The Best Campsite View Ever!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

After a quick visit to the Big Sur River across from our campsite, Greg did the usual filling of water and dumping of tanks. I took a few moments to wander among the Redwoods. The morning was cool, but the bright sunlight filtered through the tree branches and warmed the woods. I had a chance to appreciate their girth and strength in a way that I missed with the Sequoias. Greg finished up and we drove to the ranger station and dropped off our pass. The ranger told us that we had free admission to the other California state parks for the day since we had paid to camp there. He recommended Julia Pfieffer State Park a short drive down the PCH.

After several stops to admire the view and to give Greg a chance to appreciate it as the driver on the narrow twisty road, we reached the park. After a bit of tricky parking, the lots are not set up for much but cars, we took the trail to the overlook. It went through a tunnel under the road, and then along the side of the cliff. The view was down into a gorgeous cove that had a waterfall cascading over the cliff. As we rounded the corner we saw the foundation of the house built by the original donor of the property. The gardens and plantings are still growing there, and the view the owners had of the waterfall and the Pacific. The wind was strong and the temperature in the upper 50's, but the skies were clear with a small fogbank off the coast, so we had some warming. I overheard a woman say to another that she was looking for a sea otter to photograph. She said, “You got the condor.” Oh, boy, I didn't have the heart to burst her bubble. There were plenty of turkey vultures overhead, but no condors.

We hiked along the cliff to the other side of the cove and could look directly out to the ocean. This whole stretch of coast is a sanctuary for endangered sea otters. After looking through the binoculars for a while we saw one. He was lying on his back eating, while a seagull floated nearby waiting for some scraps. We looked for gray whales as well, as they migrate along the coast this time of year, but the whitecaps were so high from the wind, there was no chance to see them, nor seals.

After lunch in the RV we drove south again. We were heading for a national forest campground a little farther down the coast where we could get access the beach. I made Greg stop once when I thought I saw whales, but it was only kelp beds. Another time we stopped to see a field of California poppies blooming below the road. We reached a construction zone we had to stop for while the traffic filed down to one lane. They are building a covered roadway and bridge in a landslide prone area. As we came around the bend after the construction we saw a trailer on a bluff over the ocean. We figured it must be the first forest service campground that we were going to pass by because it had no water. Greg suggested we just drive in and check it out before we went on.

The Kirk Creek Forest Service campground is a small one with maybe 30 sites. No hookups, no water, no flush toilets or showers, just the most spectacular view for a campsite you can imagine! We drove through and noticed that there were only a few sites left by mid afternoon. Our RV was just small enough to fit the spaces. We decided to drive no further and grab the best site we could. We found one looking out over the curve in the coast to the north. There is just a tent to the side across the road, and the rest of the campers are on a lower loop. I would call it a million dollar view, but given the real estate prices here, lets say a multi-million dollar view! For $22 dollars a night, if we can get some more water tomorrow, we'll stay another night. It is spectacular!

We found a trail to the water and hiked down. After climbing on the rocks a bit we got near the water line and explored the tidal pools. We found snails, limpets, sea anemones, hermit crabs, birds and kelp and seaweed. We looked for more otters, whales and seals, but didn't see any. Maybe tomorrow. We came back up the trail and walked around the campground. We had a good conversation with the camphost. He just retired at 59 from real estate and he and his wife and dog have been hosting there for the last six months. He gave us tips on where to get water so we can stay longer.

We walked back to our site, got out our chairs and just sat and soaked up the view and considered ourselves so blessed and fortunate. We looked for whales and watched the sun go down. There was no green flash tonight like you see in the tropics, but our host says he sees it fairly often. Tonight there was a fogbank off the coast. Maybe we'll see it tomorrow night. We are hoping the weather holds. This is spectacular weather for the winter along this coast.

We went inside and fixed dinner using as little water as possible. We've got half a tank left to use until we can find more water tomorrow. We also need to find someplace to buy more oil for our lamp. We are using it in the campgrounds where we have no electrical hookups. It is soft and relaxing to eat dinner with the glow of the lamp. I am using it to light the table while I type this post, but I need the headlamp to illuminate the keyboard. I hunt and peck, so I need to see the letters! I can word process on the battery, but have no internet connection or phone service to post anything. If we stay another night, it will be a while until I can send out the last several posts.

Before bedtime we took a walk around the campground. The moon is almost full and was illuminating everything. There are lots of tent campers and young people here. Many were having large campfires. We could hear the waves crashing on the rocks below us. The moon was so bright that we could see the hills behind us and the horizon of the sea. Some people say that heaven for them is a beach on a tropical island. I think heaven for me will be a rocky seacoast. I'm having a bit of heaven now...