This morning, we woke up early, and Faith, Walker, and I left the house shortly after 06:00 to drive to Pinnacles National Park. We started driving north on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), and then veered inland just after Marina.
Prunedale
Our first stop was in Prunedale, CA at Gourmet Central Bake House. This bakery specializes in gourmet croissants, and also croissant roulettes, which are basically giant wheels of croissant dough filled with flavored pastry cream. We got strawberry and lemon meringue croissant roulettes, a chocolate chip “cannoli” danish, and an apple danish.
The pastries were fantastic, and [unbelievably] much bigger than they look in the pictures. We saved most of them to take back to the Pinkertons to share, but also snacked on some of them throughout the day.
Gourmet Central Bake House
Prunedale, CA
Amazing laminated pastries that are tasty to eat and beautiful to look at.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
We continued driving through the morning fog, and it finally began to lift as we neared the city of San Juan Bautista.
San Juan Bautista
In San Juan Bautista, we stopped in Vertigo Coffee, hoping to try some of their highly-spoken-of beans. Unfortunately, their drip/pour over setup was out of order, so I had to settle for a cappuccino, which was very good. They also had excellent, fast customer service.
We drove south through the Central Valley, at first seeing many patches of fog, but it eventually cleared up and we could see the gorgeous rolling hills and mountainsides that lined the road.
Pinnacles National Park
Soon, we arrived at Pinnacles National Park, paid the day use entrance fee, and began to drive Pinnacles Parkway west into the center of the park. We’d intentionally arrived early to beat the heat, as it regularly reaches over 110°F after noon during the summers. In the mornings, it is still very pleasant and bearable, aside from the beating sun.
Before I get any further, here are some facts about the park:
- Became a national park in 2013, and the 9th in California
- First set aside as part of Pinnacles Forest Reserve in 1906
- Elevation ranges from 824′ to 3,304′ (North Chalone Peak)
- Has one of the largest annual temperature swings of any park – the mean high is ~106°F (July through October), and the mean low is ~22°F (December through February)
- 5 major habitat types: chaparral, woodlands, riparian, grasslands, and rock/scree
- 13 indigenous sites, the oldest of which is over 2,000 years old
- The park has 2 entrances (east and west) with roads that almost connect
- Formerly referred to as the “Palisades”
- The park is prime habitat for prairie falcons and California condors.
- Geology originated via activity from the Neenach Volcano near Lancaster, CA
- The park sits on the San Andreas Fault. Scientists believe the fault has actually moved the park 195 miles over time.
- Wildlife in the park includes black-tailed deer, bobcat, gray fox, raccoon, jackrabbit, brush rabbit, ground squirrel, chipmunk, and several species of bats. Less commonly, there are badgers, coyotes, a wide variety of rodents, and mountain lions.
- There’s a “pig fence” that runs through the park, meant to prevent feral pigs from entering.
- Used to be home to tule elk, grizzlies, and black bears
After passing a flock of wild turkeys, we parked at Bear Gulch Nature Center, polished off the remainder of the strawberry croissant roulette, and headed for the trailheads.
hiking
After consulting the park ranger, we decided to do a loop hike, consisting of the High Peaks, Moses Spring, and Bear Gulch Cave trails. The trail first climbs up the “high peaks” section, with stunning views of the park’s namesake rock spires, distant mountains, riparian zones, and boulders.
Ascending a fairly steep section of switchbacks, the trail arrived at Bear Gulch Reservoir, a lake created by a small stone dam/footbridge. We stayed at the lake for a while to rest and hydrate, and then continued on the loop.
From the Reservoir, you have the option to take the trail through the Bear Gulch Cave. We were fortunate that it was completely open, as it often is closed due to occupation by one of the park’s many endangered bat species, or because of semi-seasonal flooding.
We descended the steep rock stairs to the entrance of the cave trail, but quickly realize it was too tight of a squeeze for us with Walker in the backpack carrier.
Instead, we took the upper Moses Spring trail (after a slight mishap where I squeezed between the wrong rocks, thinking it was the trail, and then had to quickly back out before I got myself into a “tight spot”) back down Bear Gulch, passing Moses Spring and the oasis-like riparian zone that the water feeds.
The trail goes through some cool rock tunnels, and then through some trees that were actually already showing their fall colors.
