Pinnacles National Monument

We worked our way slowly south through California for many reasons. The weather was amazing and there was so much to see and do. We also felt like California is so far away from where we usually are when we’re in the US that we’re unlikely to get back there again any time soon. And at this particular point in our trip through California, we were trying to time it right to see our friends in Santa Barbara when they were home. And so it was that we discovered Pinnacles National Monument, a stop that was never a part of our planned route but which certainly ranks among our favorite places that we’ve visited.

Pinnacles NM is named for the particular mountain formations in the park, but what we enjoyed most about the Pinnacles was hiking through them. There is one trail in particular that, when it’s safe enough, takes you through a cave. There is a lower part of the cave, after which you can turn out of the cave and continue on the “outside” trail, or you can continue into the upper cave, which is much more difficult (and therefore fun!) to traverse. It’s a wet cave, and certain times of year there’s too much water and part or all of the cave is closed. But when we were there, the whole thing was open.

Not in the cave yet, but still some fun narrow passages to hike through!

Look I can touch both sides!

We’ve been in several caves in the National Park system on our trip, and all were amazing in their own ways. This cave didn’t boast any unique geological features (that I know of) and there are no guided tours. There are no paved walkways or handrails (except one part of the lower cave where there are stairs) and no artificial lights. There are white arrows spray painted on the walls so you won’t get lost and hikers are advised not to enter without flashlights.

Little rock tunnel! Mamma carrying Peter, Emelie carrying her baby Lukas

Look! It’s a cave!

In we go! Peter likes to touch the walls too!

Headlamps on and ready to explore!

Stepping stones

Family picture in the cave

It was high adventure that was perfect for a family with small children. It was just hard enough to be exciting, but not so difficult as to be too much or unsafe. So, with headlamps on, we crawled over, ducked under, crossed streams on stepping stones, and squeezed a baby carrier through impossibly small spaces. Emelie led the group, and charged ahead with great excitement and absolutely no fear. Sometimes it was hard to get her to stop long enough for me to turn around and help Staffan and Peter get through. We had so much fun!

Not always easy to get through with Peter in a backpack!

The trail comes out by a reservoir where we sat to have a picnic lunch. A few drops of rain sprinkled on us but it blew over quickly without developing into much. It was a loop trail and most people go up through the cave but then back down on the “regular” trail. We gave Emelie the option and she overwhelmingly chose to go back through the cave. We chose to only go back through the lower cave in the interest of time, but after another tour through the cave we walked back to the car. I would thoroughly recommend this hike to anyone who has little ones with a bit of an adventurous spirit. It’s truly a gem that no one really seems to have heard of and that was the opposite of crowded and over-commercialized, the way some of the “bigger” parks can tend to be. Highly recommended.

Up the steps to the reservoir after the cave

Adventures make you tired

There is also campground at Pinnacles NM, and we stayed there the night before our hike. It is very basic, but adequate and as far as we know the only place to camp in the vicinity. Here’s a review:

Pinnacles National Monument Campground
Price: $36/night
Location: Within Pinnacles NM, which is pretty far out from anything else
Site description: Gravel and “grass” sites, relatively small but since it wasn’t crowded it felt spacious
Facilities: Bathrooms and coin-operated showers in a building near the office, which is a bit of a walk from all the campsites. The primitive campground areas have their own bathhouses, but they are not in the same place as the developed campground (with electricity). No dish-washing facilities, no playground. There is a pool but it was closed for the season (though they still watered the grass around it all night so that it was thick and green and not crunchy brown like the rest of the area).
Neighborhood: Relatively quiet, just a few neighbors with RVs, one other family with kids
Website: http://www.nps.gov/pinn/planyourvisit/camp.htm
Comments: It is really annoying to have to walk that far to go to the bathroom, especially at night. But it was dark enough and private enough to just pee on the ground at night. So it worked fine.

Monterey

Our next stop in California was along the coast between Santa Cruz and Monterey, at the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA (creative name, I know). At over $50 per night (before our member discount) for the most basic campsite, this was by far the most expensive campground we’d stayed in yet. In fact, we chose to stay an extra night in San Francisco because the weekend rate for the same site was over $70.

On the road again…

Not a bad place to pullover to change a diaper and have a little snack!

Banana time!

It is a popular area to visit, and nearly every campground we were able to find ahead of time was $45+ for basic electricity and water hookups. The KOA boasted some great extra features, so we chose to go there. In fact, as I was checking in, I overheard a conversation between and employee and a man who came in. He was upset by how much it cost and she said, “Sir, some campgrounds are places where you sleep while you spend your days doing other things. We are ourselves a destination. The site you are interested in goes for over $100 per night in the summer and it is never empty.” Wow. Aside from this little bit of attitude, we really liked this place. But I’m not sure I liked it enough to pay $100+ a night to camp there.

