Carol writes: When Al and I lived in California in the mid-1970s, we felt like we were inhabiting a little slice of heaven. Back in those days, aggravating traffic, sky-high real estate prices and overcrowding had not ventured onto our radar screen. Today, however, a lot of the shine has come off of the California lifestyle, and many residents we have spoken to have readily admit this truth. Perhaps that is why we have come to treasure the less beaten path of California’s past that we have discovered on the Central Coast.
The 21 missions in the California Mission System are great venues for a look back in time at life as it used to be in what Mexico called Alta California. From our next camping home in Greenfield, California,
we had close access to two additional missions.
Some mission sites are quite fascinating because they offer a glimpse at actual historical buildings original to the mission. Such was not the case at Mission Soledad.
The chapel was only of moderate interest since it was actually a 1954 reconstruction of the original adobe mission chapel which was destroyed by a flood almost two centuries ago.
The chapel was rebuilt in the original humble style and was unusual in that the statue of the Blessed Virgin was dressed all in black in her niche above the altar, in honor of the chapel being dedicated to the sorrowful mother of Christ.
The outdoor courtyard did not have the well-gardened look we had come to expect at all the other missions we had visited. An unimpressive bare remnant of the mission’s original adobe walls was preserved under roof at the rear of the property.
Our visit to Mission San Antonio de Padua, which was founded and named by Father (Saint) Junipero Serra in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, was quite a contrast in style.
Clearly, with more access to funds, in addition to small commercial ventures such as retreats, careful restoration was able to be financed after significant damage from the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
The chapel offered a perfect atmosphere for quiet spiritual reflection.
The grounds were appealing in their authenticity.
The tiny town of Greenfield offered very little of interest to us. It looked like a town that Father Time had forgotten, with nothing but very small businesses, all of which served its nearly 100% hardworking Hispanic population. However, with ragged volcanic peaks just visible far in the distance, Greenfield was correct in its boast that it was the “Gateway to the Pinnacles.”
Pinnacles became our 59th and newest national park in 2012. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns christened the national park system “America’s Best Idea.” As such, he played a pivotal role in supporting the elevation of Pinnacles to national park status. The ancient volcanic history of Pinnacles and the vast tectonic forces along the San Andreas Fault that created it have now been preserved as a critical record of geologic time.
We were told by a ranger that Pinnacles is a rare habitat for California condors and that we should look for these massive birds soaring high above on afternoon thermal updrafts. Alas, despite a perfectly clear sunny day, apparently the condors weren’t in a soaring mood the day of our visit.
We had a premium seat for a lunch spot along the trail,
as we hiked past access points for rock climbing, one of the park’s main draws.
We hiked down to the entrance of a rare so-called talus cave. Pinnacles has some of the largest and most accessible talus caves in the world. I should have paid more attention to the term “talus.” By definition, talus is an accumulation of rock debris. Signage clearly spelled out for us that the talus caves at Pinnacles were formed by giant boulders that fell across narrow canyons, creating a perfectly dark cave space of narrow passages lined with a jumbled mass of rocky boulders.
The entrance to the 0.4-mile hike through Balconies Cave seemed exciting.
The ranger told us that there would be “some scrambling over rocks” in the cave, but what I found was one long arduous scramble over rocks that were almost beyond the reach of my very short legs! In the cave there was a rather large contingent of Hispanic families. Each hiker had to be considerate of others on the trail in this very dark cave… and everyone was. As we waited patiently for a very large family to pass, we were politely acknowledged with a “gracias, amigo.” I wished that I could have answered back with more than a smile.
It was a relief to get to the end without any mishaps.
Our thought on our experience in our newest national park was that Pinnacles truly represented a place of rejuvenation, with an unspoiled wilderness notable for stark evidence of dynamic geologic history marked by soaring rock walls and unique talus caves.
By seizing the opportunity to appreciate our newest national park, plus early California history at two missions, we felt confident that we were certainly keeping the “order of loves” in our life in proper order.
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