Pinnacles National Park, CA

Pinnacles was inducted as the 59th National Park in the U.S. in 2013. The park is located near the San Andreas Fault and is a product of tectonic plate movement. It's believed that 23 million years ago the Neenach Volcano was split by the fault, carrying Pinnacles north. The erosion from wind and rain on these volcanic rocks has formed the unusual rock structures you can see today.

The temperature swing in the park was absurd. We arrived in the early afternoon when the thermometer read 105 degrees and woke up the next morning to a cool 50 degrees. Brian and I got up really early and biked to the Old Pinnacles trailhead and hiked the 5.5 mile loop before the rays got too strong. Crawling through the Balconies Caves was a very cool experience and we wanted to see a little more so we biked to Bear Gulch to see the reservoir and more boulders.

The campground at the park had a pool, which was a nice treat. There were few campers and there was no cell service, so Brian and I enjoyed some peace and quiet and jambalaya for dinner all while watching the deer, squirrels and quail roam about.

Next Stop: Big Sur, CA