Thanksgiving Weekend Trip

[sdwindansea]

We drove up to Fresno on Tuesday night to get some fixes done to our new SMB. We we able to escape Fresno on Wednesday afternoon and drove part way to Monterey. We stayed at San Luis Reservoir, which was surprisingly nice and uncrowded for a developed area.

Thursday we drove through Monterey and headed South on 1 part way down Big Sur. We then drove up into the mountains and found an amazing area to set up our camp.

Camp spot

View to the South

View to the North

Dusk

Sunset and an impressive marine layer

Friday we headed down to Los Olivos for a bit of wine tasting. We then headed up to Figueroa mountain to enjoy some wine and relaxation.

We then head South East to our friends place near Mt Pinos. Their property is bordered by Los Padres National Forest so we basically camped in their backyard.

It was a great trip and the weather could not have been any more perfect. The van kept us nice and warm, even when the night time temperatures dropped down to 33. Thanks again to everyone who gave us advice and information for this trip.

Here are all of the pictures from the trip: Thanksgiving Trip 2007

 

[pjpvi]

Geoff -

I sure recognize that camp spot. The views are great from up there when the fog clears.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the van!

Phil

 

[Oni]

Beautiful!

Sounds like a great trip!!!

What kind of ramp is that for the dogs?

We have a Jack Russell and 2 mini Dachshunds that would need a ramp to get in and out. Well...the Jack Russell has springs for legs so he would probably be fine...but the wiener dogs would definitely need one. :a1:

Boy...I can't wait to get a SMB and do some trips like this!!!

 

[curtis-SMB]

Took Me Back!

In 1985 I was a firefighter for the National Forst service (you know, Smokey the Bear stuff). I'm sure no-one recalls the rat creek fire which burned up 60,000 acres in the mtns above and around Big Sur. We protected the montesary, a self healing place (spelling; Estellon?) a very very rare albino pine tree from getting toasted. Actually had some pretty good fire load for my first and earliest training in the fire biz. But your pictures are actually the first shots of the area since being there. Very cool! I remember driving high up into the mountains and leaving behind different micro climates as we wove our way deep into the hills above and beyond the blue pacific. The monks one nite fed us home made calliflower soup and peanut butter while listening to eerie chants that echoed throughout the montesary halls miles up the road. What a trip. Isiah was one of those monks covered in a brown hooded cloak. Anyway....thanks for those awesome shots.....see, by sharing these cool experiences your never know or when you might touch another. Thanks again! C