It is our 10th day on the road and the adventure continues in incredible ways. I'm sure that no one is surprised to see that we have not yet made it out of Big Sur. The beauty is just too hard to leave and also I (Kati) have a cold.....Perhaps this was from the other night when we visited Esalen and participated in their spastic dance class and then soaked in the hotsprings until the whee hours of the morning when we stealthily snuck away on our tandem and slept on the side of highway 1......or I guess it could have been from the other day at Lime Kiln State park when I insisted on reenacting our momentous walk down the creek to the ocean only to find ourselves surrounded by poison oak, which caused us to run to the ocean and scrub ourselves off in the freezing water for an extended amount of time....But whatever the case may be...I have a cold.....and however I got it was undoubtedly worth it!
Good, Good, Good, Good Vibrations... as Al Jardine of the Beach Boys rocked away beneath the Redwood trees, we began our journey deep into Big Sur Country - a Magic Place where the Sea and the Mountains merge together with force, grace and grandure. Trying to describe el pais grande del sur
"Big Sur", is like trying to describe a fascinating dream.
Clear spring waters cascade and tumble, bubbles, whitewater and waterfalls, lined with glowing moss. The shark-tooth, craggy granite massif of Cone Peak rises proudly in the clear blue sky. Mighty mountain's steep ravines and narrow canyons craddle mysteries and quiet beauty, hidden and still in their remoteness.
Lush with ferns that drip with dew by sunrise, and shimmer by afternoon, when beams of light cast shadows, and the forest glows with green. Burnt deeply by cycles of seasonal fires, Redwood Trees are still thriving, towering from creek to sky.
Dwarfing us in size, these ancient trees are true survivors, resilient and majestic, symbols of regeneration. The forest floor is a treasure chest of soft surprises, where green clover carpets the understory.
Wind whisks down canyon, past rocky dens where rattlesnakes coil for the night and mountain lions keep hidden from dawn 'till dusk. The wind is sweet with the dry autumn scents of Redwood bark basking in the sun.
The creek finds its flowing way from forest to sea, where giant boulders are strewn upon soft sand. Evening Sun catches the mermaid hair seaweed, revealing subtle hues of reds and orange.
An Ocean so cobalt blue and refreshing, home to sea otters who lounge in fields of bull kelp, noble Pelagic Cormorants, wings outstretched toward the setting sun, perched upon urchin and barnacle covered sea pinnacles.
Black Oystercatcher seabirds feed in the convergence zone, where fresh water and Ocean mix. Just offshore, a pod of nine Orca whales patrols the kelp forest, dorsal fins tall and proud, just like the high slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains.
The first signs of October's waxing moon, a delicate crescent that seems to hover above the glow of a Pacific Coast Sunset. Big Sur is a special place, and we're doing our best to absorb this section of the wave.
Big Sur is a living, changing LandSeaScape. When we finally roll on south, past Salmon Creek Falls and onto the barking elephant seals and flats of Cayucos, we'll close our eyes, breath deep and remember Big Sur, from the granite cliffs, steep ravines, ancient forests of Redwood Trees, lions, owls and ferns, to the sweet smells of the beach, a clean, pure Ocean, where a night sky of stars twinkles off the Sea that always sings.
By the way...check out our first publicity from The Captains Inn in Moss Landing: http://captainsinn.blogspot.com/
Beautiful pictures! T.J. and I are sending good vibrations your way…
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