Central California: Pinot, Pinnacles, and The Pacific
The Glistening White Salt Lake and Pinnacles National Monument,
April 2008
Page 1 of 4
 The
road trip begins.The hills along Central California's back roads are filled with wildflowers in April, and it's difficult to imagine that they'd be more beautiful than along Route 58, which connects the 5 and the 101. And just what were we doing on such an isolated back road? |
 Going
to the mysterious Carrizo Plain National Monument, that's where!This white expanse you see is the mysterious soda lake, a glistening bed of white salt nestled between two ranges in Carrizo, created from prehistoric drainage when the San Andreas Fault cut off a stream. It's a gorgeous meeting of land and sky, peaceful and desolate. Soda Lake reminded me of another salt lake, the otherworldly Lagunas de Salinas in the high Andes of Peru (below). |
 Continuing
north on the 101, we stopped off at Mission San Miguel Arcángel. The
mission had been badly damaged by a 2003 earthquake, and a large
multi-million dollar restoration effort was in process, a grass-roots
fundraising effort done largely by bake sales and events. |
 Mission
San Miguel Arcángel, just off the 101. This was my third stop at the
fantastic looking mission, one of 21 still in existence in California. |
 Visiting
Soda Lake and Mission San Miguel Arcángel can really work up an appetite.
After checking into our hotel in windblown town of Soledad, nothing could
feed our appetite better than mouth-watering Mexican food at La Fuente
Restaurant. Lisa and I enjoyed Pacifico beer in salt-rimmed
glasses and burritos the size of Cadillacs as Emilio Zapata looked on in
approval. |
 After
ten hours of sleep - something we would do every single morning of the trip
(I told you we were working hard), we drove to nearby Pinnacles
National Monument, where massive monoliths thrust out of the gently sloping
hills of Central California, the remains of a prehistoric volcano and
violent tectonic shifts and erosion.
We stopped off to talk to a ranger, saying that we hoped for a hike that took us to the pinnacles and wildflowers. He recommended a large 4-hour loop that took us up to the High Peaks Trail, wrapping back around through the Old Pinnacles Trail, and finally back through a small cave at the Balconies Cave Trail. Volcanic spires. Wildflowers. Trees. Sheer-walled canyons. Caves. And California condors. Toting a camera, chicken sandwiches, and lots of water, we were ready for some fun. |
 Amongst
the volcanic spires of Pinnacles National Monument, Lisa busts out her
father's
Appalachian walking stick. |
 The
imposing sheer wall canyons of Pinnacles National Monument, created by a
prehistoric volcano and massive tectonic shifts. |
 Some
of the High Peaks Trail, hacked out of the rock. |
 More
of the uniquely shaped spires and rock formations as we continue along the
High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Monument.We stopped near the top to eat chicken sandwiches while watching condors float past, sharing the view with some children and adults on a field trip One of the kids was four, and made it all the way to the top of the pinnacles, albeit very slowly. One of the rangers, enjoying a jelly sandwich at the top, joked, "You know what I like to do? When I get to the top of a peak, I like to grab a stone from the very top and throw it down. That way no one can ever climb as high as I did." |
 The
odd spires heavily contrast with the gentle chaparral-covered hills typical
of Central California. |
 Descending
from the pinnacles along the High Peaks trail, the rocky formations give way
to a more pastoral landscape. |
 One
can easily see a lot of wildlife in Pinnacles, including deer... |
 ...lizards... |
 ...and
the endangered California condor, in flight against the Central Californian
mountains at Pinnacles National Monument.Most of these condors, if not all of them, are tagged, as Pinnacles has been part of the California Condor Recovery Program since 2003. In partnership with the Ventana Wildlife Society, a central-California non-profit organization, PInnacles has released 19 juvenile condors into the wild. Each condor is monitored carefully after its release to increase its chances of survival. Go on to Page 2...follow the quacking goose... |
Central California: Pinot, Pinnacles, and The Pacific, April 2008
Page 1 of 4
Central California April 2008 Home Page
Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
