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Big Sur    December 1-8, 2014
Mya avoiding a rain puddle in Pfeifer Big Sur Sate Park (Second generation redwoods, which is typical of most the southern groves. (The biggest first growth in the grove  is the Patriot tree, over a thousand versus hundreds of year old))
Plaskett Creek
Usually Mya wont go near the ocean (She is afraid of loud noises)
Pfeifer Big Sur State Park Campground is $43 a night after $10 for an extra vehicle and a whopping $2 senior discount. Plaskett Creek & Kirk Creek near Pacific Valley are federal and much cheaper. $25 a night ($12.50 for seniors) and $5 for an extra vehicle. Tuesday night I stayed at Plaskett Creek which also has beach access across the road from the campground. (Kirk Creek is on the beach side of the road but I haven't checked it out for breach access.)
Big Sur
Barry & I  spent 4 nights at Pfeifer Big Sur State Park, it rained every day except Sunday when we left. It started raining at Lake Isabella on Tuesday morning at 0:530 and rained off and on  until Saturday at Big Sur. In December of 2013 it was cold but no rain and we had maybe half a dozen campsites occupied that weren't squatters (campground hosts). In 2014 it rained a lot and we had 5 times as many campsites occupied. It still beats summer when you can't get in the campground because its always full, including a lot more sites that are closed in winter. Temps were 60 at night and 65-70 during the day which made the rain bearable. (except for the single ply toilet paper in the campground  restrooms that was so damp you could barely use it)
Big Sur River upstream from Campground bridge in December 2013	Upstream from Campground bridge in December 2014
San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge
New high rise construction near the Bay Bridge entrance on the San Francisco side	The new bridge and the old one being demolished
It was slow going getting on the bridge on the San Francisco side, but going into the city it was backed up stop and go almost to Berkley. The toll booths are going into San Francisco but most the locals have fast pass. The high rises are the result of a revitalization of the area around the Giant's ball park. (World Champions 2010, 2012 & 2014) Candlestick is still there out at Candlestick point but is due for demolition in 2015. (49ers moved to Santa Clara)
The Eastern Sierra
Coming down US50 into the Lake Tahoe Basin (There was a little snow around Echo Summit at 7,377' )	The Sierra near Bridgeport off US395 (The pointy little peak in the center is Matterhorn Peak)
Mono Craters behind Mono Lake (Fairy recent volcanoes. ~60,000 years old)
Mya enjoying the snow near 8,040' Deadman Summit (Obsidian Dome Rd) (Tire tracks only went in a little ways then ski tracks)
Mount Toms near Bishop with a fresh dusting of snow	The Thumb (Middle pointy thing (technical term)) Recent Basalt foreground
The first night of the trip I slept at Stine Cove on Wasabella. (Lake Isabella is about 8% of capacity) Between Stine Cove and Paradise Cove on the other side there was a small river where a lake had been. Mya and I hiked out in the lakebed for a while, a lot of shells in the sand. I had been planning on looking for Old Kernville which is now exposed again. Unfortunately it started raining at about 05:30 Tuesday morning.
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