They had a nice pool that was temperature-controlled, and a hot tub. They had a “beach area” with lots of sand, a giant trampoline-like “jumper” for kids, and probably a lot more when it’s peak season. It was also a 20-30 minute walk to a state beach. We were there for two nights, and during the full day that we spent there we enjoyed all those things – the beach, the pool and hot tub, and the jumpy-thing. The weather was great, though a little too cool for swimming, even in the warm-ish pool and certainly in the Pacific. But we had a nice time.

 

Mermaid Emelie

Can I have the camera please?

Queen of the Sand!

On the day we left, we stopped on our way south and spent a little time walking around Monterey. There’s a really nice walking/jogging/biking path that follows the water, so we walked on that for a while. It goes all the way down to the aquarium and some other somewhat well-known activities, but we didn’t plan to go to all of those and in the end decided not to walk that far. We explored the Old Fisherman’s Wharf for a little while, which is not all that exciting to be honest. It’s mostly overpriced souvenir shops and seafood restaurants. We saw a few pelicans, and there were a few sea lions, but not nearly as many as we saw in Crescent City, and to get anywhere near them you had to pay a shop owner $2 a person to go down his steps. We walked along the water, enjoyed the nice weather, and ate a picnic lunch. Before getting back on the road, we visited the Denis the Menace playground. It’s a free public park that has one of the best playgrounds I’ve ever seen.

Sleepy Pelican

Sailboats at the Wharf

Sea lions are fun!

One of the best playgrounds around! 

A drink from the lions mouth

We could not believe how long she could hold her own weight on this thing!

Hello!

The big kids weren’t letting her have a turn on this slide so she tried to slide down on the side. It didn’t work so well, poor thing.

Finally she was willing to ask them to let her have a turn on the cool roller slide!

Peter’s not about to be left out of the action!

So many great new things to try here!

Here’s a campground review:

Price: $93 for 2 nights, after KOA member discount, taxes, and “resort fees”
Location: It’s about a 30 min drive north of Monterey and about 15 min south of Santa Cruz. As mentioned, it’s close to the coast and state beach access is an easy walk that takes about 20-30 min. There is parking available at the beach for those who choose to drive, but there is a parking fee.
Facilities: Abundant. A great playground, pool, hot tub, coin laundry, dish-washing sink, and the list goes on. The bathrooms and showers were fine, but far from the nicest we’ve encountered along our way. I guess it surprised me because everything else was so top-notch (and had the price to match).
Site description: Sandy grass-ish site with a decent picnic table and some trees along the back that offered a bit of shade. Slightly larger than the average KOA sardine-sites.
Neighborhood: Very varied, though we encountered more non-American tourists here than anywhere else. There were a lot of rented RVs and a wide variety of languages to be heard.
Website: http://koa.com/campgrounds/santa-cruz/
Comments: On the second morning when we woke up, there was no power in the whole area, including the KOA. This meant not only no power but no water either. No flushing toilets or showers or drinking water. We made do because we had filled our water jug the night before and we were leaving that morning anyway. But the employees said it happens there often – circumstances outside their control- but still something to be aware of (keep your water jugs full!). There was talk of KOA getting it’s own generator to avoid this in the future, so hopefully it won’t be an issue for anyone else. I’d also like to comment that the employees were very helpful when our car battery was dead (again) on the morning we were leaving, and they helped get us on the road again.

We forgot to take pictures before we packed up the camper.

Another angle on the empty campsite 

You Must Ask Mr. Google

Almost four years ago, Staffan and I were privileged to be a part of a group that was sitting on a rooftop terrace at a Coptic monastery in Egypt. We had the chance to ask questions of a wise old monk, who was willing to share the wisdom he’d gained from decades of monastic living. But to one question he answered, “That I do not know. You must ask Mr. Google.” It was the last thing any of us expected to hear from an elderly monk in the middle of the Egyptian desert, but sadly the most memorable answer he gave us that day. And so it was that the phrase “ask Mr. Google” entered our everyday conversation.

Nerdy as it might be, we jumped at the chance to visit Mr. Google at home. We got a private tour from a Google employee, Staffan’s cousin Olof. Given how much a part of our lives and culture Google has become, it was fascinating to see the epicenter of it all. There are guided tours of the campus, which are probably well worth taking. The atmosphere is difficult to describe. There is real work being done, and most employees work hard and long. But at the same time, there is a lighthearted, creative vibe that seems to say, “we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” You could choose to have a group meeting on a “conference bike” – a round contraption with about 6 seats and sets of pedals on it – and ride around campus during your meeting. Or stop by and feed some lawn flamingos to the dinosaur skeleton statue.

Watch out Emelie! With that pink shirt, he might eat you too!

Google Earth

I can see my house from here!

C’mon kids, take turns!

