Come, Experience Big Sur

SUMMER, FALL, WINTER OR SPRING, there is always time to enjoy the breeze, to embrace the smile of the sunshine, and for some, a time to soak in nature. 

Big Sur Coast, CA

I had mentioned in my last post about a summer Sierra Nevada road trip in California. That road trip mixes the experience of being in a big city ( either Los Angeles or San Francisco), mountains, forests and desert. Another road trip option is along the coast, driving on Pacific Highway 1, passing through the greatest meeting of the mountains and the sea, at Big Sur.

Big Sur Coast

This coastal road trip is very ideal for those who plans to visit both San Francisco and Los Angeles, and may be combined also with the Sierra Nevada road trip, depending on time availability. The National Geographic featured this drive as one of the 20 drives of a lifetime in the world.

Big Sur is a very serene, mostly remote, and mostly natural place. In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Portuguese explorer who discovered California and the west coast said,

" There are mountains which seem to reach the heavens, and the sea beats on them."

Mountain Meets The Sea with Low Lying Clouds @ Big Sur

Big Sur is where the mountains are kissed by the clouds and the strong surfs from the ocean waves make remarkable sounds as they smashed the land.

A Quiet and Rural Life at Big Sur

Big Sur is very slow paced, probably not an image many would associate California with, especially that this stretch of coastal wilderness is between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This is a place defined by its natural features, mountains and water, then the life within.

Elephant Seals, Point Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, Big Sur, CA

Here, at the edge of the American West, mountains plunge into the ocean making the Pacific Coast Highway or CA Hwy 1, California's first scenic highway, look like a tiny ribbon.

Historic Bixby Bridge, Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur

The highway is like a tiny ribbon that cuts through the edges of the rugged mountain terrain.

Lupines, Pacific Coast Highway 1, Big Sur

Big Sur is not a National Park, is not even an established city or twon. This place has no borders, just an unincorporated county land. However, the long stretch of Big Sur's coastal wilderness includes numerous State Parks, where people could camp, hike, scuba dive, and more.

Coastal Redwoods, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Hiking trais in the Big Sur region range from relatively flat nature trails through mostly redwood forest, or along the rocky coastline, to challenging routes for long day and overnight hikes. Wilderness permits are required for overnight backpacking stays in many locations. A short hike in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park will lead to a beautiful sight, the McWay Fall.

McWay Fall, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur

This is a unique waterfall by the sea, and it drops 80 ft off a cliff onto the beach nestled on a pretty cove. There is no land acess to the beach where the water at McWay Fall drops as the cliffs would be too crumbly and dangerous to descend. If one wants to get down to this cove, s/he has to endure to swim frigid waters to the waterfall. There is a trail at Partington Cove that drops 200 ft to the ocean.

Coastline Between Partington and Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Between Partington Point and McWay Creek is the Julia Pfeiffer Burns Underwater area, which is a scuba diving area. The rocky shoreline is the acess to this underwater park. Many whales pass close to shore at this point, and occasionally one will come into the mouth of the cove. Sea otters, harbor seals, California sea lions are occasional visitors.

Elephant Seals, Point Piedras Blancas, Big Sur

Big Sur is a showcase of coastal wilderness, incredible marine and land biology, magnificent geology and exemplary thermodynamics. There are no theme parks here, but a lot of living museums. The culture here is defined by how God manifests its supreme artistry in mingling wilderness with natural beauty. The wildflowers on the trail,

Calla Lily, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur

California Poppies, Big Sur

wildlife,

Coastal Deer on a Bed of Grass and Wildflowers, Big Sur

makes this place nature's Disneyland. For me, however, there is no man made theme park (though I live close to Sea World, Legoland, Disneyland, Universal Studios, etc ) which can compare to the joy of knowing and experiencing the power of nature.

Wildflowers, Big Sur Coast

Experiencing it up close, as close as I could get. Come, let us hike, and experience Big Sur.

♥♥