Pinnacles National Park, Highway 25, and Highway 198…

Sue and I were up in northern California last week, and instead of making the run back on Interstate 5 we opted to swing by Pinnacles National Park.   There were three reasons for that.  One was that we wanted to see Pinnacles, our newest National Park.  Another was that we wanted to explore Highways 25 and 198, two roads I had never taken before.  And the third was that the best deal ever is about to expire…that’s the $10 US National Park senior citizen lifetime pass.  I bought one of those lifetime passes a few years ago after seeing one of my geezer buddies use it on a motorcycle ride through Yosemite.   Sue is eligible now (but don’t tell her I told you), and we wanted to score one for her before the price goes up to $80 (still a hell of a deal, in my opinion).

Pinnacles National Park is on Highway 25, which cuts east off the 101 through Hollister and turns into a truly magnificent motorcycle road after you get past Hollister.   Highway 25 is kind of boring up to Hollister, but when you continue east, the road goes from humdrum to magnificent.

Pinnacles National Park, we learned, is mostly a place for hikers.  It has some dramatic geology formed by volcanic activity, but you have to be willing to hoof it to get there.

There are two entrances to the park (one from the east off of Highway 25, and the other from the west), and the road does not go through the park.

It was already 95 degrees and the sun was brutal at 10:00 a.m. the day we were there.  We picked up Sue’s lifetime National Park pass, took a few photos, and then we were back on the road.  Highway 25 was simply magnificent.

We had only gone a few miles when Sue spotted these guys walking along in a field…

They reminded me of the wild turkeys we saw on the TT250 Baja ride.   I actually got a video of those.  We sure do have magnificent roads in California.

And here’s one last shot along Highway 25.  I know it looks like it’s been tweaked in PhotoShop, but you’re seeing this one directly as it came from the camera.   The road had recently been repaved along this stretch, and its dark texture really jumps out in the picture.

Highway 25 runs into Highway 198, and it is another awesome California road.   It drops down into Coalinga, and from there it’s a straight shot down I-5 to So Cal.   Coalinga, incidentally, gets its name from its railroad heritage.  It used to be a coal stop (Coaling Station A, to be exact) and the name morphed into Coalinga.  Cool stuff.

This is another multi-day ride I’d like to do as a CSC ride.  If you’re interested, let me know.   We’d have to wait until a little later in the year, but it would be a great one.