Pinnacles National Park

 Our next stop was Pinnacles National Park.  This is a smaller park and the first non-desert park we had been to for a while.  It was nice to be among the trees again.  Some were starting their leaves.  There were also “air plants” on the rocks.

The rock pinnacles reach toward the sky in stark contrast to the rolling hills.  These are remnants from distant volcanoes.  We enjoyed two hikes while we were here.  We also saw lots of quail, which run very fast with their little head feathers bobbing.

The first hike we took was to the reservoir.  The dam was built here by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1935.  It was beautiful as you rounded a formation and there was the reservoir.  We hung here for a little while enjoying the view and a snack.  The only annoying thing when we were there was the squirrels.  We were sitting on a rock and this squirrel kept coming right up to us.  Obviously people feed them, but we don’t.  Dave kept pushing him away with our hiking poles, but it was persistent.  We ended up moving to a different spot until he came to us again.  That’s why there are signs all over saying keep wildlife wild.  Enjoy the views.

Along the trail

Reservoir.  Really a beautiful oasis

This is the dam below a pinnacle

                                                            Dave captured this reflection

Our second hike was to view some of the Pinnacles.  Several miles of “walking June” and great views.  

Dave liked the lines in tis rock, like a path to…

There were various formations in the valley area we were looking at.  Hard for the camera to capture.

The park is also working to grow the California Condor population.  We don’t believe that we saw any, we mainly saw turkey vultures.  They are very similar looking, main difference being size.  Here are some interesting facts about the condor. 

*In 1982 the condor population was down to 25 birds.  

*their main threat, lead poisoning when the birds inadvertently ingest lead fragments in animals shot with lead ammunition

*The condor is North Americas largest bird with a wing span of 9 1/2 feet.

*They have no feathers on their heads so they can stay clean as they dive into the internal organs and muscles of dead animals.

*They produce 1 egg every two years and have a lifespan of 50+ years.

Here are a couple additional pics.

Funky rock formation on the trail.  Yes, it is in the correct direction

Our next stop after Pinnacles was a Harvest Host called Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner.  It was a fun place to spend the evening.  The waitresses wore 50s style uniforms and there were tons of pictures and memorabilia around the restaurant.  Apparently the people who own it were big collectors and the diner gave them somewhere to display their collection.  My biggest complaint is they were playing lots of 50s music in the diner and I knew all the songs…I am too young to know 50s songs LOL.  They had a little area out back that they called Diner-saur Park, had some metal statues, a “guy” swinging from a tree, some ducks in a couple ponds.  Nice little place to walk around after a filling meal.  

This was the decoration on each table.  I thought it was a fun carnation sundae

Til next time…