Peaks View
Back at the car, we drove out of Bear Gulch, and headed to Peaks View, a roadside pullout with a clear view of more of the parks famous rock spires. The park is famous for its birds of prey, particularly the once-almost-extinct California condor and prairie falcons. The condors are particularly amazing birds. As adults, they stand up to 5′ tall and have a 9-10′ wingspan; they are the largest bird in North America.
While at Peaks View, we saw both a prairie falcon and a condor soar above us – it was very easy to tell because of their distinct wing shape, and the size of the condor. We are fairly certain it was a juvenile condor, because it didn’t quite seem full grown, and didn’t yet have the trademark colorful head of adults. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures because they moved so fast.
If you go on this NPS webpage, you can actually read profiles about every condor in the park. This webpage has facts about condors, and this page has info about the effort to avoid extinction.
Before we left, we swung in the lower visitor center parking lot to feed Walker a snack and browse the camp store and gift shop.
Hollister
Leaving the park around 10:30, we drove back towards Hollister, passing a giant horse-racing venue, the county fairgrounds, a reservoir, and lots of farmland.
Back in Hollister, we pulled over into a Target parking lot so we could make a lunch plan. Walker had been taking his second nap of the day on our drive NW out of the park, but had just woken up as we pulled into town. So, we decided to go ahead and eat lunch, since he was clearly quite hungry.
Acting on the recommendations of Google and my guidebook, we decided to try Super Taqueria, a very popular local joint that was clearly somewhat of a hole-in-the-wall. It’s always a good sign when there are people from every possible walk of life waiting in line, and we were certainly not disappointed with the food. Faith got an asada (grilled lime-marinated steak) quesadilla with an order of their homemade chips, while I got a cabeza (braised beef cheek) burrito. By the time we left, the lunch rush had really started, and the line was unbelievable.
The food was amazing, particularly the asada in Faith’s quesadilla. I think this trip is going to ruin east coast Mexican food for us.
Super Taqueria
Hollister, CA
Definitely don’t judge this book by its cover; the food is amazing. But, beware – la salsa es muy picante.
* – Would definitely visit again
** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area
*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there
Just down the street from the Taqueria, we ordered two tuxedo Dutch Freezes (dark and white chocolate) from the walk-up window at Dutch Bros. They were fantastic as always, and very refreshing after a long, dry hike.
P.S.: I’m not posting another rating for Dutch Bros., but I never miss an opportunity to visit one.
On our way out of town, we stopped for gas at a local station, but I had a ton of trouble with their pumps. The first nozzle I tried leaked. Then, the second pump I used would not take card payments. Finally, after waiting on two vehicles to finish at the third pump, I successfully filled up the tank. Even though it took a while, it was $1.20 cheaper per gallon than gas in Monterey, so it was worth the extra time.
Monterey
On our way back into Monterey, we got a much clearer, fogless view of the beach and the dunes. Around 14:00, after battling some traffic congestion, we arrived back at the house. While Walker took his third nap of the day (I guess “hiking” really wears him out), I took a walk around the neighborhood, and Faith and Anna played a game.
Dinner // Park
Once Walker woke up, I took him to the neighborhood park to play on the swings and in the grass. The kids all spent time running around the yard; meanwhile, I started cooking dinner for everyone. I made gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes, pancetta, parmesan, and fresh herbs; and Caesar Brussels sprouts salad. Anna had made homemade focaccia and tomato soup. We enjoyed our excellent dinner (not pictured), and then the kids all played outside again until bedtime.
The Best Things we Saw Today
Isaac
The best thing I saw today was… “the view from High Peaks Trail”.
The best thing I ate today was… “everything was equally excellent, and I’m not sure I can choose…but I guess the Mexican food”.
Faith
The best thing I saw today was… “the hikes at Pinnacles (especially trying to get into the cave), and my walk with Anna”.
The best thing I ate today was… “Dutch Bros.”.
Conclusion
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Tomorrow, we’re taking all the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
– Isaac, Faith, and Walker
2 Responses
Thank you for taking time to document your travels so we can vicariously enjoy the beautiful scenery!
The photos of the sunset were breathtaking. I also enjoy your food descriptions. You are so lucky Walker enjoys traveling.
“P”