The Big Sur
The Plan
The Plan was, that there was to be no plan. We drive on the california highway 1 through the Big Sur region, and go till the Hearst Castle. If possible try to get a tour etc.,(unfortunately couldn't), and then come back to the pavilion. Pretty ambitios plan. We were going to cover approximately 400 miles in 1 day, or half day to be precise, considering we left san jose only by 12:30pm!
The Rent a car thingy
This time the booking was at dollar.com. For Vegas trip I had used their cars, and from my experience here(Enterprise, Dollar, and Avis), these guys are the best, and Avis are the worst. Having a huge rental car company does not matter, its how willing you are to please your customers. So here I am at the counter chatting with a friendly representative, who gives me the free upgrade option to the Dodge Avenger. I tell her that last time I took this car, and my neck was aching. She was almost apologetic and said that she will try something else. So she called up the lot and asked if they have a Sebring or a Charger? Well nothing available. Then I ask her is there any way I can have a Mustang at the same price. She looks a little confused and then says, sure, if there is one at the lot.
As luck would have it, no mustangs for me.
So there I am looking undecisive. So then she tells me, why don't you rent a jeep. The LDW(Loss damage waiver) is 14.99$ instead of the 8.99$ but everything else is same. And its a comfortable 3.7L V6 Suv. I am already jumping in joy(Of course my brain conveniently shuts down the part of my neural system which is shouting 15mpg 15mpg 15mpg aaaaaaahhhhhh).
So there I go to the lot and am given keys to the Jeep Liberty!
As I get in its like a cockpit.
There are 5000 lights 2000 buttons and 400 gears.
Just kidding! heh heh
Anyways I look around, the manual and stuff and take wheel of the thing. This is ABS, TCS, ESP, Phd, MA, BeD, BS, MS, MBA etc., you name it she has it.
It also has a computer which cheerfuly informs me that the last guys got 16 miles to a gallon.
So there and then I reset the thing, and hope that I get atleast a little more. At the same time I am just too escatic to have 210 horses at the rear wheels to care about mileage.
If you are wondering how ours looked like, here are a couple of pictures
The road! and the trip!
The Big Sur region starts somewhere south of Carmel on the California highway 1. For all practical purposes, it lasts till the Hearst castle.
For a roadie, the california highway 1 scenic route is not just a road. Its a holy place. Something which must be worshipped.
It winds high and low along the rocky pacific region of Big Sur, climbing to dizzy heights, with huge bridges spanning lofty canyons, and landscape changing from coniferous to desert in a heartbeat.
Along the route there are 4 state parks, and you get a 8$ pass which allows your vehicle to enter all 4.
Our first stop after the carmel bridge(start of the big sur trip) was the Point Lobos state park, where we got the Passes and the maps
After a short while here, the time was to hit the road again.
This route is full of Vista points(I don't remember the names of most of them!).
So our first stop was this lovely place. I think its Abalone Cove
Driving along the highways on twisties we came across to lovely vistas like this one
A very prominent spot before the much famed "Hurricane point" is the Bixby creek bridge. At this point an untarred road called the coast road takes for the hills along the pacific. Before this road was made, this was the only road to cross this particular point, and it was impassable in wet weather!
Bixby Creek Bridge:
The young at heart!!
From the Bixby bridge we drove the the Hurricane point. No hurricanes, but it was pretty windy here.
Here's the Bixby bridge from far far away
California Highway 1:
The next stop was the Andrew molera state park. We decided to skip this part and do some adventure.
Remember the coast road which was in use before the bixby bridge was built. Well it starts at bixby bridge and comes out to merge with highway 1 at this state park.
So off we go on the dirt track. It sure was dusty and bumpy. And it sure made me smile that we had the jeep!
Rear wheels spinning in the loose gravel, ESP lights flickering away and tail snapping out with every breath, what more can you want.
View from the cockpit
Do you see the pacific?
The steed
After driving for a few miles and having fun in the loose gravel, decided to turn back. This was downhill fun now. Now I have really understood the fun of having a powerful RWD. The best part was the launches. Floor the accelerater, watch the ESP light flicker as the rear wheel starts spinning, flick the steering to correct as the tail steps out. Rinse and repeat!
After the off road fun, it was time to go further, and enjoy some hiking
So off we went to the Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, to see the waterfall. The hike was great, the trail was nice, but the fall was all dry.
The trees were pretty tall
After this we decided to make our next stop the Limekiln state park, and to enjoy the vista points on the way. We took a small detour to the pfeiffer state beach and saw a horse farm!
This was on the Sycamore canyon road.
After some driving it was time fora couple of vista points, including the Burns north vista point, one of the most exciting vista points en route.
I forgot the name of the first vista point(does it even have a name?)
At the burns north vista point, this is where most famous "signature" big sur pics are taken
It was time to keep on driving, stopping on the way of course!
The Roaaad!
