more on Morro.....

Diablo canyon has been closed off for quite some time to the public, and it is known to have some of the most dramatic coast in California.Barbara and David made us sandwiches and we started on the six mile stroll through wild poppies and happy cows.  Pete's Dragon was filmed in this area. Barbara commented on how the rock formations look like Stonehenge. The path lead to a vista with views of the PG&E nuclear facility. The domed towers almost look like a cathedral from that distance. Pretty!  With many power plants looming a stone's throw from the ocean as we've come up the coast the question has circled time and time again as to why the plants must be built so near the water.  David explained that the plant can pump cool ocean water to cool the reactors and then pump the hyper hot water far out into the ocean where it is then distributed without affecting to large a marine life area.  Fair enough, now if only we could find a way to get that whacky plutonium byproduct off site and far far  away from our shores, or our planet... 

All in all we had a wonderful experience experiencing the coastal area with our new friends!  Montana de Oro is glorious.  Here's some pics, including both of our's first ever bobcat siting!  Well, could someone confirm that?  Is this a bobcat?  It relaxed in the sun across the road long enough for me to snap a few frames and then vanished into the thick brush...

And then I can't help but put a picture of some crabs hiding in the creases, cute!

Here's another seascape image we like:

And some dramatic flower on a tree on a way out of the park...

Cheers!  We now travel north, this may be the last blog for awhile as the coast above Morro Bay becomes quite remote until we pass Big Sur... Love and love!

Santa Maria to Morro Bay

This journey has certainly brought to light the enduring beauty of humanity and our duty to explore this world we live in. Throughout the trip we have  been privileged to meet a variety of people we easily hold now in esteem as friends and family,  who inspire and uplift. I want to send out my eternal thanks to those who have called out to strangers, turning them quickly to friends.  In small instances, and sometimes even spending hours or days with people our perspective and knowledge is stretched and expanded.  I consider these thoughts as I review a span of  time where we dropped from our hidden camping spot outside the "mountain" hamlet of Casmalia to the town of Santa Maria and then journeyed up the coast through Guadalupe. Los Osos, and up to the cozy community we write from now, Morro Bay.  We dipped from Casmalia into the valley and had our found a farmer outposted at a remote intersection with his shaded tent of fresh fruits and vegetables and Spanish sweet treats of which I know not the names, but totally enjoyed.  He in broken English and we in broken Spanish, labored our way through a conversation with lots of smile and goodwill towards purchasing the biggest avocado I've seen in my life (for a dollar!)  and a bunch of other fresh veggies.  Within a half hour a Santa Barbara County Sheriff swerved off the road to check out some suspicious folks with big packs.  We ended up having a great chat and gleaned local knowledge and safe travel advice from the portly sheriff.  That evening we ate some great food at a natural foods cafe and were greeted by tiny people that smiled a ton.  The next day another tiny lady helped us at the post office, with smiles and laughter bigger than she was.  The list goes on and on.  The experiences pile and pile, the intrigue into our journey brings curious questions and encouragement, serendipitous encounters are amazingly frequent and hopefully received in gratitude by us. 

On the road from Guadalupe up to Oceano a man photographing flowers in full bloom greeted us across a raging Highway 1.  Would we like a lift a few miles?  Where were we going?  What brought on the journey,  etc...  So enters Ron Williams, pictured here snapping flowers in  

full force along the highway.  Ron took us to nearby Oso Flacos Road which led to a massive set of dunes.  We learned that he had traveled north from Santa Barbara in search of favored flowering subjects while his wife spent the evening cramming for tomorrow's book club discussion.  We were very glad he did if only for the opportunity to meet and chat about the area, the country, the world, political stances,  nature, family, and many other topics.  We really enjoyed our brief time with him among the dunes, lakes, and flowers.  We arrived late in Pismo Beach and met groups of high schoolers from other parts of Cali and Klamath Falls Oregon camped in Pismo for their Spring Breaks.  We all shared slight alarms and then laughter as the Park Rangers dealt with the yelling vagrants howling at each other in the dark on the far end of the campground.  The kids were top notch, offering excitement, support, BUG REPELLENT, and quick quips and comedy, and music.  

