Our drive to Pinnacles National Park took us across the valley in the middle of California. While on the plain we saw a very large solar farm. The panels went on for many miles. It appeared they were in the process of expanding the solar panel field.
We drove for a while until we saw the mountains in the distance.
Then we began our climb up the mountains and onto the winding roads.
We finally arrived at Pinnacles National Park. We then learned that the west side of the park is open 24 hours a day, but the park staff is only around on weekends. We also found out that one of our planned hikes was partially closed because of vandalism.
We hiked to a lookout where we saw some of the pinnacles. They were interesting, but not what we expected.
We then learned from one of the signs that this park was established because of its unique geography. The photo below covers three different fault lines. First is the famous San Andreas Fault which is out toward the mountains in the background. The Chalone Creek fault runs along the mountains in the middle of the photo. The Pinnacles fault is down in the valley in the foreground. There are many others nearby as well.
After our walk to the overlook, we drove to our other planned hike to the caves. Even though the caves were closed, we planned to hike along the creek. Much to our disappointment, all the creeks in the area were dried up. Apparently, August is not the best time to visit Pinnacles National Park. In large part because it is really hot.
We decided to skip the hike since the two attractions of the hike were not to be seen. Our hike would have been over the hill in this picture. We had a picnic lunch at the parking lot and headed back to our hotel.
During our hike to the lookout, we got to see a wild wheat field that is the remains of what was once a farm in this valley.
On the way to our hotel we saw a few wind turbines. Some were working, some were not.
We also saw a few plants that were showing the tribulations of living during a dry time of year.
Our trip to Pinnacles today was a bit of a disappointment. We did not get our hikes in, and we did not get the souvenirs. Even so, it was fun to have the park mostly to ourselves and to learn some things about the local area.