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Pinnacles National Monument |
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On our way to Hollister last weekend, we saw a sign reading "Pinnacles National Monument, 30 miles".
We looked at each other and said "what's that" in unison. So we pulled out our trusty California guide and
looked it up. We read about an ancient Volcanic park with spires that reach toward the sky and caves formed by
earthquakes. Enough to peak our interest. We made a date right then and there to return the following Sunday. Pinnacles
is really quite an amazing park. It's evolved over thousands of years right on the edge of the San Andreas fault. One of
the coolest views is the actual "Pinnacles" themselves, shooting straight into the air off in the distance. I originally,
for who knows what reason, had thought that Pinnacles (or the caves themselves) were of a touristy nature and that one
could drive right up to them. How I came to that conclusion I have no idea. The truth of it is that you must hike close
to 3 miles one way to get to the caves. The rocks, or "Pinnacles" are the remains of a ancient volcano according to the nifty brochure they give you on entrance to the park. They are actually only part of the remains. The rest lies 195 miles to the southeast. The story that I was told is that they didn't want to let the park get overcrowded so they decided to cut half of the rocks off and move them to another location. I rather think that it's the result of the San Andreas Rift Zone which runs directly beneath the park. The park was set aside as a national monument on January 16, 1908. Initial development was undertaken byt the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933 to 1942. We entered the park, paid the five bucks and drove towards the back where we were forced, as was everyone else, to park on the road itself. It looked like there was somesort of construction going on as the parking lots were all closed. More on Pinnacles>> |
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