Visitors of every age are signed in and get name tags

What is this ancient technology doing at Google?

Android: version Doughnut

…And Ice Cream Sundae and Cupcake. If you don’t get it, don’t worry. Neither did I. And neither did the kids. They just thought it was a yummy-looking place to play! All the versions were represented, but more than two pictures seems unnecessary.

One thing we thought was particularly interesting is that no money changes hands on the Google campus. Anything you see, from sodas in the refrigerators to lunch in the cafeteria to a latte in the cafe, is all free to employees and their guests.

And so we went to visit Mr. Google. He was a gracious host, showing us where the things come from that we use everyday, letting our kids play, and giving us a good lunch before we were on our way.

A San Francisco Treat (ding, ding!)

Our next stop was a visit with Staffan’s cousin, Olof, his wife Brandy, and their sons Henrik and Lukas, who live outside of San Fransisco. As we drove south from the Albion River, following the directions on the GPS toward their address, we suddenly found ourselves approaching the Golden Gate Bridge! Except just before we got on it, really thick clouds rolled in and we couldn’t actually see very much of the bridge. It was sunny on both sides of the bridge, but on the bridge itself it was very cloudy and sprinkled a bit of rain. Everyone we shared that with smiled knowingly. Apparently in San Francisco, strange weather is the norm. But on top of that, it cost $18 in tolls to cross the bridge when towing a trailer. All in all, maybe not the experience of the Golden Gate that we had been expecting. But cross it we did.

Could be almost any bridge really…

Now there’s rainish-hail hitting our windshield. Where did that come from?

We spent several days in the Bay area, though it still seemed that there wasn’t enough time to do all the things we had talked about doing. Between the 4 kids and their different eating and sleeping schedules, and all the traffic and the time it took to get from one place to another, it seemed like we were always running out of time. But we did get to see some of the things we wanted to, and most important of all was to spend time with family that we rarely get to see. From that perspective it was a great visit!

Good thing this was a big chair! Everybody wanted to sit on my lap while we watched a little TV before bedtime.

Bath time!

We went to see Alcatraz Island and toured the old prison. It was an interesting tour, but not one I think I’d recommend to other families with small kids. It may be just fine for some kids, and Emelie was just a bit out of sorts in general on that day, but it was hard to keep her entertained even when she had her own audio tour headset to play with. They wouldn’t let her ride on Staffan’s shoulders because of low ceilings in some places, and the whole thing was just a breeding grounds for tantrums. If I had to do it over, I also would have brought a carrier for Peter and not tried to take the stroller on the tour of the building. It was just a hassle with finding elevators and not following the regular tour path. But again, it worked and I’m glad we didn’t miss it.

Alcatraz cell. Even the camper is more spacious than this!

Henrik and Emelie listening to the audio tour

Emelie acting up in the solitary confinement area… don’t tempt me!

Waiting in line for the boat back is much more fun with jumping contests. Almost too fun to stop and get on the boat!

Those famous San Francisco streets… big hills and cable cars

There was ample time for the kids to play, and to just take it a little easy. We drove on those famous hilly streets. Olof took us on a tour of where he works (more on that in another post). Emelie and Henrik (age 4) played at a playground together, and even at a grocery store that had a supervised play area for kids while the parents shop. Incidentally, Emelie got kicked out of the play area, mostly for bickering with Henrik, and really because the person working there did not seem to know anything about kids. Obviously, she should have been listening better, but in retrospect the whole thing seems funny because of how poorly the store employee handled it.

Airplane races! 

Gotta get Lukas in there somewhere! Hi Lukas!

Proof of cousins spending time together! 

Who says playgrounds are just for kids?

Nice view of the bay and the city from their porch!

We had a great visit to San Francisco! Being there was a bigger treat than Rice-a-roni (ding ding!)

Speaking of treats! Yum!

Redwood Area Campgrounds

We stayed in three different campgrounds as we made our way south through the northern California/Redwood area: Hiouchi RV Park, Sounds of the Sea, and Albion River Campground. Here are reviews of all three:

Hiouchi RV Park

Price: $31/night
Location: Just outside the entrance to Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, a 10 mile drive from Crescent City
Site description: gravel and grass; some sites had a concrete slab
Facilities: adequate bathroom/shower facilities. Showers were not coin-operated but took tokens – 25 cents per token for about 5 minutes. Which is reasonable. The only problem is that you have to buy the tokens at the office during the hours it’s open, so you have to plan ahead a little for evening or early morning showers.
Neighborhood: The first and hopefully only time we had to move after setting up the camper (quite a hassle!) because of our neighbors. A group of 4 who were constantly smoking around their table so that it was hard to breathe on our assigned site. We tried to make it work, but we gave up and moved after dinner.
Comments: If anyone out there can tell me how the word “Hiouchi” is pronounced, you get a prize.
Website: http://www.hiouchirv.com/

Picture of the site we didn’t stay on. But they were all pretty similar.