The next morning we walked a short distance to Oceano North and learned that we'd again have to detour 23 miles from the coast to avoid the PG & E Nuclear Power plant at Diablo Canyon.  At Oceano North a ranger gave us a break on the camping costs and we settled into another campground, greeted over and over by the friendly RV crowd and their 4 legged companions.  See the theme?  Kind people, kind people, and more kind people.  We dropped into bed early to get ready for a long throttling day northwards to Los Osos, and hopefully past Los Osos to Ron's recommended can't miss spot, Montana de Oro (pronounced Moan- tawn-ya day Oar-oh meaning "mountain of gold").  We plugged along and nearly made it.  We snuck into a dried creek bed in Los Osos around dark and woke for the final leg to Montana de Oro.  After fun conversation with locals at the 50's throwback coffee shop and grocery stores we made our way back down the coast to Montana.  And what a beauty! We are very fortunate in our timing. The yellow mustard and orange poppies are in bloom, and the hillside is blanketed in golden blooms. The Los Osos locals were all very proud and excited to share their love of this testament to color and magnificence right outside their doors. As they say, "Hawaii has nothing on us!!!"

Camping in Montana De Oro is primitive, meaning there is no electricity and no flushing toilets. We walked down a gorgeous eucalyptus lined road to our campsite.

 The waves that crashed against the bluffs sounded like gunshots! The volume of water and force that exerts is mindboggling! 

Reuben has a special gift of asking his questions of the perfect person to answer them. While cooking dinner, we saw our neighbors pull up in their spiffy sprinter motor home. Now, as a side note, I must comment on the efficiency of these homes! 24mpg! 

Reuben and this gentleman  stuck up a conversation about the campground and Reuben asked why nuclear power stations are located on the water. "Well, you've asked the right person there. I'm a nuclear engineer!" Our new friend is David Hodgdon and his dynamic wife Barbara. 

David had told as about the power company PG&E opening up a coastal hike on certain days that was otherwise closed to the public. Security is very tight and positive ID is required to enter. As we were finishing up breakfast, they told us they were going to that hike. They were kind enough to wait while we scrambled for this opportunity to join them. What a lovely day we shared! They were from Santa Barbara and were in the same camera club as Ron! What a small world. If this small sample of the residents of Santa Barbara is any indication of the community there, we will be moving in pronto!  

 

Heading north, El Capitan and beyond!

After a fond farewell to Wilco and his city, we started our journey north to El Capitan state park. Walking on the highway was a little dangerous, so we opted for the smooth path by the railroad tracks. I felt this was the beginning of our adventure, and both of us felt like Huck Finn walking the line. The scenery was just beautiful, and we walked a few miles on the beach as well. Here are some pictures.....

We call this shot 'Cows in heaven!'  They have life made here with the tall grasses, and even a view of the sea. What more could you ask for? There are huge ranches right on the coast that we had to circumvent as we found out later in our journey. 

We walked into fading light, hoping to find camping at the state park. Many weary miles later we found the campsite only to see a sign saying "No Camping!"  We were hungry and it was pitch black, so we decided we would have to camp there anyway, and leave a note at the ranger station explaining our predicament.  I  had started cooking dinner when a car pulled up and a sweet voice asked, " Excuse me, are you lost?" We explained our situation to her and she said she was the camp host there, and that budget cuts had caused closures in many of the state parks. She graciously gave us a map to her area and told us where to camp safely so we wouldn' t get a ticket. She even unlocked the bathroom for us so we slept well that night after all! Her name is Carolyn.

That morning Reuben made friends with a blue jay, who was quite pushy

 about our sharing our food.

After our night at "El Cap" we walked to the beach to Refugio State Park and found ourselves in a gorgeous little alcove where we rested before what we knew to be a few really tough days.  Once we left Refugio, we had 10 miles of beach to Gaviota State Park with no food buying ability there or for another 22 or 23 miles thereafter.  We rested up and trekked up the gorgeous beach towards Gaviota State Park and found some serious solitude.  We saw our first seal resting on the beach, our first sea otter and a ton of peaceful settings.

About 2 miles after this shot was taken we ran into a secluded stretch of beach where a lot of men congregated and made the place a nude beach.  We obviously didn't take any pictures and didn't chat a lot! ;  )    Here's some video of the seal galloping into the ocean away from scary Reuben and Bethany.  Pardon my inability to aim the camera too well!

