A night in Big Sur

Big Sur. I’m not really sure when I get to Big Sur, I’ve been stopping constantly take pictures of the coastline. It’s a gorgeous area.

I stop in a ranger station. They have the book, which I buy. I stop some more, I take some more photos:

I try to stop into some of the state parks in the area. Almost all of them want me to pay for the privilege, which I am unwilling to do. Some of them will not allow me through the gate with the dog in the car. This is a bit disheartening.

 

I try to stop in a campground, but it has a no dogs rule. It’s also $25/night. Far outside of my acceptable price range. I ask the man at the guard shack where I should go, he sends me on a drive. A drive that winds through a redwood grove and a residential neighborhood. It winds until I worry if I have enough gas to get back to civilization, and then it stops winding at Bottcher’s Gap campground. The bugs are out in force and biting, but the fee is only $12 so I pay the fee and pull out the tent. It is still covered in water and sand from Pismo beach and needs aired out. I get it squared away, cook a ramen dinner, and then go hiking. It is hot, and the sweat is pouring freely from me:

 

When I get back I talk to the campground manager, he used to live in the Verde Valley and so we talk about arizona. He recommends a few hikes and then goes on about his duties. I pour myself a bourbon and write a letter to the girl I left behind. I try to read some of the book I bought, but the sun soon sets:

 

I go to bed early, and am kept awake all night by the intermittent hooting of owls. The dog and I get up early and go on one of the hikes that were recommended. A 2 1/2 mile trek down to the Little Sur river. It is gorgeous, even with all the biting bugs:

 

We hike back out, and it is pure uphill. Probably ~2500ft of up over the length of it, and by the time we return my legs are dead. I pack up camp and we drive away from the swarm of bugs. I try to stop at a few other points recommended by friends, but again no dogs are allowed in the areas. I drive on, wondering where the day will take me.