Sunday morning we left the San Bernardino Mountains and headed for Pinnacles Peak National Park. Pinnacles had just recently become a national park and from what we had read was a "hidden jewel". It was a 400 mile trek with the last leg of the trip through very rural country. Pinnacles did turn out to be a beautiful park and it was the first time we actually saw condors in the wild--pretty awesome.
We spent two nights at Pinnacles campground which allowed us one day to explore the park. We elected to hike the Condor Gulch trail which led us to an outlook where the condors frequently come. We hiked in two miles and were rewarded with views of the condors soaring above us. We also could watch the condors in the evening as they roosted in the mountainside by the campground.
A wild turkey also made an appearance in the campground.
The park offered many trails and caves to explore. It would be a wonderful park to return to when we have several days to spend there.
Early Tuesday morning we headed north anxious to get passed San Francisco and all the traffic. We elected to take 101 which kept us out of middle of the city and took us through wine country. The drive was not as difficult as we thought it would be and we stopped for the night in Ukiah, CA which is about 190 miles south of Redwood National Park.
More Pictures here.
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