On a whim I decided to drive down the extraordinary Route 1 rather than taking 101 south to Morro Bay. So glad I did. I certainly had the time and it let me reminisce as well as focus on the beauty of this part of the world.
The sea has been fierce, called “King Tides” and often part of January in California, the closer the road came to the rocks against which the water smashed, the more water droplets covered the windshield.
I had read that there were several places where the road had failed and at one point a year ago a portion was closed to traffic all together. I found three portions where there was a one lane passage with traffic lights allowing the north bound and south bound travelers to share a smaller than normal lane. This made travel longer than my planned “less than 3 hours “, but so worth the time.
At one point just north of Nepenthe there is an inland portion of the road with a delightful river. It was a spot Bob and I found on our first trip going from north to south. I was so happy to find it. The Inn is much larger than I remember.
I was headed to one of places I have never seen before, Morro Bay. That gigantic rock is Morro Rock, reverend by several Indian tribes who are allowed to climb the rock one day a year for ritual purposes. Nobody else is allowed on the rock. Like much of California this geological memento is unique. It contains magma and was pushed up in a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. The entire bay and odd configuration of water and land must have been formed at that time.
daily woodring 