Big Sur - Day Fourteen

We left Monterey Bay and drove the 17 mile drive to Carmel.  We stopped along the way to take pictures of this beautiful drive which includes two golf courses.  The roadway going South ends at Pebble Beach golf course.  We continued South on Highway 1 to Julia Pfeiffer State Beach Park.  We hiked the Canyon Trail which ended at a waterfall.  We had to cross the stream as we hiked up the tral.  It was very beautiful.  We decided to next hike the slender but dramatic McWay Falls.  The trail takes you along the high cliffs overlooking the ocean.  From this vantage point you can see a stream tumbling a hundred feet from the granite cliffs into McWay Cove on the oceans edge. From the overlook you can also see the former site of the Waterfall House.  We finished our hiking day by taking another trail which lead to a camp site high on the bluff overlooking the ocean.  It would be a great place for a camping trip.

We saw a U.S Forest Service ranger and asked about hiking trails which were closer to the beach.  He mentioned the hard to find Pfeiffer Beach Park.  It was on an unmarked road about 5 miles North.  We drove there and found the entrance which was a two mile very narrow road leading down to the ocean.  We paid our entrance fee and then walked to the beach.  It was a very dramatic location with the high winds blowing the waves against the rocks. It would be a great place to spend the day near the water.  Unforturnately for us, the winds were very strong so we did not stay very long.

We got back on Highway 1 heading North which took us back through Monterey Bay on our way to Los Altos.  We arrived around 3:30 p.m. to lots of hugs and kisses.  We were glad to finally reach our most important destination.

This will be the last posting for the the next couple of weeks.  We will resume our blog on our return trip to Ohio.

Pictures can be seen at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/tschick62/20110429BigSur?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-4rdT2jqGLsAE#



More later . . .