Pinnacles, Santa Barbara & Death Valley
Pinnacles & Death Valley National Park, and the beautiful Santa Barbara.
October 15, 18:46
The seventh National Park: Pinnacles! We arrived around midday, so we decided to have lunch before going on a short hike. We went to Bear Gulch Cave and Reservoir and walked the Moses Spring Trail. Such an easy and fun hike! And I’m so excited to be back inland, cause the weather is NICE. The fog on the coast brings a moody atmosphere, and I was really longing for some sunshine. So instead of the original one night, we decided to stay two! Tomorrow is gonna be a long hiking day, but right now it’s time to watch ‘‘The Perfect Couple’’; our downloaded Netflix show.
October 16, 21:28
This was such a great day. We hiked a total of 8 trails, went into 1 cave and covered 17 kilometres. Pinnacles National Park is only accessible by car from either the west or east side, but, unlike many other national parks, it’s not possible to drive through. So we hiked. Starting from Bench Trail and Old Pinnacles Trail, through the Balconies Caves, up on the winding trails of Juniper Canyon and Tunnel Trail (this was my favorite part - the hardest but the prettiest), and back down via High Peaks Trail, Condor Gulch, and Sycamore Trail. We left at 10:30 in the morning and arrived back at the RV around 17:30. A solid day. My legs are tired, and I’m sure I’ll feel it tomorrow, but it was definitely worth the hike. Such a diverse route and a great way to see all the different aspects of the park. And what a beautiful park too!
October 17, 20:36
We went to see elephant seals! It was a miracle the RV didn’t end up on its side, or that we didn’t fly away, because the wind was STRONG. All worth it for the elephant seals, of course. The time of year wasn’t great tho, for the big ones with the most elephant-like nose, you have to be there from around December to March. But it was still fun to see a couple of juveniles lying in the sand. Afterwards, we went to Morro Beach for a short walk, and then we headed to our final destination of the day: Pismo Beach.
October 18, 22:47
We started the day on the beach. The sand was as soft and bright as you see in the prettiest holiday commercials. So we enjoyed just sitting there for a good hour. Watching the surfers while carelessly burying our feet in the sand. When it was time to check out of the campsite, we drove to Santa Barbara and spent the rest of the day there. It might be the prettiest city in all of California. We walked around in the city centre, went to the tower of the courthouse, and walked along the pier. Very mellow. We even sat down on a terrace for some people watching, which is a rare thing to do in the States, so we enjoyed it even more. Around 17:30 we left for Carpinteria, cause I wanted to watch the sunset on the beach. We booked a campground on a State Beach, especially for this goal. And what a beautiful sunset it was! We arrived perfectly in time, parked the RV, hooked up the electricity, and walked the mere 50 meters to a picnic table on the beach. Perfectly located for one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.
You can find more stunning sunset photos here on the page: Coastal California.
Orange colors at the beach during sunset in Carpinteria, California.
October 19, 21:34
Mike came to see me! We spent some one-on-one time watching the sunset. We did see each other a couple of days ago, but haven’t spent time alone since the beginning of September, so it was really, really nice that he came to Ventura today. We talked about the trip so far and about our future, and that was all I needed right now. So I’m happily lying in bed after what has been a great day.
It was our last day on the coast here in California, before heading in the direction of Arizona and Utah. And we had such nice weather that we were even able to tan on the beach! We went to Emma Wood State Beaches, the beach I have been to a couple of times before, so it was nice to be able to show it to my mom. We watched surfers and even saw dolphins! Later, we walked around on Main Street in Ventura, and I got to show her my favorite coffee shop. The one with a terrace outside and a variety of Chai Lattes to choose from. So this was a great last day on the California Coast!
October 20, 21:29
We spent a day on the road today. Crossing all of California from West to East and ending just outside of Death Valley National Park at Campground: Lake Olancha Resort. A beautiful place with a little river, a nice communal outside area, and very nice and hot showers.
October 21, 20:52
I haven’t felt this physically tired in a LONG time. It feels good, but I am very ready to fall asleep. Today was Death Valley day. Our first stop in the park was Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. A random sand desert in the middle of another type of desert. A fun stop and the stop where we realized it was gonna be a HOT day. Afterwards, we went to Furnice Visitor Centre, because we love collecting the national park maps, get a confirmation for our plans, and to see if they have any other suggestions for us. There, we contemplated the day because it was getting warmer and warmer. We changed our plan, but ended up doing exactly as we thought in the beginning, which wasn’t the smartest cause the hike through the Golden Canyon trail and to Red Cathedral was SO HOT. Good thing we brought an extra cookie. When we came back to the RV, we were done hiking for the day. So we did the scenic drive of Painters Palette and drove to Badwater Basin, the salt flats. There we stayed for the sunset, sat down on the salt until our pants were wet, and then enjoyed the colorful sky on the way back to Furnice campground.
Scroll down for more Death Valley photos or click here to see all the Inland California photos.
