I am still going through my Big Sur images and came across this one. It was from the very beginning of my trip into Big Sur country. It was at this moment this exact moment I felt a sense of awe and inspiration. The clouds floating by were only a 100 or 200 feet above me. You wanted to jump up and grab them. When I saw this view I pulled over almost to a screeching halt (don’t tell Dollar-Rent-A-Car).
Now the trip to this point was perfect. My plane landed on time and my rent a car worked as expected. I even had a chance to spend a few days with friends in Venice Beach when I first arrived. My hosts totally spoiled me with home cooked meals and intoxicating exotic concoctions made with fresh herbs from their garden. As most people living in the steamy broiling concrete jungle we reside in during summer would agree this was a welcome reprieve. Even with this and the chance to sleep with the windows open (man, I miss that) I couldn’t wait to begin my trip up north. I left Venice Beach a full day earlier than planned.
As I stood on the side of the road with this amazing view and the cool ocean breeze it felt amazing. Seeing the foot hills of Big Sur as I’ll call them off in the distance I became truly inspired and still. There was no traffic, no noise, no sirens like I’m listening too as I write this or air conditioners humming away in the background. I was experiencing a peaceful moment that instantly alleviated my concerns about this trip and the maps I had laid out all over the passenger seat. I’d never been to this part of California before I’d heard of it sure but I’d never been there. The picture above immediately dissolved any fear I had of invested my time and energy into false hopes of a great road trip. Taking a long deep breathe I got back into the car completely inspired for what lay ahead of me. I pulled back onto the road heading directly up into the mountains of Big Sur quietly listening and watching.
Most experienced travel photographers know the challenges in packing for an extended trip. What to bring what can be left behind – do I really need the third lens? I want it but my backpack is already tipping the scales at 22 lbs. These are the instinctive decisions one has to make. Yup we’ve all been there and traveling in Europe the airlines are even stricter weight wise so it’s second nature pack, weigh the bag, repack, weigh the bag. It’s almost comical I never zip my bag up the night before no matter how many times I’ve rechecked it. I have to do it one last time before I grab a cab to the airport.
The one thing more critical than anything in your bag anything you could remember to bring is simple, innate curiosity. It weights nothing, costs nothing and is the single most important tool required to help you reap any rewards on a trip. The image above taken in Big Sur for those of you unfamiliar with Big Sur it is on route 101 in northern California. It’s a windy, switch back ridden, treacherous road that calls for two handed driving. Believe me you won’t be tempted to text on this coastal road not that you can get service anyway it’s a total dead zone for cell reception. Every 1/4, 1/2 mile or so there’s a small spot you can pull over grab your camera get out and see the most beautiful vista’s I’ve seen yet in this beautiful country of ours. After about thirty or forty times of doing this on the other hand it’s get tried, hey your tried with only three to five hours sleep and dealing with jet lag.
Now on one of these stops after hours of driving I saw a bunch of cars on the side of the road and quickly checked my rear view and pulled over. I walked a bit saw a pathway that people were on but not much of a view. To get on the path was a five minute walk down the road and I had limited time so after walking toward the path after about a minute or two I said the heck with it and turned back to my car. After about fifteen to twenty steps I stopped and said to myself “I have to see what these people are doing”. I was simply too stubborn and curious to not continue knowing I’ll probably have wasted twenty minutes on nothing and daylight was burning. Though I wanted the sunset (what photographer doesn’t) I didn’t want to get stuck on this road in the dark for several hours driving back to my hotel. As my feet finally hit the dirt path I walked about 50 yards wondering what I’d see and soon I saw a partial view of a cove, nice I said to myself. I took a frame or two and walked a bit further not thinking there was much else. Until I began to hear water not ocean waves mind you but water falling it was faint at first but it peaked my curiosity enough that I continued walking. Yup that is definitely water falling a small roar could now be heard. Not 25 yards more rounding a bend in the path I saw something that just made me smile as weary and tried and caffeine deprived as I was and proceeded to get one of the best shots of the trip. A water fall crashing down on a deserted beach!! Sweet!! The image shown is cropped down a larger version of it is on my home page. Had I had more time and known the area better I probably now looking back would have waited most the day for sunset and dealt with the ride back in the dark but these are the trade offs. Besides I still had hundreds of miles yet to explore what other surprises awaited me I thought to myself.
The most important thing I packed in my bag had I not brought with me would have had me walking back to my rent a car empty handed pulling back onto route 101 never knowing about this coastal secret so lovely to behold. The moral and there is one, is always, always!! bring your curiosity cause you never know what is behind the next bend in the road or path taken.
