Big Sur Information

•July 21, 2018 • 95 Comments

Header Photo, Dan Danbom.

IMPORTANT, READ THIS FIRST!!

For the most thorough and complete guide to Big Sur on the internet see:

Big Sur Visitor’s Guide

Everything you need to know about visiting Big Sur all in one location – what to see, where to go, where to stay, where to eat, where to find a bathroom, and how to get along with locals. Bookmark it for your next trip. You will be glad you did.

NO CAMPFIRES, CHARCOAL GRILLS, OR PROPANE STOVES UNTIL THE END OF FIRE SEASON ANYWHERE IN THE NATIONAL FOREST, EVEN IN DEVELOPED CAMPGROUNDS. PROPANE STOVES ONLY  IN FULLY DEVELOPED CAMPGROUNDS AND ONLY WITH A PERMIT.

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Interactive Highway Map with Mile Markers and slide names is to the right, under “Pages” first one *Big Sur Interactive Maps... if the following link doesn’t work. *Big Sur Interactive Slide Maps will answer any questions you may have about where something is in relation to something else.

MY DIRECT EMAIL IS: kwnovoa@mac.com

(Size for any header photos you may wish to submit it is 760×151 pixels.)

Posted in Misc, Photography
Tags: , , , ,

Photo Sunday, 9/23/18

•September 23, 2018 • 5 Comments

I happened to get behind this just south of Cambria. When he didn’t turn in at the Windsor yard, I knew he was heading up to Mud Creek. The truck driver knows me, so when we had to stop for construction, he came back and told me this was a 12 TON boulder he was carrying. Hope it helps!

823B3D87-C85E-4DD9-B576-31CAE211EF5E49D6087A-BADE-4637-8D32-3765134F4C53

 

Posted in Photography, Road Conditions
Tags: , , , ,

Cal Trans & Graffiti

•September 22, 2018 • 12 Comments

Friday, Suzana Cruz, Cal Trans PIO, sent me the following. I condensed it, slightly. She sent it in response to my blog post about the graffiti, which by the time they saw my post and went to  take care of it, Marcus already had. Cal Trans is concerned about us taking care of it ourselves, due to the traffic danger involved, so requests we notify them at the link below, or tell your local friendly Cal Trans worker, who can pass it on.

“We appreciate that locals take pride in their community as do all our crews that work there and our whole Caltrans family;  we love the area and do get very upset by the way it gets treated, but our Mtce. Dept. would  rather follow the existing protocol and have its employees do the job they are paid to do and take care of these issues.

We have an existing and efficient Customer (Mtce) Service Request CSR/MSR system in place, so when issues, such as this one take place, you and your followers have a way of reporting this kind of incident so we can properly track, record and handle it. This also deters folks from taking matters into their own hands when it comes to an issue that pertains to State property….The last thing we want is for someone, especially a member of the public, to get hurt.

Thanks for understanding, not taking it the wrong way, but rather safety-minded, and for helping me pass this link/info. (below) along and encouraging your followers to use it.”

https://csr.dot.ca.gov/

 

Posted in 2018 Fire Season, Overuse

Arthritis Foundation Bicycle Ride comes to Big Sur

•September 21, 2018 • Leave a Comment

The days and dates of the Big Sur portion of the ride are next Monday and Tuesday.

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION BICYCLE RIDE MOVES THROUGH CENTRAL COAST
CENTRAL COAST – The Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour will move through Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties beginning Saturday, Sept. 22 through Friday, Sept. 28 in the following locations:
 
Saturday, Sept. 22:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from San Mateo County to the City of Santa Cruz.
 
Sunday, Sept. 23:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in to Carmel in Monterey County.
 
Monday, Sept. 24:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Carmel to Big Sur in Monterey County.
 
Tuesday, Sept. 25: The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Big Sur to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County
 
Wednesday, Sept. 26:  The cyclists will use Highway 1 south from Cambria to Oceano in San Luis Obispo County.
 
Thursday, Sept. 27:  The cyclists will use State Route 1 from Oceano, State Route 166  from Guadalupe and State Route 1 towards Orcutt before crossing State Route 154 west of Los Olivos before arriving in Buellton in Santa Barbara County.                                                                                
 
Friday, Sept. 28: The cyclists will use State Route 246 from Buellton and US 101 through Santa Barbara to Ventura County.
 
In addition, the southbound #2 (right) lane of US Highway 101 at the Arroyo Quemada Bridge in Santa Barbara County will be closed on Friday, Sept. 28 between the hours of 8 am and 12 noon to allow the cyclists to safely proceed where the shoulder width is narrow.
 
Law enforcement and ride officials will be located along the route to ensure the safety of motorists, participants and pedestrians.  Motorists are advised to be aware of the riders as they move through the area and to ‘Share the Road’.
 
For traffic updates on other state highways on the Central Coast, motorists can call Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit the District 5 website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/maint/road/upslo.htm

Posted in Big Sur News, Events, Road Conditions
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URGENT NOTICE RE SYCAMORE CANYON ROAD REPAIR

•September 20, 2018 • 2 Comments
An Urgent Notice Regarding Sycamore Canyon Road ! 

