Our first order of business was to call Aimee's parents. But that was easier said than done. We were camping deep in the forest, and even California forests don't have particularly good cell reception. So we hiked up to the highest point in the extensive trail network around the campsite. We did manage to get enough signal to make the call, and the view wasn't too bad either.
As I mentioned, the trail network around the campsite was pretty amazing, and the hike up to the overlook was one of three hikes that we made that day alone.
Since this was our first full day in the campsite, we made a little exploratory hike around the park. The first thing we came to was a slice of one of the many giant redwoods that Big Sur is famous for.
A closer look at those blue arrows show that they're pointing out the tree rings that were formed during important events in world history. And these trees are so large (and therefore so old) that the inner rings were formed an incredibly long time ago.
They're a bit hard to read, but the left most arrow reads "1215 - Magna Carta Signed". The others say "1271 - Marco Polo in China" and "1347 - Black Plague Devastates Europe". That's amazing! This tree was already hundreds of years old during the plague! Nature really is incredible, and we were pretty impressed with the California Parks Department's efforts to show how awe-inspiring these trees really are.
The other hike was to a nice little waterfall just outside the campground. You may be able to see it in the background.
-M
