12. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground.
We pulled into the property roads, from off'n the regular highway, and immediately were in and under the Big Trees. Redwoods! This trip was targeting Redwood National Park (at least for a goal, or a target that comes as close to a destination intention as we were willing to entertain - well except that if we felt like continued travel, we had our passport cards along so we could do the OR & WA coasts, and on up into BC and Alaska - I know right?). While we had seen some of the trees in this region, Big Sur Park was our first up close and personal experience with these American cousins of Middle Earth's Ents.
The several folks working the campground kiosk were here, and there, and moving vehicles along, and smiling, and informative, and effective. Wow! Kind of a difference from the other place. But I think it's just a non-standardization thing. Anyway, we were impressed.
Our site was 116, along the Big Sur River, and required a full drive in through almost the entire campground! All but the few short tangents. Soon we came back out of the Redwoods, and were into different types of trees, and by the end, we pulled in and set up here.
Dinette window view toward the river.
We marveled left...
We marveled right...
There was this HUGE owl gazing at us from a close perch near the banks. Look at his eyes!
And we had beer-thirty with some of those HUGE Meyers Lemons we bought above Cambria from Karl.
The next day we drove the coast highway north and got into Carmel and Monterey and the 17 mile loop road nearby, that was listed in the Guide Book. We'll get to that tomorrow, but then drove back down for the second night at camp. But first, we stopped at a cool place with atmosphere called Riverside Inn in Big Sur, very close to our camp.
A sign on their door.
Oh yeah, this is our kind of place - with that National Park style feel of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) builds.
It was a little cool, but not enough to keep us inside, so it was outside we went with a cool weather beer, I think a Big Sur Stout, or maybe I got the Big Sur part wrong, but it was a local brew, maybe from Monterey. We found a nice perch over the river.
And watched kids play in the freezing water. Hey! after the first minute you can't even feel the cold! THAT makes kids sleep good.
Sitting there sipping our Stouts we marveled left...
And we marveled right...
That's Lil' Queeny there. This small RV thing is SO much more enjoyable to our travel style.
Then we drove almost across the road and were back in Pfeiffer Big Sur SP, where we parked at a public access lot and walked the trails and boardwalks up to THEIR restaurant - where we ordered the Fish & Chips - for $16 a plate. That's more than they're worth, but you're paying for stuff other than food - like atmosphere and service, and such. We sat on the deck, an outside dining area, IN the big trees. It was wonderful! Here was the walk up.
Then after our meal (and the chips were just string fries, but the plate wasn't $30) we walked around starting with the park's informative information about the trees.
We believe modern life affects the natural world, every bit or more than does natural cycles. Just ONE area where people need to pull toward the center and away from extremes of position. We think.
We marveled left...
We marveled right...
And don't forget to look down.
We crossed a bridge and found ourselves in the "walk in/bike in" area. What a peaceful and quiet place. Really Cool!
Back on the other side of the bridge was the amphitheater, this one - like so many places around the country in National and State Parks - was built by the CCC.
And after an very enjoyable evening, we drove back to camp.
What a beautiful park! Easily one of the highlights of this trip.
