PCH: Monterey - Malibu

Last weekend, Frank and I took a spur of the moment road trip. It was our last free weekend before football kicks off and it's a trip we've been itching to take for sometime. We figured if not now, then when?

Friday, we drove up to Salinas and stayed the night. Early Saturday morning we drove to Monterey and took PCH to Lompoc where we stayed the night. Sunday, we drove to Santa Barbara and continued along the coast to Malibu and then headed home. We traveled over 1100 miles and saw beautiful sights along the way. We've now seen the coast from San Francisco to the Mexico border. We've taken the train from Seattle to Vancouver so the only portion missing is Portland to San Francisco. We decided this trip that another road trip is in our future. I think we'll fly to Portland, rent a car and drive to San Francisco and drive home from there.

If you've never been to Big Sur or Santa Barbara you really should. Enjoy the ride. We surely did.

Sunset near Mojave, CA



Getting started on PCH



We coined these fog machines



First glimpse of the Pacific



A short break in the Marine layer outside Carmel, CA





Back into the fog... headed into Big Sur













































Morro Strand Beach





The Beach in Lompoc was closed to protect the Snowy Plover. The beach is also an Amtrak stop.























Santa Barbara and beyond...

Mt Potosi

Last Saturday, we took the RZR up Mt Potosi. At 8,517 feet it's one of the highest points surrounding Las Vegas and it's not too far from the house. The trail is about 5 miles to the base of the mountain from Blue Diamond and another 5 up the mountain. We got up ok, though I was nervous... It's incredibly steep on the way up.





Some is gravel, other parts are asphalt. The RZR doesn't handle well on streets since it's designed for offroad. We managed and got to enjoy lovely views.







Look how wee Las Vegas is.























On the way down we ran into trouble. We believed we burnt up the belt from riding down in low. Frank did it out of habit, the Mtn was spitting us out so fast. Midway the RZR came to a hault, we couldn't shift. The only way to move was to coast in neutral. By doing so we burnt up the brakes. They were so hot we had no pedal by the time we reached the foothills. We put rocks at the tires and let the brakes cool. Fortunately, the ability to brake was restored once they cooled. We coasted as far as we could, we'd run out of momentum and we'd take turns pushing to get it going again. We did this until we reached where it connects to the main trail. We were lucky to have cell service. I suggested we call Darren, Frank's cousin's boyfriend. He has experience offroad, has a trailblazer and lives the closest. Thankfully, he was home. I stayed behind with the RZR and Frank set off on foot to meet him. I loaded my camera bag with water and gave him the GPS and Spot communicator in case he lost cell service. I had put a towel in our storage bin before we set out, it came in handy to give me protection from the sun. My view for the next hour.



50 minutes later they returned. I never saw another person so it was so fortunate Darren found his way. Frank had him stop at the truck and pick up the tow rope. We tethered the RZR to the trailblazer and Darren towed us the 5 miles back to the truck and trailer. We couldn't drive the RZR up the trailer, so we parked the trailer at the bottom of a hill. I steered and they pushed it up onto the trailer. It was such a relief. It could've went horribly wrong in so many ways, but we kept our cool and remained level headed the whole time. Now, we know to always carry an extra belt and the tools to change it. But we now know it wouldn've have helped. The problem wasn't the belt. It is the trans. We're waiting to hear how much the damage will be.

I'm glad we conquered Mt. Potosi, but we will not be doing it again.