Monarch's Rest Virtual Cache
This cache has been locked, but it is available for viewing.
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One of the Monarch butterfly's winter havens is along the California Coast near Pismo Beach. You can walk in among tens of thousands of butterflies by visiting this park during the months when they congregate here.
From October through March, in cool weather the Monarchs hang in clusters so densely in this pocket park that you often can't see the tree leaves.
You can only log this cache while the Monarch butterflies are present. Please post a picture of yourself, your GPS and the butterflies to confirm your find.
The easiest way to find out if the Monarchs are in residence is to contact the Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce (581 Dolliver Street, Pismo Beach, CA 93449; (800) 443-7778; pbcoc@charter.net; www.pismochamber.com). Pismo has some great beaches in the area too!
Park at the parking lot at N35 07.719 W120 37.922 and follow the path into the park.
Monarch butterflies begin to appear along the California coast early in October. They may travel over the Rockies and Sierras from as far away as Canada to shelter in the Monterey pine and eucalyptus groves along the coast.
In their wintering areas, the butterflies form dense clusters, each one drooping its wings over the ones below to form shingles, sheltering the group from the rain and providing warmth for the whole cluster. So many butterflies are in the clusters that you can barely make out the tree leaves beneath the butterflies and branches droop from the weight of the clusters.
There are other Monarch wintering spots, Mexico being the most famous, but even along this short stretch of coast, there are wintering havens in Morro Bay and Pacific Grove. Pismo Beach has the largest gathering though.
The Monarchs remain in the more protected areas along the coast into March, when they begin their annual journey north. Several generations of Monarchs will be born during migration, but those that leave in December will never return. They live out their lives somewhere along the path back to the north.
Please note - Geocaching.com's editor felt that the searcher might misunderstand this virtual to be simply a picture of a Monarch butterfly in California. That's not the case - to receive credit for logging this cache, you must take a picture of yourself, your GPS and the butterflies in this particular location when the butterflies are overwintering as noted above.
Additional Hints
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frr uggc://jjj.pynffvppnyvsbeavn.pbz/zbanepu.ugz sbe n qrgnvyrq znc