Pinnacles is becoming our favorite places for winter camping and hiking. The red rocks and oak studded riparian canyons remind me of Arizona but it is much closer to our home in northern California.
We have hiked several trails but still have many more areas of the monument to explore. We hope to go back next month. If they get some rain there may be a nice display of wildflowers.
Wild life abounds. It is one of the release sites for the endangered California Condor and they can often be seen soaring high above the ridge tops. At night the coyotes can be heard howling not far away and there were strange noises in the nearby bushes.
Among the many birds, we saw a flock of wild turkeys in the campground. The insect life included a large swarm of lady bugs resting on the trees and boulders along one of the trails.
The San Andreas fault runs through the area and geologists have discovered matching formations northeast of Los Angeles, more than two hundred miles away. Pinnacles is only 30 miles from Hollister, California a town known for its frequent earthquakes.
1 comment:
Wow, such a beautiful place to explore and very large birds to watch too!
Post a Comment