There is a large private ranch north of Gaviota State Park called Hollister Ranch.  (Somebody should name a clothing line after such a cool named ranch!)  Then the next 33 miles of coastline is occupied by the Vandenberg Air Force Base.  From what I understand it's the west coast station for US Space command.  Being forced inland forced us to climb high into California's coastal mountains and witness some spectacular lush green hillscapes as we made our way around the ranch and base.  It was beautiful, and not as cold as we anticipated.  

After many miles on Highway 1 we reached Lompoc (pronounced Lom - Poke)  We spent several days tending to my oaky condition before leaving Lompoc to finish our trek around the ranch and base.  Bethany renamed the town Longpoke because we've spent more time there  than in any other place on our journey thus far.  Appropriate.  Somewhere on this long journey I had my first experience with Poison Oak.  A wise woman name Faye Donna McNeil said it best, "Poison oak is no joke, and the itch is..."  I think I'll spare any friend/family/blog readers photos of my horrific itching blister masses and stop talking about poison oak in hopes that by not talking about my itch it wont be prolonged anymore! Bleh!

We've journeyed onward and further inland.   While walking inland we've noticed some oddities that we definitely wouldn't notice behind the wheel.  For example, the road from Gaviota to Lompoc had more dead and dying butterflies smashed by speeding cars than either of us have seen before. We wondered if this road held special significance to the butterfly population as the place to come to die.  How romantic. The road from Vandenburg village to Santa Maria was filled will all kind of gloves. Latex surgical gloves, heavy work gloves, blue rubberized palms, slick leather drivers.... this road no doubt held the same sacred significance for gloves. It was a privilege to witness.

We're eager now as we write this in Guadalupe, to get back to the coast!  Love you all! 

Next stop Santa Barbara!

On our way to Santa Barbara, we came across a man teaching hang gliding on the beach. He was an older Gentleman, and reminded us of a bird himself, light on his feet with hollow bones. He shared his passion for flying and inspired us to experience hang gliding as well. He was familiar with Point of the Mountain in Utah, a very popular spot for it. When he gave us a demonstration his movements and the way he was riding the wind reminded me of my dreams of flying, of being lifted and playing in the thermals. I can't wait to try myself!

shots on the striking Santa Barbara beach

'The Band' pictures

Well if you've set out to walk the Western coast as we have and you get a text from a good friend named Jason Wilcox that lives in Santa Barbara that says, "The Mother Hips are playing here on the 14th", and it's the 12th and you're over 80 miles away, do you: A) Reply and say, "Sorry, we're really into walking, see you in a week! or B) Ignore you're throbbing feet and do 85 miles in 48 hours, or C) get a lift up to Santa Barbara to see one of your favorite bands play in their home state? Yep, you guessed it, we're not against catching the Wilco Express to cover the distance and spend the weekend with a good friend.  Coincidentally, we actually had spent last St. Patrick's Day with Jason so it seemed like too many stars had aligned to miss out on some good times.  J showed us around Santa Barbara, took us to some gorgeous beaches, and showed us every health foods store in a 10 mile radius fulfilling all three of ours' healthy food desires.  Here's some pics and video that captures some of the beauty there:

Wilco and me on some rocks

Wilco and Bethany finding a place to chill

A new phenomenon we discovered was natural tar seeping from the beach. We went to a place where it was house sized! The university was just a few hops away. It's hard to imagine a better place to go to school than one located right on the beach.

Inter-web-net: the end of civilization

OH, California. 




I feel very naughty about not keeping our public up-to-date on the goings on of  our transient selves. The truth is, we left civilization.  Any who consider their computer to be the (better) extension of themselves would indeed despair to hear we were without Internet for the past week and a half, and I would hesitate to bring up such a painful premise unless it were necessary to explain our tardiness in communication.

Since last we updated, we have walked on many new surfaces: sand, shells, train tracks, rich forest loam, and highway asphalt.  Bethany's feet were so raw she ended up hiking a 7% grade and one 15 mile trek in her flip-flops. 

