Big Sur: The Coastline That Played Hide-and-Seek
Some places reveal their beauty at a glance.
Big Sur prefers to keep you guessing.
We drove along California’s spectacular coastline, where mountains tumble towards the Pacific Ocean and the road winds between rocky slopes and breathtaking drops.
But the fog had its own plans.
One moment, cliffs stretched into the distance, each ridge fading into a softer shade of grey until the farthest coastline seemed to dissolve into the sea.
The next, mist crept across the hills, hiding the view as if someone had drawn a curtain across the landscape.
The Pacific stretched endlessly before us.
Somewhere across that vast expanse lay Japan, thousands of miles away.
Standing on the California coast, it was fascinating to think of the distant shores on the other side of this enormous ocean.
Then came Bixby Bridge, rising dramatically above the rugged landscape.
Even wrapped in fog, it held its own quiet grandeur.
There were other surprises.
A little waterfall plunged down a rocky cliff into the restless sea.
Cattle grazed peacefully on golden grass, seemingly unaware of their spectacular surroundings.
Fire engines on the dry hillsides reminded us that this beautiful wilderness needed protection too.
But perhaps the greatest pleasure was sharing these moments with family.
We stopped, admired, photographed and pointed out discoveries to one another.
Big Sur did not give us a perfect postcard view at every turn.
It gave us something better. A living landscape that changed before our eyes.
The coastline played hide-and-seek. And we were happy to keep playing.
