Pinnacles v. 81

How do we keep things interesting after Hawaii and Alaska.....

Sadly, we missed our California based friend Ann Marie.  In a happy coincidence, we saw her last Fall as we happened to be in the DC area at the same time.  We would just have to strike out on our own.

Everything I read about the big national parks in central California discouraged me.  Roads closed until June. Law requires tire chains until June.  Road construction can result in hour long delays.  Hmmm...

As we were planning, we found a jewel: the much smaller, but no less interesting Pinnacles National Park.  Even better, it is one of the release areas for the California Condor that we heard about at the Grand Canyon, but did not see there.  

No need for tire chains here-this hike was pretty hot!  In fact most people come here in March, April, and May, for wildflower viewing. It did not disappoint. 

We hardly know the names of any wildflowers, but we enjoyed them anyway.  We learned some- our favorite- the Mariposa Lily- it looks like God asked an angel to take a paintbrush to each petal with just the right amount of pinkish-orange watercolor.

Mariposa Lily

Clematis

I don't know- but it's pretty!

At the end of our hike we were treated to this beautiful sight.  This is an acorn woodpecker.  He pecks holes in dead trees and stores acorns to eat later.  We watched him for about 30 minutes as he searched around for a snack!

What I found most interesting about this park is that it is half of a volcano.  Huh?  Yes- it split off from its other half, and has traveled about 195 miles northwest along the San Andreas Fault at about 3-6 centimeters per year.  

The national park campground is also unique.  It has electricity and a pool!  It was a great relief from the heat.  After many requests, I let Becca sleep in the tent in this little campground.

We met some bird watching ladies who were fascinated by Becca's trip, and couldn't wait to add to the education piece.  They shared their binoculars so we could inspect a hawks nest.  They ran back about 15 minutes later to point out 6-8 condors riding the wind. Pinnacles actually has a "CondorCam" disguised as a perch that can weigh, photograph, and check ID tags: http://www.nps.gov/pinn/naturescience/condorcam1.htm

This was a very cool "plan on the fly" side trip!