The Federal Highway Administration has moved up the start date for planned Road maintenance, repair and minor improvements affecting access and use of Sycamore Canyon Road.  The project begins this Monday September 24 and will take 8 weeks to complete.  During the first 2 weeks, a hard closure will be in effect, with hours of closure described below.

Sycamore Canyon Road work will commence Monday September 24, 2018.  Road to close to all traffic from 8 am until 12 noon, open from 12 to 12:30 pm then close again from 12:30 pm until 5 pm in the afternoon when the road will be opened again until 8 am the following morning.  The above closure schedule will be utilized Monday through Thursday and on Friday the road will close at 8 am, but then open at 1 pm for the weekend.

The schedule described above is for the benefit of residents, their contractors and other support staff.  Pfeiffer Beach will be closed Monday through Thursday and open Friday at noon at which point the public will be allowed access through sunset, Sunday evening.

If the project stays on schedule, beginning on Monday October 8th, Sycamore Canyon Road will be open during the work week, subject to delays for the final 6 weeks.  Exceptions to that provision will be days on which paving and chip sealing activities are planned.

The following link will take you to the project website where the Contractor’s schedule calendar will be posted in the next few days.  Please check this often as the schedule is subject to change. https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/ca/sycamore-canyon/

Please share this information with your neighbors who may not have received this email.

You may download a copy of the above HERE. (PDF, 1 Page, 172KB)
Copyright 2018 © 2018 Coast Property Owners Association, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are a resident or friend of Big Sur.
Our mailing address is:

Coast Property Owners Association

PO Box 59

Big Sur, California 93920

Add us to your address book

http://www.cpoabigsur.org

Posted in Road Conditions

One little Big Sur Hummingbird…

•September 20, 2018 • 19 Comments

Remember this from Monday?

Look at it by Tuesday –

Thank you, hummingbird! (Aka Marcus Foster) Show the love! Share the love! BE the love!

Posted in Big Sur News, Hope, Living in the Wilderness, Nacimiento, Overuse

The Story of the Hummingbird

•September 19, 2018 • 4 Comments

A reader sent me this story once, forgive me, but I’ve forgotten who. I think it was during the Soberanes Fire, and she told me I was the hummingbird. I felt honored. We are all the hummingbird, or can be. Here it is:

The Story of the Hummingbird

One day a terrible fire broke out in a forest – a huge woodlands was suddenly engulfed by a raging wild fire. Frightened, all the animals fled their homes and ran out of the forest. As they came to the edge of a stream they stopped to watch the fire and they were feeling very discouraged and powerless. They were all bemoaning the destruction of their homes. Every one of them thought there was nothing they could do about the fire, except for one little hummingbird.

This particular hummingbird decided it would do something. It swooped into the stream and picked up a few drops of water and went into the forest and put them on the fire. Then it went back to the stream and did it again, and it kept going back, again and again and again. All the other animals watched in disbelief; some tried to discourage the hummingbird with comments like, “Don’t bother, it is too much, you are too little, your wings will burn, your beak is too tiny, it’s only a drop, you can’t put out this fire.”

And as the animals stood around disparaging the little bird’s efforts, the bird noticed how hopeless and forlorn they looked. Then one of the animals shouted out and challenged the hummingbird in a mocking voice, “What do you think you are doing?” And the hummingbird, without wasting time or losing a beat, looked back and said, “I am doing what I can.”

Posted in Overuse, Tourism Tuesday

Kauai Strategic Tourism Plan

•September 18, 2018 • 1 Comment

Tourist Tuesdays seem to a be a semi-permanent feature, as many of the blog’s followers send me articles each week. This one was sent on Sunday. The tourism industry in Kauai is now partnering with residents to limit the amount of visitors. Here are some excellent points that are equally as applicable to Big Sur.

“On Kauai, as in many world-class visitor destinations, times have changed,” it concludes. “We are at a tipping point and the risk of overtourism threatens the environment, quality of life and the visitor experience.

“For the visitor industry to continue to thrive and be a positive contributor to our economy, it must also be a vital partner in contributing to the quality of life for Kauai residents and protecting our island’s precious resources. This requires a ‘refocus’ within the visitor industry.”

Ann Walton of Community Coalition Kauai, who also helped develop the plan, summed up the apparent feelings of many.

“No one said this would be simple. It’s going to take a major effort to diversify our mono-economy: re-thinking how humans interact with the natural environment, our greatest asset and most prominent marketing tool; changing the visitor experience from one of overcrowded attractions and time spent sitting in traffic; and, returning to the rural lifestyle our residents deserve,” Walton said. “As the document recognizes, what constituted a success in the past, when viewed through a different lens, we now see as a crisis.”

For the rest of this article see: http://www.thegardenisland.com/2018/09/16/hawaii-news/overtourism-on-kauai/

 

Posted in Tourism Tuesday

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