The secluded and beautiful Pinnacles National Park was the last park my husband and I visited in 2019. 2019 was a very good year for traveling. My husband and I visited numerous National Parks and other awesome places. We started in March, which saw a rare desert super bloom. We drove from Las Vegas to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California. Spring break in April, we traveled flew to San Antonio and drove back to Las Vegas with my parents, camping along the way. We made stops at Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, Tombstone AZ, and Sedona. That summer we made a trip to Death Valley again checking out Alabama Hills and the surrounding area after.
Then for summer break we made the HUGE trip across country; Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore National Monument, Gateway Arch of St. Louis National Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lynchburg TN, Nashville, Hot Springs National Park, and Black Kettle National Grasslands. In the fall we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lake Tahoe, Redwood National Park, and Crater Lake National Park. The beautiful Pinnacles National Park was the last park we visited that year and the purpose of today’s blog post.
My husband’s birthday is on Veteran’s Day, making it a special heartfelt day for many reasons. We left for the weekend, arriving in San Fransisco. We spent the day exploring the scenic views, the piers and of course the Golden Gate. We missed the daylight hours of John Muir Woods National Monument, but it worked out for the better because we arrived at night. We got to walk among the majestic trees in the full moon light!
Next, it was off to the secluded and beautiful Pinnacles National Park. A relativity new National Park, Pinnacles became an official National Park in 2013. However, Pinnacles landscape was formed 23 million years ago by volcanic eruptions. The landscape is very rocky and jagged. We did the strenuous High Peaks loop and were surrounded by craggy rock. We also ducked through the Bear Gulch Caves, formed by fallen rock.
In the midst of all this jaggedness, we found ourselves in a golden grassland along the hike, surrounded by oak trees. This change of scenery inspired me to paint my latest piece: “Pinnacles Path”.
After stopping at the Visitor’s Center and getting our map, we headed out to the Moses Springs Parking Area and started out on the Bear Gulch Trail. The Bear Gulch area included many dark wet caves created by fallen rocks. After that we walked down the Rim Trail and took a left to tackle the strenuous High Peaks trail.
It was somewhere between the Bear Gulch area and the “steep and narrow section” of the high peaks that we entered the golden grassy area surrounded by oak trees. This area inspired me to take a photo of it. Jimmy is hiking ahead of me. I was inspired years later to paint it. I love the golden late sun lit grass in the background. Far off in the distance are the mountains. The foreground dry grasses shaded by the oak trees. This picture also gave me the opportunity to practice figures in motion, something I have not done before. Although the figure looks exactly like Jimmy hiking (I’ve spent many hikes with this view!), it did not turn out exactly how I envisioned it. But, being my first figure in motion in a landscape, I’m happy with it.
I’d like to say we “ended our hike” at high peaks, but our day was far from over. Once we got to the scenic viewpoint, we enjoyed a beautiful golden sunset. As serene as it was, it meant our hike back would be in the fleeting twilight hours. At one point during our hike down, a group of bats flew all around our heads, much to my delight!! We made it back to the road, which is part of the loop. I think that was the scariest part, because by then it was dark and there was no shoulder to jump to in case a car came Finally we saw the parking lot and our rental car. We had a wonderful day in Pinnacles National Park. I highly recommend visiting this secluded park!
