor a rare peek at creatures that generally live out of view of all but divers.
Jalama Beach is farther from a main highway than many California beaches and thus is not well known. Shells, fossils, and agates are among the natural treasures to be found there. Several summers ago a friend and I were heading to northern California for some gold prospecting and made a detour to spend several days camping at Jalama. In our equipment were a couple of metal detectors used for locating gold nuggets. We used them on the beach--not to find gold, but to locate coins dropped by visitors. We were well rewarded for our efforts, as we were the only visitors using detectors. On many other beaches, detecting is a popular pastime.
This winter should be a great one for collecting along the California coast. Just remember that the best time is after a storm. El Niño storms arrive with high surf and waves that may be roiling with such dangerous debris as pilings and uprooted trees. Being cautious will help to ensure that your beachcombing adventures have happy endings.
Also keep in mind that beaches are not only the natural abode of myriad wild creatures, but also places where we can go to rest and renew our souls. At that magical juncture where sea meets sand the compounded stresses of urban living simply melt away. When collecting beach treasures, make sure that you put your own litter in proper receptacles or pack it out for disposal at home. In this way we assure that these places of beauty and repose remain so, not only for our own future visits, but for generations of beachcomers to come.

Gail Butler lives in Upland, California, just south of Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County. After 20 years as a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles County, she retired to concentrate on gold prospecting and writing. Her grandfather taught her how to pan and process gold when she was 10 years old. She is a contributing editor for Rock & Gem Magazine, where she describes her adventures exploring for gold, minerals, and fossils. Her book, The Rockhound's Guide to California (Falcon Press, Helena MT, 1995; 190 pp., with maps and black-and-white photographs, $12. 95 [paper]), describes 75 collecting sites, eight of them along the coast.