Good afternoon, Campers! It’s Silver Cliche’ with you again. Today’s post is coming to you from Sunset State, Beach in Watsonville, California.
Yesterday was spectacular and a bit harried. We called the option play and decided to run from Plaskett Creek. The weather on Monday... here... let me remind you what it looks like to be cold and damp... or, more accurately, to be warm and dry but looking at others who are cold and damp...
Got it?... nobody wants that! Right? Anyway, being in one place at Big Sur kind of misses the point of the place because Big Sur isn’t actually a place... it’s a long stretch of coastline. And a varied one. Since there is only one way in and one way out, the way we decided to experience it was to drive out. Anything else would have meant seeing the same place over and over.
Our destination is smack dab on Monterey Bay about 90 minutes north of Plaskett Creek. To complicate things, the trusty Tundra was due for its 10,000 mile service and the Toyota dealer we had chosen was about 30 minutes south of the campground. Even in the land of milk and honey somebody has to do the milking and collect the combs. So rather than dilly dallying along the route we made a steady drive up Highway 1 enjoying the spectacular sights of Big Sur. Just so you don’t miss out, I stopped to take a shot for you:
The things I didn’t appreciate about this route are numerous. First off, the landslides. I was aware that this road is damaged badly enough to require closure on occasion. In fact, the first time we planned to drive it in 1980-something it was closed. This winter it was closed and only reopened three weeks ago. I’m thinking it gets hit about every two years by a doozy that makes news. However, it appears to get hit daily to one degree or another. And weekly, monthly and yearly by events of increasing severity. The only thing more common that patches on this road are “Watch for Slides” signs. Note that they don’t bother describing what type of slides... the answer is “every type of slide”. At one point there is a short tunnel... maybe 100 yards. I realized from its construction that it wasn’t a convenient way for the engineers to avoid a switchback or hairpin turn by burrowing through the earth. This “tunnel” was actually a roof for cars and a sliding board for rocks. Evidently, the frequency of boulders falling on the roadway at that spot led the California Highway Department to construct an overpass so falling chunks could reach the sea safely without having to look both ways before crossing (which, I’m thinking they never did anyway). The second surprise for me was the varied vegetation. It’s about 50 miles from Plaskett Creek where we started to Carmel by the Sea. At times we were rolling past dried grasslands (populated by grazing cows enjoying the best view in the entire bovine world). At other times we were in redwood forest... I mean thick, huge, old growth trees on both sides of the road. The wildflowers were in bloom and added to the magnificence of the Pacific which itself was a deep shade of blue. Various types of small trees, scrubby stuff and pines in ravines came and went past the window. The niches of climate, soil and sunlight clearly have a dramatic effect on what will grow in any specific square foot of earth here. Finally, I was amazed at the variation in elevation. We were as high as 800 feet above sea level according to the altimeter on my Apple Watch. Given the twists, turns, narrow stretches and traffic (not to mention the constant watching out for “slides”), I didn’t get to consult the fine print on my watch as often as I would have liked. Maybe there were even higher spots. I might have asked Mrs. C’ to keep tabs but she was keeping watch on me and threatened to beat me to a pulp (once the truck was stopped and safely in park) if I didn’t keep my freakin’ eyes on the road. This stretch wasn’t the first time I’ve heard “Are you trying to kill me?”. As a point of fact, a plunge off an 800 foot cliff into the ocean would probably have an equally detrimental effect on all of the occupants of the vehicle... not just the front seat passenger. I used my substantial EQ to determine that Mrs. C’ would not find that logic to be comforting or persuasive at that moment, but I found it helpful so I’m sharing it with you.
By reputation, the trip we took in two segments on California Highway 1 from San Simeon to Carmel by the Sea is one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.. For us, it delivered.
So, we reached the campground in Watsonville on Monterey Bay at about 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon. My service appointment was at 3:00 in Seaside about 35 minutes back the way we came, so I unhitched the wagon, tested all of the vital systems in the trailer (especially internet), and left my traveling companions behind. After an oil change, tire rotation and the “50 point safety inspection” (Do you think there really are 50 points inspected? Me neither.) I headed back to Watsonville passing (as I had done earlier) Salinas, Castroville and Moss Landing along the route. You can’t pass Salinas without singing the last verse of “Me and Bobby McGee” which I did. I had done my research, called ahead and stopped at the harbor at Moss Landing to pick up fresh seafood dinners for Mrs. C’ and me. I literally had to wait on the road just outside the restaurant/fish market while a forklift moved something from a commercial fishing boat to the building next to the market. I also saw my first “sea otter crossing” sign on that road, although no otter interrupted my trip.
The fresh fish and chips were a hit as was Mrs. C’s chargrilled halibut. The carrot cake wasn’t bad, either.
The last miles from Highway 1 to the campground were teaming with agriculture. Two products dominate the area within about 10 miles of where we are camping... strawberries and artichokes. We saw pickers working the strawberry fields. We also saw trucks with stacks of cardboard. I realized they were delivering those heavy cardboard trays that carry bulk strawberries to the fields that were being picked. It was possible to see the fields in various stages of growth from bare dirt to the ones with the pickers in them. I think I saw the May, June, July and August crop... maybe September, too. I’m not sure how long it takes to turn a seedling into a shortcake here. The fields reach right up to the edge of the campground. Here’s a shot I took this afternoon when I drove back from the beach:
The beach... the beach... We are just a few hundred yards from Monterey Bay. There are major dunes, probably 300-400 feet tall separating the campground from the surf. That may sound like a lost opportunity fir beachfront camping, but the wind today is 30 MPH with higher gusts. Those dunes are protecting us somewhat from the wind but certainly from wind blown sand that otherwise would be sandblasting the finish off the truck and trailer.
Monterey Bay itself is probably 20 miles north to south with the City of Monterey forming the southern point and Santa Cruz the north. It is characterized by cold water (the Pacific here is about 50 degrees today) and a very deep ocean trench close to land. The harbor where I supported people removing creatures from those waters for the benefit of humanity included several “whale watching” businesses. None of them suggested you’d come back full. I’ll pass.
On a cold (by Florida standards... evidently, these people think it’s normal) and windy day I braved the elements to bring you these shots of Sunset State Beach and Monterey Bay.
So, tomorrow we head east with a plan for one stop in the San Joaquin Valley then Yosemite. We are working up another option play because the forecast for Yosemite Valley is cold and rainy. By “cold” I mean “too cold for us” as in 30s at night and 40s in the day. So our “Plan B” may be to hang in the warmer valley, shorten our planned stay in the Yosemite area and only go there for Sunday afternoon and overnight before heading to Sacramento then north into Oregon next week.
That’ll be the subject of tomorrows blog. I hope you’ll come along!
Later...
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