The Meanderthal Man: Pinnacles and Condors

Morning of June 17th and we are packing up again getting ready to head across the valley and a bit north in the direction of San Jose. Had written a note the night before to Laura and put in checks for AMEX and the mortgage payment -- mailed them on the way out of Sequoia RV Ranch (snail mail didn't arrive until 2 plus weeks after Tim stuck them in the mailbox as we exited the campground). Facilities here were the bare minimum but, quite pleasant and serene -- like a quiet retirement village at the west end with trailers parked permanently and people settled in permanently too.

Our drive to the Pinnacles Campground at Pinnacles National Monument went smoothly with mostly two lane roads winding over hills and farmland or pastureland -- to the middle of nowhere it seemed. Two lane roads for nearly the last 50 or 60 miles had no shoulders on either side so, a flat tire or breakdown would leave you in trouble -- no towns of much size anywhere near. No gas stations or grocery stores nearby and if you didn't gas up when you had a chance there was a strong possibility of running out in the middle of nowhere -- before getting to the park. We approached from the south but, the entrance from the north on the same road looked to be about the same.

After getting checked in at the Ranger Station/Store, we quickly set the pop-up and headed for the pool behind the store -- restrooms and showers were right there too but, were disgusting and poorly maintained -- only one toilet working in the mens room. The park campground was extremely busy and the pool drew all the little kids since it was very dry and warm -- the water was quite refreshing but, the grass and mud surrounding the pool were a big negative (no chairs either - had my own with me).

Our site had a huge tree next to us and the usual picnic table but, only one potable water station was a short walk back toward the Station/Store. Sounded like lots of spanish-speaking families and the music matched. Adjacent to our site, there were 8 or 10 folks camped in tents and most of them seemed to be young and turned out they were mostly rock climbers -- here for the challenge. A couple of them were guitar players and a couple groups sang late into the evenings.

Tim had been here twice before and always came looking to glimpse the Condors that were the main attraction but, had never seen them -- or the rattlesnakes we were warned about (when we stopped for gas in the town of Coalings). With both of these creatures on our minds, we hiked cautiously around the hills and peaks -- or to the bathrooms at night. We did discover some additional sets of restrooms in the opposite direction and found those to be less busy and much cleaner than the ones by the pool.

Fortunately, we did get some fantastic sightings of the Condor flying overhead as they glided from the Pinnacles and landed again and again -- only got close enough to view them with binoculars but, the views of them were much better than with the naked eye (or with the new camera).

We had hoped to hike through some of the bat caves but, they were closed for the most part due to too much guana, I think. Seemed like we made our way through a few caves and the rock formations were amazing -- sometimes scarey as you thought an earthquake most certainly would bring them down on you as you climbed under and around some of them. The climb through the cave area and up the stairs to the reservoir was difficult to follow and some people were fooled by the route to follow -- some turned back not thinking the trails were open.