Kirk Creek Campground 6.2.08

We arrived at Kirk Creek campground, our first "First Come, First Served" campground that we didn't have reservations for and were in luck! They had just a few spots left and we snagged one of the coveted prize spots that sits right on the ocean bluff! On the right is another campsite, and the other is the hiking trail down to the ocean & the creek valley. It's an absolutely beautiful spot. We're probably 200ft above sea level. The ocean is crashing right below us and we were lulled to sleep by the waves & the occasional sea lion bark. After the crummy accommodations in Avila Beach...this nice spot was a welcome change! The only redeeming quality of Avila Beach was it's beautiful beach side town & nice merchants.

We took Hwy 1 from Avila here which is a great ride. The road snakes through the mountains and with all the hairpin turns & switchbacks...we meandered here in about 2 hours.
Kirk Creek is a U.S. Forest Service campground and is in the Big Sur Area. Big Sur is not a town, but a 90 mile stretch of road and we're approx 1/3 of the way up the coast. Once we arrived we had lunch & popped up the tent in record time! Then we took a small hike down along the creek to where it hits the ocean. It was beautiful & invigorating....especially when I looked down and spotted a !@#$% SNAKE!! It just happened to be crossing the path as I was walking down it and managed to scare the bejesus out of me. haha... The beach here is very rocky & has a large rock with a hole in it where the ocean comes right through...it's really spectacular.

We sat around the campfire last night watching the sun set. Michael cooked up a fabulous meal on his stove/grill combination from Coleman. It has one burner and one grill on the same unit. He likes it a lot and prevents us from having to buy/lug around charcoal.
We don't have cell service here (I am told people come here to 'get away from it all') so I won't be able to post until we hit Monterey. And I have managed to run the laptop battery totally down and our inverter can't handle the load....bummer. We'll have to get this part figured out!!
More to follow...
Rene
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