Pinnacles National Park

We went to bed early last night and got up late this morning! And we didn't get away until almost 11am. It was a reasonably short 2 1/2 hour drive down Interstate 5 and then some secondary roads to Pinacles National Park (N36 29 33.5, W121 08 52.6). We have never been to this park before because it is sort of out of the way, but we are not in a hurry this time now that we are down in the warm weather.

 

Although there is supposed to be interesting rock formations here, we haven't seen any yet, because the campsite is not where the exciting parts of the park are. We have a very nice spot, however, under a couple of big shade trees. And right away, Doreen got out the Cheez-its, our favorites (you cant buy these in Canada, you know).

 

And I got out my shorts and short sleeve shirt, because the temperature is 75 F (24 C).

 

Pinnacles National Park is home to many of the California Condors. This species was almost extinct in the 1980s, down to about 20 birds left. But by an aggressive captive breeding program here at Pinnacles and elsewhere, the numbers are now up to about 400. There was a whole flock birds flying around over the hill adjacent to the campground this evening.

 

Condors have about a 9 foot wingspan with which the soar around in the thermals above the mountain ranges. These birds were pretty high up (they soar up to 15,000 feet apparently), so the picture is rather fuzzy. But by the markings, and the large numbers, I'm pretty sure these were turkey vultures rather than condors.

 

 

We hope to go and explore some of the park tomorrow morning. There is no AT&T service here, so I can't post this blog posting tonight. There is WiFi, but it is only at the visitor center, and costs $10, so I didn't figure that was worth it.