Elephant

 1/27- Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Big Sur CA

   I walked down to the beach this morning and I was watching the people trying to surf. Either the surfing was bad or the surfers were, it was kinda hard to tell. 

   It was another gorgeous day out with baby blue skies and azure waters with just a wisp of a breeze. I was jarred out that mirage by the traffic on 101. We took 101 to Morro Bay where we hopped on Rt 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. It had just reopened a couple of weeks ago after suffering much damage in several rock slides. 

    We just couldn’t help ourselves and we stopped at the Hearst Castle. You couldn’t get near the actual castle without buying a $35 ticket which we declined to do. They bus you up in tour groups to go through the mansion. The visitor center itself was amazingly posh. The parking lot was huge and the visitor center was filled with all kinds of ways to spend your money. Well they didn’t get any of mine this time. 

    A little further down the road we came across a viewing platform for elephant seals. I bet you were wondering what the title was about. There were several thousand elephant seals all lounging on this beach. These animals can weigh between 2000 and 5000 lbs. The best part was it was mating season!! There were all kinds of battles between the males and of course all sexual hyjinks afterwards all played out in living color right there on the beach. The place was rocking. It was also noisy as all get out with all the bellowing and screaming not to mention the screams of ecstasy. There were plenty of new pups being born also. It was fun watching a 5000 lb animal drag itself across the sand in what must pass for a hurry. They would squirm about 10 feet and then collapse and have to rest for 5 minutes before trying it again. They stay here for several months and almost never leave the beach and rarely eat during this time.  It was all a very interesting stop. 

    The gps told us we had 40 miles to go but that it would take us almost 2 hours. We were wondering about this until we got there and the road turned into a spilled bowl of spaghetti. Twisting and turning hair pin turn after hair pin turn slowed us down to a crawl. At least we were on the better side of the road and I didn’t have to suspend Alayne out over the cliff on some of these stretches. It was a beautiful ride but you are literally right next to a sheer cliff that looks like it could let go at any second. 

   We finally wound our way through the rocks to get to Pfeiffer State Park. The park is nestled into a canyon and is filled with redwoods. These aren’t quite the monsters we saw up north but they still bring a sense of awe to stand at the bottom of some of these giants. 

    We continue on our trek north and we should have some more fun on the highway as we traverse some of the more iconic bridges and terrain this area is known for. 

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