Pinnacles National Park

We entered Pinnacles National Park from the west entrance and, after some guidance from a park ranger, decided we would do the Balconies Cliff Trail (the cave portion of the trail was closed due to Covid). This 2.5 mile hike provided picturesque views of the Pinnacles’ rock formations. We even saw several of the endangered California Condors circling way overhead as we hiked. By the time we finished the hike, the temperature was really heating up. So we found some shade by the visitor center in which to eat our picnic lunch. Then, it was time to end our weekend adventure and head back to Fresno.

Ready to start the hike

Big Sur, California

For our day in Big Sur, we started with a 4.8 mile hike of the Buzzard’s Roost Trail in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. It is a wonderful hike that starts out following the Big Sur River, climbs through the shady redwood forest to a sunny ridge that provides a panoramic view of the ocean and mountains. It was gray and foggy when we began the hike, but by the time we reached the ridge, it was a nice sunny day that afforded beautiful views. After the hike, we found a picnic spot by the car where we enjoyed lunch before heading to the next stop - the Partington Cove Trail. We parked along Highway 1 and followed the steep dirt path down to the isolated cove. 

The fog was just beginning to burn off as we made it to the top of the ridge.

Hiking back down through the redwood forest

Brooke standing inside an old burned redwood tree

The Big Sur River

Looking down at the Partington Cove trail

Partington Cove

We wish Katie had come on this trip with us!

After a day of hiking, we decided that dinner in Monterey sounded really good, so we headed north with one last stop to take pictures at Bixby Bridge.

Bixby Bridge

Monterey and Carmel, California

We arrived at Yanks RV Resort located in Greenfield by 3pm, quickly disconnected the trailer, and headed toward Pacific Grove. We enjoyed scrambling over the rocks and taking in the ocean view at Perkins Park. Back in the car, we headed toward 17 Mile Drive - the scenic route that hugs the Pacific coastline between Monterey and Carmel. It is a beautiful drive that takes you past dramatic coastal cliffs, multi-million dollar mansions, the Lone Cypress Tree, and the Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Perkins Park

The Lone Cypress Tree

After 17 Mile Drive we drove back to Monterey where we spent some time along Fisherman’s Wharf before eating dinner and heading back to the trailer for the night.

The Monterey Fisherman's Wharf

The Monterey Bay

Saguaro National Park

Before leaving Tucson for the drive back to Fresno we wanted to have a chance to see Saguaro National Park. This park is broken up into two sections - the Rincon Mountain District on the east side of Tucson and the Tucson Mountain District to the west of Tucson. Since we had a full day of driving ahead of us (11 hours back to Fresno) we knew we would barely scratch the surface of this unique park, but opted to visit the west side of the park since it was more or less in the direction that we needed to travel. We started at the visitor’s center, but once again, because of Covid-19 restrictions, it was closed. We were able to grab a brochure/map and decided that the Bajada Loop Drive would give us a good overview of the park. This 6 mile loop was great! We were able to stop and wander around the Saguaro Cacti and take a bunch of pictures. Many of the cacti were beginning to flower with a pretty dark red bloom. By 9am we had completed the loop and were back on the road headed home. 

Chiricahua National Monument

Jim finished his consulting work in Willcox, Arizona yesterday, so we were ready to begin our exploration of the area. One of the few things to do near Willcox is the Chiricahua National Monument. Not really knowing what to expect, we headed the 35 miles south of town to the entrance of the park. Because of the Coronavirus, the visitor center was closed but the trails were still accessible. We chose to hike the Echo Canyon Loop which is a 3.3 mile trail through very unique rock formations. This was a great hike with interesting rocks around every turn. 

Chiricahua National Monument

Doesn't this rock look like the Black Lives Matter fist?

The Echo Canyon Loop trail

After our hike, we drove on to the copper mining town of Bisbee. We would have liked to take a tour of the Queen Mine but unfortunately it was closed due to the pandemic. Instead we settled for lunch along Main Street.

Main Street in Bisbee

After our stop in Bisbee, we continued on to Tombstone where we saw the site of the gunfight at the OK Corral. We watched the somewhat hokey re-enactment of that fight, before wandering through some of the shops in town.

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday

Tombstone, Arizona

After a full day of sightseeing, we headed to our hotel in Tucson. Eating dinner on the hotel deck we could see the Bighorn Fire raging in the Santa Catalina Mountains.

The orange glow of the wildfire burning in the mountains

Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Jim had to be in Willcox, Arizona for one day of consulting and because of Covid-19, he decided it would be safer to drive. Seeing an opportunity for an impromptu road trip, I talked him in to tacking on two extra days so that we could do a little exploring of the area. On our way to Willcox, we stopped for about an hour in Lake Havasu City where we walked along the river walk and admired the London Bridge. This bridge originally spanned the Thames River in London and was sold to Robert McCulloch Sr., the founder of Lake Havasu City. McCulloch paid to have the bridge dismantled in London and reconstructed in Lake Havasu speculating that the bridge would become a tourist attraction. He obviously was right as Lake Havasu’s bridge ranks as Arizona’s 2nd most visited tourist attraction behind the Grand Canyon.

Along the Channel Riverwalk of Lake Havasu

The London Bridge