On New Years Eve I ended up at Pinnacles National Park. This time I went to the western entrance near Soledad. The drive was beautiful and it seemed less crowded than the eastern entrance. I'll be sure to come back ( Read more... )

My road trip from Carmel Valley to Pinnacles took me along the magnificent Arroyo Seco to Soledad. I particularly like the green bridge in this panorama.

( very long scrolling panorama )

On New Years Eve I drove from my hotel in Carmel Valley to Pinnacles National Park. I took the long way, along Carmel Valley Road and Arroyo Seco to Soledad. The route was beautiful in a way that's hard to convey in photos. But I took a couple of panoramas that hint at the charmingly rural experience ( Read more... )

On my first full day in Carmel Valley, I wanted to visit Point Lobos. Unfortunately that didn't happen. The parking lot was full, so I continued south on Highway 1 to Garrapata State Park. Part of the park is on the beach-side of the highway. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours walking and meditating here.


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When we left Carmel the sun was out. This was at one of the first stops, Pescadero Point. "Pescadero" means fisherman in Spanish, so it's perhaps not surprising that there are lots of places called Pescadero-something-or-other along the coast.

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( three sunsets and surfers )

The quickest way to get down to LA is to head east over the Altamont Pass and then take Interstate 5 southward. The I5 is known for being a cultural wasteland with hardly any edible food by Bay Area standards. It's a bit ironic since the Central Valley, which I5 skirts all the way down to LA, is a major centre for agriculture. You wouldn't know it ( Read more... )