Ah, Mother Nature. How much we love you!! Just when we get complacent that the storms are over and Big Sur sur-vived, as only she can, you come along and remind us — of your awesome power — and incredible sense of humor!! Wild and colorful displays for us, along with 80 degree weather one day, and cold, heavy rains and mud slides the next. Yes, dear lady, you are one grande dame. We honor and respect you here in your turbulent arms!

From my friend, Debbie, in the valley:

“Well, lots of digging out going on.  Just heard on the scanner they are going to try a escort a few cars through the park entrance area a few at a time on a need basis.  Jo-Ann just left here to try to get to her office.  She had to leave her car last night and wade through the day use road to get home.  Quite a mess.  Juan Higuera overflowed the culvert and brought debris down my driveway again.  I was here and the guys kept going to check on it.  Dogs fine and barking at them at the time.  I went home, no problem.  Basil hoe’d out rock from the culvert and all is flowing fine again.  River was never an issue.  Just raised up a bit and is the dark stinky muddy thing it has been all winter during storms.  I spoke with Debra briefly earlier, they are closing the Lodge tonight because they have to close the sewer plant – really don’t know what that story is.”

Cal-Trans News Release:

“MONTEREY COUNTY – Highway 1 reopened with one-way reversing traffic control with flaggers at 11:30am today after closing yesterday at 6pm due to heavy mud slide activity for four miles from south of Ventana to north of the Big Sur Park (Campgrounds), Caltrans officials have announced.

Maintenance crews will continue working in the area to clear any debris and get the highway fully open. Up to 30-minute delays can be expected and motorists should proceed with caution. Updates will be available as conditions change.”

And if you haven’t seen the photos (still trying to find out the name of the photographer) in the post below, take a look!

I’m waiting and watching. NOAA is predicting up to an inch in the higher mountains by this time tomorrow, as well as possible lightning and hail. I’m not expecting it down here until later this morning. Other possibilities of precipitation later this week, also. It will make the grass and the wildflowers happy, particularly if we get nice warm sunshine next week. 😎

Sprinkles started here about 8:00 am, and there is also wind. Could be an fun little springtime storm.

Spring rains expected tomorrow morning. Yay!! Every little bit helps. NOAA is predicting between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Possibility of further rain Wednesday through Friday, but only a possibility.

Also, on a sad note, dear Miss Sara Byrne’s husband, Greg Denmark, died just short of his 56 birthday in a drowning accident in Washington State about 10 days ago. Our thoughts and love are with you, Miss Sara. (You may remember Sara and Greg from their days at River Inn, she managing the store, and he, doing maintenance.)

Ever since I heard about the incident yesterday in the Valley, I have been trying to confirm what I had heard. There has been a dearth of information about it from the local news media, and all I could get was information from my local sources, which was surprisingly accurate.

Finally, this afternoon, KION, channel 46 in Salinas provided information it obtained from the MCSO. Here is a part of that story:

“According to sheriff’s investigators, two drivers were involved in a traffic collision near the Big Sur River Inn at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday; shortly after, county dispatchers told the deputy on scene that one of the vehicles involved was reported stolen out of Colorado Springs, Colo.  The  driver of the suspected vehicle then fled on foot behind the River Inn.

The deputy and a U.S. Forest Service officer ran after him, and a California Highway Patrol airplane was called to help search the hillside.  Sheriff’s deputies say the man was found about 150 feet up the hillside, lying down under a tree; upon being found, investigators say he put a gun to his head and shot himself dead.”

There is not much I can say, except this man must have been desperate. I am sorry for his family, but given the rash of shootings making the news, I am very grateful that this person did not try to take others with him at the end of his journey. (He has not yet been identified.)

I managed to make it through the entire winter without a cold, flu, or any illnesses at all. I’ve got a great immune system, but somehow, I’ve caught a cold, and am sinking fast.To give you an idea how long it has been since I’ve had a cold, I found some old cold meds that expired in early 2008. I took it anyway.

I’ve been trying to upload a photo by Joyce Duffy all afternoon, and the internet ghouls are interfering. I’ll get it up, here, as soon as the internet fairies intercede in my behalf, assuming I don’t fade first. 😎

“No timeline is in place to reopen the eastern part of Pfeiffer Big Sur Park and the site of the campground.” KSBW-TV reports tonight. 

This is a complex issue that is at the forefront of everyone’s mind in the Big Sur Valley, where businesses rely on the influx of campers to fuel its summer economy. It consumed much of the public discussion at the BSMAAC meeting on Friday, March 20, 2009. Many local business owners are thinking creatively to come up with solutions to reinstall the bridges needed to open the Park, and have recruited politicians Able Maldonado’s office, Sam Farr, and Dave Potter, among many others, to assist in this project.

The state budget fiasco is a continuing problem and is behind the failure to open the State Park. The monies to fund the rebuilding and reinstallation of the two bridges are not available. The State Controller, John Chiang, continues to stop and start payments to independent contractors almost daily, based on the amount of money in the states’ treasury. The website for the Controller’s Office is: http://www.sco.ca.gov/ however, in reviewing it, the information does not appear as up-to-date as that provided, at least for those of us doing appointed indigent appeals,  to us on almost a weekly basis from the Administrative Office of the Courts. I have not found a source of similar information for the bridge contractors, although I am sure they have something similar.

As an independent contractor for the State of California, who provides a constitutionally-mandated service, I am only too aware of the lack of payments to people like myself, and those that have contracted to build and reinstall the bridges. If I could stop work when payments stop, I would. That is what the bridge contractors have done.

Based on all that I’ve read, unless Big Sur itself comes up with some very creative ideas, the park is not likely to open by the beginning of the summer tourist season on Memorial Day. And if the State of California does not come up with long-term budget solutions, quickly, there is no telling when the Big Sur State Park WILL reopen.

One thing that has become clear this Spring Break week, is that with the State Park closed, private campgrounds, as I predicted a month or two ago, are becoming crowded, and lodging here is becoming more and more difficult to find without prior reservations. I suggest anyone interested in visiting Big Sur make reservations far in advance. In fact, one might want to make reservations first, then plan the timing of your vacation here.

Good luck!

Tomorrow, I will go out to the burn area here on the South Coast, looking for wild flower shots to post, but today, it is “kick-back” and unpack day here on the ranch. Gorgeous weather, too.