{"id":844,"date":"2020-06-10T00:32:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T05:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=844"},"modified":"2020-06-10T00:45:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T05:45:04","slug":"pinnacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=844","title":{"rendered":"Pinnacles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my quest to visit all of the US National Parks, I made my way from Ventura Beach to Pinnacles National Park right outside of Soledad, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a gorgeous day for a 4 hour drive from Ventura to Pinnacles NP. The Hwy. 101 drive took me through mountains, steep grades, the Salinas River Valley and through agricultural bottomlands including pimento pepper fields and vast wine vineyards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arriving in Soledad, I learned that it was named after the 13th Mission established in California and is known as the most technologically advanced and economically productive agricultural region and is known as the \u201cSalad Bowl of the World\u201d. It was a beautiful green (and purple) drive. Can\u2019t forget the fields of radicchio!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After passing through Soledad, the road into the park is very solitary and narrow and often becomes one way as it twists and turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The road into the park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The most surprising thing about the park was that I was the only one there. The park had just reopened on the western side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mine was the only car in the parking lot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The park has a strong desert feel and then opens up into these craggy rock pinnacles. Visitors often climb here and also make their way into the many caves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The jawbone trail. See the jawbone in the distance?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is definitely not the prettiest national park I\u2019ve been to but I think the hiking, caving, and rock climbing would be excellent. The park is also the place where the California Condor was reintroduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I exited the park, I couldn\u2019t help but notice this last picture. A picture of time passing on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
I wonder about the stories that these buildings could tell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my quest to visit all of the US National Parks, I made my way from Ventura Beach to Pinnacles National Park right outside of Soledad, California. It was a gorgeous day for a 4 hour drive from Ventura to Pinnacles NP. The Hwy. 101 drive took me through mountains, steep grades, the Salinas River […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[217,6,165,43,342,92,304],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8563.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9gDsa-dC","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":827,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=827","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":0},"title":"\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a bumpy ride…\u201d","date":"June 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"After I dropped David off on the PCT, I drove to Ventura Beach to catch a boat to the Channel Islands National Park. It is one of the least visited national parks due to access. The boat ride is 1-1\/2 hours to either Santa Cruz or Anacopa Islands which are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Channel Islands National Park\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8470-1.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":266,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=266","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":1},"title":"Bumps in the Road","date":"November 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Early in November, the traveling bug hit. Each year I receive a free companion ticket from Delta that lets me take a friend or family member and fly anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. I love the opportunity to share travel with someone. This year, I let the expiration date\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "fall fun"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMG_1725.jpg?fit=500%2C637&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":930,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=930","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":2},"title":"Two unexpected gifts","date":"June 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Waking up in Crater Lake National Park with the sun beaming through my window was quite a different scene from yesterday\u2019s big fat snowflakes. What a gorgeous day! I couldn\u2019t wait to see the lake again to see how it had changed with the difference in lighting. When I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"America\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8953.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":895,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=895","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":3},"title":"My luck finally ran out.","date":"June 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I started this journey in early June going north through California, my days have been gloriously sunny and beautiful. Today, my luck ran out. More about that later. I started my journey from Mt. Shasta this morning and for the first time since I left home had a proper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"America\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8744-1.jpg?fit=500%2C355&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1304,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=1304","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":4},"title":"Part 8: African Adventure 2022","date":"October 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Painted Dog Conservancy and Hwange National Park. The day had finally come\u2026our African Safari was about to commence. On the way to the Painted Dog Conservancy which was our first stop of the day, we passed a lady on the side of the road selling Bird Plum and Baobab Fruit.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Travel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/IMG_7250.jpeg?fit=500%2C397&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":852,"url":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/?p=852","url_meta":{"origin":844,"position":5},"title":"A very memorable day","date":"June 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you remember when you were young and often said, \u201cI can\u2019t wait till I get old enough to....\u201d. Well, today, I had an \u201cI\u2019m finally old enough\u201d moment. I drove my car to the entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park and announced to the park ranger that I would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"adventure\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/img_8585.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=844"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":847,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844\/revisions\/847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenlordrutter.press\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}