    To the beautiful and densely populated Los Angeles we trotted, where we caught two trains and two buses to skip the less savory areas for backpackers. We stayed in a hostel at Hermosa Beach, where a live reggae band jammed to all hours in the club beneath our room. They were fantastic and we enjoyed the cultural experience, even in our sleep.  Hostels are really interesting meeting places, and I am consistently amazed at the diverse digs and clientele that frequent them. The first hostel we stayed in San Diego was so posh! Hammocks swung in the back patio, where ping pong and potted plants coexisted peacefully. The communal kitchen was well stocked and clean with polite guests tiptoeing around speaking in hushed and respectful tones, like a library or a church. Reuben also wants to mention the solid marble counter tops, and spiffy tile throughout. They had a separate sound proof room with a huge flat screen for movies/tv watching, and the rest was divided into chill hangout nooks. Hermosa beach hostel was a little more surfer punk with some European flair. A thick Parisian accent gave us directions to the front door, which was really the backdoor to a happenin club. Upstairs were three floors of bunk beds, tiny bathrooms and one very small kitchen. The unifying presence of the strangest murals decorated the halls with diverse themes; superheros, the xmen, some new zealand maori with volcanoes exploding in the background and of course, Mickey Mouse.

 Now, Venice Beach Hostel was pure punk rock bachelor pad complete with beer in the vending machine, a van permanently parked in the basement, and Tinkerbell sheets. One bathroom with no door handle made showering a trifle difficult with people coming in and out of the bathroom to use the toilet. Bethany forgot to barricade the door with a chair first!  Reuben and Bethany both were intrigued by the potential and details of this arts and crafts style house, and thought it sad the level of disrepair and dirt! Oh, our hostel would be beautiful!

Strolling through the famous Venice Beach was a trifle disappointing as we had been warned about dangerous characters, wackos, weirdos, all the people who had slipped though the cracks of society and finally found a city to run wild in. We were all prepared with jujitsu moves and ninja gear but our biggest threat was drowsiness. 

The frame in Reuben's backpack broke and the company overnighted a new one to a FedEx in Santa Monica for free. It was fun to see all we were carrying spread out in the middle of the city while Reuben struggled to put the new frame in! 

The first week of the voyage!

Our journey began with a one way car rental from Salt Lake to San Diego.  Caitlin, Reuben's fantastic roommate, was kind enough to offer her credit card for us to use because rental places get nervous about their cars going across state lines  using only a debit card. Thank you Caitlin!

Reuben sold his Chevy Malibu before we left, and the 10 year newer version was our rented coach as well on our journey. We left late and 

ended up camping in the Virgin River Gorge. Our first night in our new home, the orange Marmot tent!

So after a quiet night we finished a smooth ride to our starting point and quickly got acquainted with our new mode of transportation, FEET.  This is what we'll look like most of the time for the next 3 or 4 months:

The week has flown by as we've learned to pack our packs properly, take care of our ultra tender feet, figure out where we're going and where we'll rest our heads, seen countless beautiful things, and encountered really great people from all walks of life down here on the coast.  We're going to get more in the blog swing of things, for now here's some highlight pictures of week 1:

We've enjoyed a lot of versions of this view in the first week:

Bethany and her friend John Butterfield and a flower I liked while we visited the Swami gardens on the coast a bit north of San Diego:

John is a great great guy that is currently studying to be a nurse in order to  fulfil his dream of taking care of the Navajo people living in or near monument valley.  He shared a lot of his wisdom and showed us a fantastic time.  An angelic man!  We also made a friend named Matt that lives down in San Clemente this week.  We were in a campground by the ocean on our second or third night eating fish tacos at a picnic table when he zipped up on his road bike in his funny biker shorts and bright yellow jacket.  In as friendly and cheerful way as we've ever heard he suggested that we split the cost of a $25 campsite to help each other out.  A great idea from a great guy.  We've had a ton of fun with him and have spent a few nights camping with him, and then met for food and some walking time together a few times.  He's planning a long coastal bike ride in a few months.  Below hopefully a video clip will work that briefly shows him and Bethany and myself as we awaited our food one evening after we all went to an AA meeting together.  The AA meeting was fascinating and inspiring.  It was really amazing to hear and experience an insider's view of a community of people supporting each other as they tried so very hard to exclude alcohol from their lives.

Well, I'm tired, and Bethany is fast asleep, so I'll add one more video and call it good for tonight.  We've both written some journal style entries  that we might retroactively incorporate down the road.  More likely though we'll just be a bit more prodigious and hopefully consistent in our postings going forward.  Here is a little clip of me playing around in a tide pool at Crystal Cove State Park with my beautiful camera shy girlfriend seen in the beginning.