After departing Death Valley, we needed a few days of down time to re-group, do laundry, relax and reconnect to technology. We found a quiet park in Lake Isabella Ca, which is south of Sequoia National Park, to accomplish these goals. Lake Isabella itself is almost a dry lake bed, as there is a massive dam project going on. We did drive around one day sightseeing, but we were unable to go up into the Sequoias as it was snowing and we didn't want to venture too far into that 🥶.
Heading west, we started to notice a significant increase in "green" as in "greenery", instead of the "browns" of the desert. We hadn't realized that we were missing this, and it was definitely a welcome sight! Signs of spring were also in the air, as we were surrounded by blooming trees in Central California. We were trying to identify which fruit trees these were and then saw signs for almond groves. Apparently, almond trees start blooming mid-Feb and they were gorgeous.
We overnighted at another Harvest Host, Rio Seco Winery, in the Paso Robles wine region and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The family owned winery was in the process of being sold and we were one of their last guests. Continuing west, our first stop on the coast was San Simeon State Park, which we used as a base and explored Ca Hwy 1 by jeep to the north and south. Driving south we visited Morro Bay. This town is known for the huge rock "Morro Rock" on it's shore. The rock is surrounded by a State Park and walking trail. At the end of the trail, we found a large area of rock "towers" or "stacks". Apparently, this started over a decade ago by a few friends and has since multiplied like crazy.
A little further south, we explored the town of Pismo Beach. This reminds us of a "typical" Southern California beach town and would be the last of this type we would see for a long time. We dined on the pier at an airstream food truck area and watched the surfers and beachgoers. It was still too cold of water for our taste!
Driving north the next day brought us to Big Sur, and this Hwy 1 drive is incredible. We enjoyed the Elephant Seal grounds, narrow bridges, high cliffs over the Pacific, waterfalls, arches and so much more. Our final evening in this area brought us a gorgeous sunset on the beach!
Bye for now...
NEXT UP: MORE CALIFORNIA COAST AND ANOTHER NATIONAL PARK
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