Our next state park was the limekiln park. The aim was to see the waterfall, but the water was less and the hiking trail in a very very bad shape with treefalls etc., so just explored the forest
Fairyland
The campgrounds
Now it was getting late and we decided to try out luck at the hearst castle. The castle was closed, we were late by few hours... So it was just time to enjoy the view
Star
Star has set
Thats an elephant seal
Soon it was dark, and it was time to drive back. Pitch dark with no lights anywhere. The sky was amazing. You could see the milkyway!
Too bad we didn't camp the night, and I kick myself for not taking any long exposurs!
On the way back I missed the highway 156-E exit so had to make do with 152E, which crosses the hills!
Tired and hungry it was 11:30 when we reached home(instead of planned 10:45ish).
What a day it was.
And for the curious I got 17.6mpg.
The Plan was, that there was to be no plan. We drive on the california highway 1 through the Big Sur region, and go till the Hearst Castle. If possible try to get a tour etc.,(unfortunately couldn't), and then come back to the pavilion. Pretty ambitios plan. We were going to cover approximately 400 miles in 1 day, or half day to be precise, considering we left san jose only by 12:30pm!
The Rent a car thingy
This time the booking was at dollar.com. For Vegas trip I had used their cars, and from my experience here(Enterprise, Dollar, and Avis), these guys are the best, and Avis are the worst. Having a huge rental car company does not matter, its how willing you are to please your customers. So here I am at the counter chatting with a friendly representative, who gives me the free upgrade option to the Dodge Avenger. I tell her that last time I took this car, and my neck was aching. She was almost apologetic and said that she will try something else. So she called up the lot and asked if they have a Sebring or a Charger? Well nothing available. Then I ask her is there any way I can have a Mustang at the same price. She looks a little confused and then says, sure, if there is one at the lot.
As luck would have it, no mustangs for me.
So there I am looking undecisive. So then she tells me, why don't you rent a jeep. The LDW(Loss damage waiver) is 14.99$ instead of the 8.99$ but everything else is same. And its a comfortable 3.7L V6 Suv. I am already jumping in joy(Of course my brain conveniently shuts down the part of my neural system which is shouting 15mpg 15mpg 15mpg aaaaaaahhhhhh).
So there I go to the lot and am given keys to the Jeep Liberty!
As I get in its like a cockpit.
There are 5000 lights 2000 buttons and 400 gears.
Just kidding! heh heh
Anyways I look around, the manual and stuff and take wheel of the thing. This is ABS, TCS, ESP, Phd, MA, BeD, BS, MS, MBA etc., you name it she has it.
It also has a computer which cheerfuly informs me that the last guys got 16 miles to a gallon.
So there and then I reset the thing, and hope that I get atleast a little more. At the same time I am just too escatic to have 210 horses at the rear wheels to care about mileage.
If you are wondering how ours looked like, here are a couple of pictures
The road! and the trip!
The Big Sur region starts somewhere south of Carmel on the California highway 1. For all practical purposes, it lasts till the Hearst castle.
For a roadie, the california highway 1 scenic route is not just a road. Its a holy place. Something which must be worshipped.
It winds high and low along the rocky pacific region of Big Sur, climbing to dizzy heights, with huge bridges spanning lofty canyons, and landscape changing from coniferous to desert in a heartbeat.
Along the route there are 4 state parks, and you get a 8$ pass which allows your vehicle to enter all 4.
Our first stop after the carmel bridge(start of the big sur trip) was the Point Lobos state park, where we got the Passes and the maps
After a short while here, the time was to hit the road again.
This route is full of Vista points(I don't remember the names of most of them!).
So our first stop was this lovely place. I think its Abalone Cove
Driving along the highways on twisties we came across to lovely vistas like this one
A very prominent spot before the much famed "Hurricane point" is the Bixby creek bridge. At this point an untarred road called the coast road takes for the hills along the pacific. Before this road was made, this was the only road to cross this particular point, and it was impassable in wet weather!
Bixby Creek Bridge:
The young at heart!!
From the Bixby bridge we drove the the Hurricane point. No hurricanes, but it was pretty windy here.
Here's the Bixby bridge from far far away
California Highway 1:
The next stop was the Andrew molera state park. We decided to skip this part and do some adventure.
Remember the coast road which was in use before the bixby bridge was built. Well it starts at bixby bridge and comes out to merge with highway 1 at this state park.
So off we go on the dirt track. It sure was dusty and bumpy. And it sure made me smile that we had the jeep!
Rear wheels spinning in the loose gravel, ESP lights flickering away and tail snapping out with every breath, what more can you want.
View from the cockpit
Do you see the pacific?
The steed
After driving for a few miles and having fun in the loose gravel, decided to turn back. This was downhill fun now. Now I have really understood the fun of having a powerful RWD. The best part was the launches. Floor the accelerater, watch the ESP light flicker as the rear wheel starts spinning, flick the steering to correct as the tail steps out. Rinse and repeat!
After the off road fun, it was time to go further, and enjoy some hiking
So off we went to the Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, to see the waterfall. The hike was great, the trail was nice, but the fall was all dry.
