Trail of 100 Giants

 Sequoias are awesome!

The Trail of 100 Giants is maybe the most efficient trail I have ever been on.  It starts right at the road, is quite short, and shows you a ton of sequoias.  It is off the beaten path, so if you are ever passing by on The Great Western Divide Highway, you likely are heading here on purpose!

Recent fires have closed a portion of the trail.  But it is a loop, so just do both parts from the entrance.  

How long go did this tree fall?  ~200 years!  Impervious to weather and insects.

They need to be seen in person to grasp the scale

Even in the middle of summer at high altitude there will be wild flowers

Well made trail.  Where it is not eroded it is accessible by wheelchairs and strollers.

Dome rock in the back ground-next time!  And some of the fire damage outside the park.

Bruce Munro light show in Paso Robles, July 2022

 July 2022

An art exhibit that we will return to, hopefully multiple times, as they add new installments

The second installment is fiber optics in glass bottles.

Lots

and lots of bottles!

The colors shift, maybe in time to the music.

Fantastic to watch as the sun goes down.

The first installation is fiber optic flowers.

There is a center attachment for each cluster.

You don't see much in daytime of course.

The landscaping is fantastic.  Nice wide meandering paths, benches.

From the hill at the second site, you glimpse the light flowers.

View from the top of the hill

Big Sur, all the other parts

 

The trip to Big Sur had many fun stops along the way, not just the ocean.

Watsonville has some cool old buildings downtown.  Neat crenelations.  Have I taken this picture before?  It feels familiar.

When you follow random trails, who knows what you will find!

Plants are wierd

Pfeiffer State park has a lovely creek

In the back is a girl starting her headstand and the family is photographing.

We spent the night glamping :)  Totally worth it for the great sleep.

The hammock was delightful.  We spent the whole evening just relaxing with snacks. 

View from the hammock

On the way to the waterfall into the ocean at Julia Pfeiffer you walk through this tunnel under the highway.

The waterfall at Pfeiffer state park.  To get here is a bit of an uphill climb, bring water! 

We decided on the longer loop rather than the shorter out and back.  More up hill, but a lovely view of the valley and even the ocean at the top.

Some of the flowers we spotted along the way.  Some are on the trail and some are at the cafe.