The Pinnacles

I love the above photo of Mimi.  She is running, not walking, towards Pinnacles National Monument.  "Wow, I'd forgotten how spectacular this place is," my travel buddy said, following right behind her.  Last weekend we wanted to go hiking and when I suggested going to the Pinnacles, I got a long look before he answered.

"You do know that it's two hundred miles away and gas is nearly five dollars a gallon, don't you?"

"I want to go.  I want to go."  Perfect timing on Mimi's part.  My travel buddy can't say no to her!

We decided on the Balconies Trail at the west entrance to the park.  The 2.4 mile loop winds its way through fascinating rock formations, a gray forest and a cave.  Most people can hike this trail in two hours.  We stopped so many times, it took us four!

The Pinnacles are geologically unique.  It's an upside-down, inside-out world, formed from an ancient volcano.  Twenty-two million years of erosion have carved the volcanic rock into spires, overhangs and massive domes.  Eagles, kestrels and the endangered condor nest in the cliffs above.  Bats live in the caves and the plants and trees are the heartiest specimens around.  The overall result is pure magic and that is what this blog is all about.

I crawl out of the black hole, happy and relieved.  I admit to a moment of panic when I was groping for a foothold in the dark.  I had one of those "I hope I'm not in the wrong place at the wrong time" moments of panic.  After all, earthquakes were very much on my mind.  This ancient volcano happened to lie in the path of the infamous San Andreas Fault and when it was formed, it split the volcano in half, carrying parts of it 195 miles away!  There hasn't been a major earthquake for a long time.  "Please, Lord, don't let it be today!"

This cave is really a series of deep narrow gorges with giant boulders wedged above to form a ceiling.  Looking up is a bit creepy.  But what an adventure!  What a day!