Sounds of the Sea

Price: $33/night
Location: Just off of Rt 1 and close to the Pacific – although public beach access was about a 30-40 minute walk
Site description: Gravel space for parking, grass lawns.
Facilities: Nicely decorated bathrooms, where showers were included (finally! So many coin-operated showers lately!)
Neighborhood: Mostly retired RV-ers again, which seems to be the pattern as we get later into the fall, especially on weekdays.
Comments: The “sounds of the sea” they mention seem to be barking sea lions which we heard from time to time all night. Not in a bad, keep you awake kind of way, though. It was fun!
Website: http://www.soundsofthesea.us/

Sounds of the Sea

 

Albion River Campground

Price: $35/night
Location: where the Albion River meets the Pacific, just off of Rt 1
Site description: dirt/sand and some grass; no trees; short walk to the beach
Facilities: basic bathhouse, coin operated showers; office has a basic store and is also a small restaurant where there seemed to be a lot of locals coming to eat, and where they make really good pizza.
Neighborhood: quiet and spread out. A lot of people camped closer to the beach, but we avoided it because of high winds.
Website: http://www.albionrivercampground.com/

A pretty place to camp

The store/restaurant building with the bridge in the background. 

Another angle on the campsite. The beach was just beyond the bridge.

Crescent City California & The Pacific Coast Highway

Heading south into California, our first stop was at the visitor center for Redwood National Park, which was surprisingly located downtown in Crescent City. What we hadn’t realized before is that, rather than being a national park with clearly defined boundaries, controlled entrances and all that we’ve come to expect from national parks, Redwood is actually a national park and several state parks spanning the area where the coastal redwoods grow. There are many entrances and exits, several major highways run through the area (rather than just one or two park roads), and we were very confused.

But the ranger at the visitor center was extremely helpful, and was able to help us decide what would be best for us to see and do, and which routes to take. He also gave us some great tips about some other things we shouldn’t miss as we passed through Crescent City. The redwoods deserve, and will get, their own post after this one. But this post is about experiences in northern California that have nothing to do with giant trees.

Crescent City is a coastal town, so our first stop after the visitor center was the Pacific Ocean. None of us had ever seen it, and when we got out of the car and smelled the sea air, we were longing for that first glimpse of the Pacific. And once we’d seen it, we couldn’t resist the urge to pull over, run down on the beach and touch it. It is a landmark in its own right – the world’s largest body of water. But it also had special significance to us on this trip. We had crossed the country, and as we stood with our feet in the Pacific, we had the sense of having reached an important milestone. To look out at the horizon and realize that I was standing on a beach in California was a surreal and happy moment.

One of my favorite pictures so far. This one’s going on the wall when we get home!

This girl loves the sand. Loves, loves, loves it. 

Covered in sand (some of us more than others, I’ll let you guess who), we climbed back in the car and drove to a cliff area overlooking the ocean where the ranger said there was a good chance of seeing whales. Well, we didn’t see any traces of whale activity, but it was still a beautiful view. From there we headed to a small marina where the ranger promised there were good views of seals and sea lions. This one did not disappoint! The docks at the marina were literally covered with them, and when we opened the car doors we were greeted by a chorus of sea lions barking. On one dock in particular we were able to walk out to a gate, and on the other side of the gate were all the sea lions. We could literally have reached out our hands and pet them if we dared (and it was all we could do to keep Emelie from trying). It was closer than a front row seat at any zoo or aquarium I’ve ever been to, and so fun to experience them in the wild like that. And it was free, which is always a bonus.

So many sea lions! They were so funny, too. I just laughed and laughed.

Zzzzzz. Sleepy sea lions. But a few were really barking at us! We shot some great video!

We also, while in northern California, were able to get on Rt. 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) at it’s northern endpoint and follow it down the coast. It was amazing and every bit as beautiful as I’d imagined it being. The coastline is so dramatic and varying, from pristine sand beaches to rugged cliffs. It seemed that around every turn was an image of white, foamy waves breaking against rocks, sending their spray up over a deserted sand beach. It was slower driving on narrow winding roads, and all the up and down didn’t exactly help our gas mileage, but the views were worth it. It would have taken us far too long to drive the entire PCH as we made our way down the coast, and sometimes we chose the interstate, but we were able to be on Rt 1 in parts of northern, central and southern California and experience the changing nature of the Pacific coast. Driving down the Pacific Coast Highway was something I’d always wanted to do, and it was an exciting and memorable drive.

Just a couple images along the Pacific Coast Highway

Hard to take pictures from the moving car. This one got a little bit of window reflection, but you get the idea.

Here it went in from the coast for a little while, but under this amazing canopy of trees.