Morro Bay + Pinnacles National Park

Nov 2 / Day 33

“We’ve finally made it to the ocean!  We slept in the car in Los Padres National Forest last night outside of Morro Bay and drove down to the water this morning to Nude Beach.  There were big rock cliffs that you could climb around on and look down at the ocean and a big hole/cave that you could walk through.  We scrambled down to the water and watched seals lounging on nearby rocks. From there we walked over to the beach. No one else was there! I decided to go in the water. It was chilly but refreshing.  We then continued north on Route 1. Our next stop was Morro Bay for lunch. At the water there we set up the stove to cook while overlooking the beach packed with surfers.  It was cloudy, and a little chilly but beautiful.  As we kept moving along Route 1 we saw signs for an elephant seal viewing area so of course we stopped. There were at least 50 of them lying there cuddling and squirming on the shore.  They’re huge and… so weird.  Route 1 was closed further up due to a rockslide so we had to back track and detour around.”

Nov 3 / Day 34

“We spent the night in Pinnacles National Park and unfortunately didn’t escape paying for a campsite this time. While we were sleeping a woman came and knocked on our window saying we have to pay now.  Dan slipped her his credit card through the slit in the window and she came back ten minutes later with a receipt that she slipped back through.  Our favorite hiking app, All Trails, had the top rate hike listed at the highest difficulty.  Normally we go for the easy or moderate hikes but this one seemed too special to pass on. The High Peaks Condor Gulch Trail led up to these big rock peaks caused by volcano and earthquakes.  What made this hike unique to us were these steep tiny steps carved into the rock and metal handrails along the way to hold on to, as the trail got very narrow. Little wooden bridges also allowed the trail to wraps itself up and around the peaks. It was so fun and there were endless views.  The top is a perfect place for lunch so we ate our mozzarella and prosciutto sandwiches and Halloween candy while overlooking everything.  We drove a few hours out of the park and began searching for a place to spend the night. There weren’t any prospects so we stopped on the side of the road in a pull out with ocean to the left and the highway to the right. The sound of the waves crashing mixed well with the zoom of the cars. We cooked up a large dinner of pesto chicken and pasta on the back hatch of the car by flashlight.  Tomorrow we’ll be heading to San Francisco for the day!”