HalfDomeRick
10-07-2008, 06:35 PM
Today this reporter is down Hwy 1 cruising from Carmel to Big Sur. The encompassing name is the “Ventana Wilderness.” If you’ve not been, I suggest you make the drive soon. I’d say that the 26 miles from Carmel to Big Sur has got to rank in the top 10 drives anywhere. The marathon distance is the home of a major foot race in April each year. Soon after leaving the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea (not to be confused with the one by the desert?), you’ll pass Point Lobos. This small peninsula is a state reserve. Beautiful rocky cliffs and Whaler’s Cove hearken back to the old whaling days of the 1800’s. After miles of drop-dead beautiful cliff views, you arrive at Bixby Bridge. (above) This 1930’s engineering marvel is one of the most photographed bridges anywhere. It’s named after Bixby Creek which runs hundreds of feet under it. Approaching Pfeiffer Big Sur State park, I could smell the ashes from this summer’s Basin Complex Fire that scorched 162,818 acres this summer. The lighting that started the fire turned it into a major blaze. Just my luck the state park closed today for the season. Over 80% of the park was damaged by the fire. A big fear in this area are the inevitable rains that threaten mudslides without plants to hold the earth in place. Several stretches of the highway were subject to short closures as CALTRANS road crews literally shoved rocks and boulders off cliffs onto the road where they were picked up by crews. This preemptive move is designed to get all the tenuous rocks down in an organized manner instead of hitting unwary cars later in the season. My favorite stop for lunch is Nepenthe. This place is right out of 1969 complete with a gift shop selling books on pyramid power and transcendental medication. Finally, my favorite beach of all-time is Pfieffer State Beach. This hard-to- find beach looks pre-historic with huge rocks half in the ocean and you’d expect dinosaurs to come lumbering out from behind. You’ll see the the name Pfeiffer a lot. They were pioneer cattle ranchers in the early settlement days of the Santa Lucia Mountains in 1869.