Nine Days on the Pacific Coast

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 8)

In the east, Florida A1A follows the Atlantic coastline. The highway offers wonderful seashore views and engaging stops in scenic small towns and several large cities. 

A1A’s counterpart in the far west is California 1 or the Pacific Coast Highway.   The PCH hugs the Pacific Coast for many of its 656 miles – starting between San Diego and Los Angeles in the south, continuing northward to San Francisco, and finally ending in the north California town of Leggett. 

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Truck campers in Simi Valley soon to part company

We said goodbye to Pat’s brother, James, after more than a week of camping across Arizona and southern California.  It was drizzling as we left and headed south on CA 23 across the Santa Monica Mountains.  After a dozen miles of twisty-turny mountain roads, we reached the coast and clear skies.

Thus, our nine day journey on the PCH began.

We bypassed the southern 100 miles or so of the PCH that goes through Los Angeles, and started near Malibu instead.  On our left there were spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the rocky shoreline, and on the right we saw grassy hillsides and occasional vineyards.

The highway turned inland for a few miles and we passed fields of strawberries and other crops around Oxnard and Port Hueneme.  When I was young, my parents spoke of these places that were near where my dad was stationed while serving in the US Navy.

Oceanfront at Rincon Beach

Camping at Rincon Beach. What a view!

RVs were parked for more than a mile, some very close to the waves

A few miles north, between Ventura and Mussel Beach, we passed a long line of RVs parked along an old section of the PCH. It was Rincon Beach, a ‘campground’ that overlooks the ocean.

We joined them for the night and slept to the sounds of crashing waves and occasional passing Amtrak trains.  Rising the next morning, we could see the Channel Islands a few miles offshore, as well as several oil-drilling platforms near Santa Barbara.

Sunset at Rincon Beach

Pismo Beach and A Story to Tell

We continued along the coast to Pismo Beach where I met a man with a story to tell.

Chris, a ranger at Oceano/Pismo Beach State Park told me when he was young he lived in the Florida Keys.  I asked him what brought him to California. The bearded, 50-year-old explained that he moved often over the years and ended up in California. For years he was consumed by drug and alcohol addictions and two years ago, after a third addiction-caused coma, he awoke with no desire for drugs or alcohol.  He credits Jesus for changing his life and has been a Christ-follower since.  What a story of God’s goodness and redemptive power!

Wetsuit-wearing surfer at Pismo and a daunting Tsunami warning sign

South of Big Sur – Elephant Seals

After leaving Pismo, we learned a 30-mile section of the PCH was closed near Big Sur as a result of intense weather earlier this year.  We drove as far north as possible to Ragged Point and then returned south a few miles to detour east to Pinnacles NP.

We stopped at Elephant Seal Vista Point and endured the cold coastal rain for an amazing sight.  From a bluff overlooking the rugged coast and crashing waves, we saw HUNDREDS of elephant seals.  Their rotund gray bodies were lying next to and atop one another.  Some seals scooted along with their flippers. Others seemed to be having grumpy arguments with one another.

Elephant seals south of Big Sur

The detour took us inland past fertile farmland.  There were immense fields of green and red leaf lettuce, vineyards and other fruit tree orchards.  It was interesting to see where our produce comes from.  

Pinnacles NP and an Amazing Connection

California Condor?

We camped the next two nights at Pinnacles NP.  The remote park has interesting rock formations and is a habitat for dozens of California condors reintroduced in recent years. We hiked a mile up the steep Condor Gulch trail to a viewpoint where we hoped to see a condor.  Several other condor-watchers were there also.  We saw several large birds soaring in the distance but are uncertain if they were condors.  The hike was worth it anyway.

We also hiked to Bear Gulch Cave where we used our cell phone flashlights to find our way through the cave.  Dripping water fell from the ceiling and collected into runoffs in various spots.  We climbed a slick stairwell out of the cave and up more steep, rocky stairs to the Bear Gulch Reservoir.

Exploring Bear Gulch Cave and ascending narrow stairs to a reservoir

Placid Bear Gulch Reservoir

As we returned to the parking lot, we realized we had not seen Moses Spring, another scenic point along the trail. 

We backtracked a bit and met two hikers also searching for the spring.  We learned one of the hikers, Julie, is from the same city we are from in Florida.  We asked what part town she lives in and discovered we go to the same church!  Then we recognized the other hiker, Kok-Tow, who used to attend our church and now lives in another city closer to her daughter and grandchildren.  They were on a two-week tour of California.

Our amazing God had arranged encouraging fellowship in a remote part of California more than 3000 miles from home!

Julie, Kok-Tow, Pat and Ed fellowshipping in Pinnacles NP

North of Big Sur and Monterey

From Pinnacles NP, we returned to the coast where we camped several nights near Monterey.  One day we drove south on the PCH to Big Creek Vista Point where the road was closed.  Along the way we drove across several iconic PCH bridges.  The coastline views were magnificent.

Views of the Bixby and Big Creek bridges on the PCH north of Big Sur

Back in Monterey, we enjoyed the 17-mile Drive at Pebble Beach.  We passed by the windswept Pebble Beach Golf Course and stopped along the rugged coast where we saw otters, sea lions, elephant seals, lots of birds and a few golfers.

Sights along Monterey’s 17 Mile Drive

San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge

We continued north past Santa Cruz and neared San Francisco.   The PCH became increasingly busy.  After an hour or so of heavy city traffic, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and from a vista near the northern end of the bridge, we could see the world-renowned bridge, the San Francisco skyline and Alcatraz Island.

Sights of San Francisco

Finishing the PCH

The final 200 miles of the PCH from San Francisco north to Leggett follow coastal contours as they rise and fall, and zigzag around never-ending curves.  The road turns west for the final 40 miles, crossing several mountain ranges and ending a few miles from the redwood parks. 

Google shows a twisted route ahead

We drove this section of the PCH in 1995 while on a family camping vacation and were told it would take 2-3 hours to go 45 miles.  I thought that had to be an error but became a believer after enduring the road.  The road is no straighter or quicker today!

Our final night on the PCH was spent a few miles from Ft Bragg, where we camped near the ocean and walked a long boardwalk to Laguna Point.  A few seals were swimming in the turbulent waves near the rocks.  It was a beautiful ending to this chapter our Alaska journey.   

Final photos from our PCH travels – ocean view, parked bikes as we watched the sunset and colorful ice plant flowers along the cliff’s edge

Next week: 

Thoughts on ‘downsizing’ to a truck camper plus we reveal the names of our truck and camper!