The trees were pretty tall
After this we decided to make our next stop the Limekiln state park, and to enjoy the vista points on the way. We took a small detour to the pfeiffer state beach and saw a horse farm!
This was on the Sycamore canyon road.
After some driving it was time fora couple of vista points, including the Burns north vista point, one of the most exciting vista points en route.
I forgot the name of the first vista point(does it even have a name?)
At the burns north vista point, this is where most famous "signature" big sur pics are taken
It was time to keep on driving, stopping on the way of course!
The Roaaad!
Our next state park was the limekiln park. The aim was to see the waterfall, but the water was less and the hiking trail in a very very bad shape with treefalls etc., so just explored the forest
Fairyland
The campgrounds
Now it was getting late and we decided to try out luck at the hearst castle. The castle was closed, we were late by few hours... So it was just time to enjoy the view
Star
Star has set
Thats an elephant seal
Soon it was dark, and it was time to drive back. Pitch dark with no lights anywhere. The sky was amazing. You could see the milkyway!
Too bad we didn't camp the night, and I kick myself for not taking any long exposurs!
On the way back I missed the highway 156-E exit so had to make do with 152E, which crosses the hills!
Tired and hungry it was 11:30 when we reached home(instead of planned 10:45ish).
What a day it was.
And for the curious I got 17.6mpg.
Smugmug: http://tanveer.smugmug.com
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
0
Comments
The coastal redwoods are much farther North and well worth the visit as is
the drive up 1 from the Golden Gate Bridge to reach them.
Any good campgrounds or hikes? Do you know if doggies are allowed?
Don
'I was older then, I'm younger than that now' ....
My Blog | Q+ | Moderator, Lightroom Forums | My Amateur Smugmug Stuff | My Blurb book Rust and Whimsy. More Rust , FaceBook .
But, you got to travel it!
If you are truly an aficionado of roads as you imply, there are two other roads to drive, just for the sake of sheer insanity. Deals Gap also known as The Tail Of The Dragon in North Carolina, and The Devils Highway in Alpine, Arizona.
O mother river, Mississippi sing me your song.
http://www.twitter.com/deegolden
A convertible was what I wanted. Dollar has the red mustang convertible, but sadly that day I had to choose the jeep. But jeep was fun too, esp on the old coast road.
I got to rent the mustang for the Yosemite trip.(San Jose - Fresno(meeting friends) - Yosemite - San Jose on same day). Will post that shortly.
We had 7 such trip when I was in california, the longest being to Vegas.
When I go to california again, doing big sur is on agenda. Esp the castle. I know its so so(thats what people tell me) but I have never seen a western civilization castle, except for age of empires.
OMG! Its such a similar picture. Its a small world? eh?
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
I have been out there twice now for work, unfortunatly not for photography. I'd love a chance to go out there for just a photo trip. You can see my images on the site. www.ukvphotos.com. Loved the pics!
Jason
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
http://aceface.smugmug.com/gallery/3302665_2ddVD#183534443
But a rwd suv...HAHA..Living in europe makes me think this is funny..
A big car, big engine, big everything. And then it´s RWD and is concsiderd a "work horse", only in USA baby?
edit, big sur was your best pic. nice job on that one.
- Ansel Adams.
Mike,
I deleted the quoted part of your post. A long quote like that makes it really difficult to read the thread. If you find you need to quote a long post, please find the relevant part of it to quote. Thanks.
You also might find that you'll have a more enjoyable time here on dgrin if you find ways to critique photos that are about the photography, instead of finding snazzy new ways to put people down. We run a friendly board here. And rudeness and personal attacks simply are not tolerated.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Looks like a great place to explore! Thanks for the enticement!
hahah!! I think that is a norm for everyone! Tourists seem to find the extraordinary here in NJ, while as I pass by it, I am like.. err... ok... As well, they have been to more places in NJ than I have in a given week!
www.tednghiem.com
As for the poor quality photos
this is a journey mate. A travelogue. A pictorial.
More Journalistic than artistic
FB:https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Site :http://www.tanveer.in
Blog :http://tsk1979.livejournal.com
I used to live in Monterey and would traverse Big Sur quite often. I'm also familiar with Hwy's 156 and 152. If you get a chance go down Hwy 198 off the 101 and head east. It was freshly repaved and is a dream to drive. In the middle of it, you'll find a place called Priest Valley Station. The only restaurant in CA that you can smoke in(not that I smoke, I just think it's interesting). They have good ribs there too. Further down 198, you run into LeMoore NAS, and past that a small town called Lemoncove(I dated a girl from there once, that's how I know about all this stuff). That's about the last interesting bit along 198, then it's time to head back.
I sure miss California... *sigh*
Thank you for sharing your journey.
Moving away from photography and into cinema. PM me if you have questions about DSLR workflow or production questions.
Film Reel: http://vimeo.com/19955876
www.tessa-hd.smugmug.com
www.printandportfolio.com
This summer's wilderness photography project: www.tessa-hd.smugmug.com/gallery/3172341