Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur

Elephant seals molting at San Simeon Beach

McWay Falls Overlook at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

View north at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

Flowers at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

More flowers at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

We once again spent a day on the journey and not the destination. We took the Pacific Coast Highway north from Cambria toward Big Sur. We were glad to be heading north because we were on the inside lane against the mountain and not the outside lane with a 1000 foot drop off into the ocean. There were many times on this drive that it reminded me of the "Road to Hana" in Maui. There were high cliffs and hairpin turns.

The start of the drive was pretty tame. The most exciting thing at the beginning was the wildlife. We stopped at San Simeon Beach to see the elephant seals. According the volunteer providing information, the elephant seals only come onto the beach twice a year, once to have pups and a second time to molt. We were lucky to visit the beach during the molting. For more info on the elephant seals visit http://www.elephantseal.org/.

As we headed north past San Simeon, the road got higher and more curvy. We passed several fabulous overlooks and many state parks and trails. Based on the books and websites I had researched, our goal was to visit Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. The reason for the visit was to see McWay Falls which is where a creek falls from a cliff into the Pacific. As you can see from the photos, the park is a "must see" on the road to Big Sur.

FYI...Governor Schwarzenegger is suggesting closing 221 of the 280 state parks in California in a budget saving effort. Being a nature lover, I can't think of anything worse that shutting off the natural treasures of a state from its citizens. If you are a citizen of California or know a citizen of California, do what you can to prevent this travesty from occurring. Find more about what you can do to save California State Parks at http://www.savestateparks.org/