Pinnacles National Park

March 12, 2024

Have you ever heard of a talus cave? It's essentially a cave formed when large boulders and detris fill a narrow canyon area. We were glad that the Bear Gulch talus caves were open when we visited Pinnacles National Park in central CA. We quickly opted to make the caves part of our loop hike to the reservoir. 

Flashlights are required for the caves, preferably one per person, and you may want an extra pair of shoes and socks! We just barely managed to avoid soaking our shoes. Harold was a trooper, his knees letting him know that crawling on a metal grate to get through a tight spot was not going to be without consequences.  

Views of the pinnacles as you hiked and a reservoir at the top were your rewards. We're not sure if we saw the condors. We saw some large birds near the reservoir, but they were a bit too far away for us non-birders to make positive identification. Oh well, but if anyone asks, we saw them.  ; )

How's your balance?

Good thing it was a weekday in shoulder season

Pretty pinnacles

At the reservoir

Rim trail firecracker wildflowers

Where Are We Going Next?

Rockets and Beaches

February 9 - March 11, 2024

We spent a month at Vandenberg SFB famcamp. We thought we'd give any snow a little more time to melt before heading north and west to California's mountainous national parks. Vandenberg is a huge base, and much of it feels remote, dotted with launch pads here and there. 

During the month we were there, Vandenberg had five launches. Two were daytime; two were nighttime; and one was a daytime launch with booster recovery. What a show! The advantage to being on base is a prime viewing spot that allows you to see the launch pads. The public access viewing spots don't have that advantage, though they may actually be a bit closer when they aren't blocked off. The roads were blocked for the booster recovery launch. 

The base has several beaches. One, Surf Beach, is accessible to the public and is an Amtrack stop. We toyed with the idea of taking the Pacific Surfliner just to see the shoreline. Beaches are somewhat restricted during snowy plover nesting season. Vandenberg makes a strong effort to preserve wildlife habitat. Judging from the wildlife we saw, they're doing a good job. 

From the campsite

Launch view area

Remember hearing about those CA rains? Road closed.

Elephant seals

A big cat

One of many coyotes

Taking the Jeep ducks for a swim

Sticking the handle

Where Are We Going Next?