California Ramblings (Up the PCH)

On my 2011 trip, I spent a few weeks in California. Some places-Sequoia, Kings Canyon & Yosemite-deserve their own posts. This is the rest of California-a hodgepodge of the random places I visited in between these amazing natural areas.

Southern California-I spent a few days in a tiny Best Western near the Pacific Coast Highway, where I did laundry, watched too much tv, ate an extraordinary number of In-N-Out Burgers, and caught the last Harry Potter movie. I also took a relaxing afternoon drive down the PCH to Dana Point, and then caught the sunset from Huntington Beach State Park.

As close to swimming in the Pacific as I got. It was unexpectedly cold.

LA- Was basically my greatest nightmare. People and sprawl and traffic everywhere. I gave up on finding parking in Santa Monica and tried to get a hot dog from Pink's but couldn't deal with the traffic. I couldn't even find the Hollywood sign. So I hightailed it up to the Getty, which is free, has great art (Van Gogh's Irises, among others) and amazing views. And if that's all I ever see of that city again, I will be a-ok with that.

 

Malibu to Ventura- I spent a night camped at Point Mugu State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, which was a nice campground very near to the beach. Too bad it had disgusting bathrooms. The next day,  I took a quick trip in land to the Reagan Library (where I got to see a replica of the Oval Office and walk through a decommissioned Air Force One), and then headed further up the coast, stopping at Channel Islands National Park. I only took in the visitor center at the Ventura harbor but hope to make it out to the islands one day.

The view from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley

Ventura to San Simeon- Spent a lovely day visiting the Santa Barbara Mission (and eating again at In-N-Out) before stopping in Morro Bay and Cambria in the late afternoon (where I didn't take any pictures). The Mission has beautiful gardens and interesting architecture. I love old buildings.

Reflection of the Mission in a fountain

Hearst Castle- I hadn't originally planned to visit Hearst Castle, because it is a little pricey, but I was ahead of budget and it was a cloudy day, so I did, and I'm really glad. Hearst was a fascinating guy, and he basically went to Europe and bought everything he could-walls, art, tapestries, furniture-to make his castle. I've never seen anything like it, except maybe the Biltmore House in Asheville, although I think Hearst Castle is bigger.

Outdoor Pool

Indoor Pool

One of the guest houses

Another guest house

Big Sur Coast- This is the most iconic part of the PCH, deservedly so. Elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, the redwoods in Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park, and McWay Falls. It was cloudy but still beautiful.

Hidden coves around every bend

Majestic Redwoods

McWay Falls

On the trail

Bixby Bridge

So that was my time on the California coast. Amazing drive!

Rocky Mountain National Park (or An Ode to Mountains)

I love mountains. When I was a kid, I thought I lived near some nice mountains. Then I went to Europe in college and stayed at a hotel on the summit of Mt. Pilatus in the Swiss Alps. Those were Mountains compared to what I had grown up with. But it wasn't until I drove through the Big Horn Mountains on my first cross-country trip that I really found out what mountains were. And now I am addicted to them. So Rocky Mountain National Park was a much-anticipated stop, which did not disappoint.

See? Mountains everywhere you look. It's like God took two-thirds of Colorado and crumpled it up like a piece of copy paper and then tried to smooth it back out again, only you can't really smooth paper back out; thus, the many ranges and peaks of the Colorado Rockies were formed.

Mountains so tall that nothing grows on top of them. Mountains that are, well, rocky.

And mountains that are covered with snow. Even in July.

Bear Lake was probably my favorite place in the park. I went later in the day, finishing up my short hike around the lake just before sunset, so it wasn't too crowded. The altitude kicked my butt a little, even though I had just slept at 8,000 feet in Yellowstone a few days before. I just love how the blues were so blue and the greens were so green, especially against the stark gray of the mountains. And how the mountains stand so proudly and resolutely above the rest of the world, like sentinels watching over humanity and nature.

RMNP also has some cool wildlife. Here's a Stellar's jay, which is so brilliantly blue and beautiful.

I also saw a TON of elk. At the top of Trail Ridge Road, which runs over the mountains at a top elevation of around 12,000 feet, I saw about ten bull elk grazing in a field.

This guy was my favorite, even though he wouldn't pick his head up for me.

Up at the Alpine Visitor Center on Trail Ridge Road, a huge herd of mamas and babies congregated.

On the other side of the mountains, I saw several moose grazing along the banks of the teeny, tiny Colorado River, more like a stream at this early stage of its journey.

Another thing I was really looking forward to was seeing tons of wildflowers. I didn't see tons, but the ones I did encounter embodied everything I love about wildflowers; they were sweet, colorful, delicate yet hardy, bringing a mini-party to the harsh mountaintop.

I definitely plan to return to RMNP one day, hopefully earlier in the season so I can see even more flowers. And one day I'd like to come in the fall to hear the elk bugling. It's really a beautiful place.