John & Anne Wiley

We’ve never been out to the light at Point Sur, and that part of the drive along the flat is less striking to me. But now that we more often fly this route than drive it, this is one of many great vistas.

5617 Pt. Sur to Carmel

I’d assumed this installation on the flat to be associated with the light station, but in researching this series of pix discovered it’s the Point Sur SOSUS Naval Facility. I quite enjoyed reading that wiki about it, though from the air it doesn’t look like much these days.

5615 USN SOSUS Point Sur

By contrast, this beautiful old two-story stone keeper’s house out at the light looks really cool!

5603 Keeper of the Light

Down at the tip of the hill, the current Point Sur Lighthouse is of course truly magnificent and is still useful even in this era of GPS and other electronic aids to navigation. Now it mostly evokes a time when stoic tireless crews operating this beacon were honored for the lives they saved.

5608 Point Sur Light

Molera has some more easily accessible paths to the coast from Hwy. 1, with remarkable beaches like this.

5630 Molera Beach

Those who clamber across the point might glimpse the unusual red sand beach beneath the rock overhang.

5629 Molera Point

I guess few have seen this next spot other than the land owners and their ranch hands, or maybe people who make the dangerous trek along the public coast at low tide.

5625 Caves & Conifers

That sea cave to the right of center looks pretty deep, and the whole place has an appealing magic. I wonder if they ever give tours. My guess is they don’t want the attention and are too busy making a living in this rugged spot between Molera and Pt. Sur.

5621 Dry Ranching a Wet Coast

Pfeiffer State Beach is both popular and little known, because the Big Sur drive is so incredibly beautiful that few people bother to take the short detour to simply Be in this enchanted place. Even on this “busy” perfect warm weekend day the dozen or two people here could walk a few steps and find complete solitude.

5641 Enchanted Beach

The sands, rocks, and waters all conspire to transform the mood of those who take this road less traveled.

5651 Pfeiffer State Beach

Nearby is the more remote Cooper Point with its inexplicable slotted stone pointing to an alien world so familiar to explorers who sample its secrets.

5636 Cooper Point

Trails abound in this region seeming so far from the noise and bustle of the highway, yet only a short hike into a Pacific consciousness.

5632 Panorama Trail

At the base of this trail through salty flowering heather whispers the soul of solitude at the feet of Pfeiffer Ridge. From our magic carpet perspective, patient mountains anchor our awareness. Washing our sandy feet again in waves of Summer memory.

5633 Pfeiffer Ridge

Another of our favorite spots when driving along the Big Sur coast is Nepenthe.

5670 Nepenthe Restaurant

It’s usually busy, so we’ve only scored a table out on the view patio at left a few times. The cafe at right is easier when it’s open, and the patio tables with colorful umbrellas in the middle is where we usually find a spot unless inside by a window. On the ground, we’d never seen the part of the building to the left of that first patio. From the air we also see the buildings nearby, presumably residences for at least some of the great support staff.

5670 Nepenthe Complex

Here’s a rather blurry view of the restaurant from a different angle.

5656 Blurred Memories

It reminds me of delight at seeing planes go by from that deck below the patio as we enjoyed a delicious quiet meal and imagining ourselves up there was a garnish. Up here we can see that it’s actually quite a large community by Big Sur standards.

5661 Nepenthe Region

After the wonders of McWay, mellows out to the routine miracles of Big Sur again. Drivers who slow down and let the hordes pass might notice Partington Cove where you can walk down to the rocky beach and scramble or kayak for a look at the sea caves on the right.

5708 Partington Cove

Atop the point on the left is another creative Big Sur home, far from the suburban tract designs.

5705 Cliff Perch

If you’re not an otter spotter, next along this California Sea Otter State Game Refuge comes Torre Canyon where valiant firefighters managed to spare the watershed trees.

5698 Torre Canyon

Sprawling out toward the point are these homes with a private path down to a small beach near where the creek carved a deep notch to the sea.

5686 Private Partington

If you kept eyes on the road and whizzed past all that without noticing, you might stop to catch your breath at Lafler Canyon.

5682 Lafler Canyon

Looking like giant wine barrels, the buildings here house the Coast Gallery & Cafe with bright red rooftop umbrellas to signal tables where you can coast in to relax and enjoy the view.

5679 Coast Cafe