San Juan Bautista to Santa Barbara – 12 December 2022

The road from Betabel to the Pinnacles National Park was a little challenging as it was very windy with several blind corners. Once we got to the campground which was in the Pinnacles National park it was well worth it. The park was fairly empty so it was nice and quiet. We discovered that the park was full of birds and we were lucky enough to see several Condors perched on trees within the park. We also saw a red shouldered hawk with a bright orange breast and mottled wings.

Unfortunately as with other State parks Jax was not allowed on the trails with us.  We took him on some walks within the park and then took off and hiked by ourselves. The first day we hiked from the resort to the start of the Bear Gulch trail and the second day we hiked the Condor Gulch hike from the parking lot, which rose about 600ft with tremendous views of the pinnacle mountain ranges around us.

There was a ranger office at the camping site and also a small store. The Campsite was well maintained but unfortunately only offered electricity and no water or sewer connection. Luckily we were close to a tap. It was so great to be so close to nature.

We stayed for 2 nights in the park and then left for Paso Robles. We had originally planned to stay at a harvest host farm for one night but as there had been a lot of rain, many of the harvest host’s RV spots were washed out. The RV resorts in Paso Robles are very pricey but we ended up booking into Wine Country RV which is one of the Sun Outdoor resorts.  It was quite fancy with a number of outside grills, wine bars and recreation areas. It also had the loveliest kidney shaped hot tub complete with fire pit to warm you up when you get out of the tub.  Luckily the resort was very close to Chronic Cellars and we were able to enjoy a wine tasting and stock up on more of the Sirreal wine we love. 

After Wine Country we moved on to our next RV stop – Rancho Oso, a Thousand trails resort, which was a few hours away in Santa Barbara. Well if we thought the road to Pinnacles was bad, the road to Rancho Oso was worse. First travelling all the way up the mountain and then very narrow, windy roads with blind corners all the way down to the valley. We didnt realize Rancho Oso also bordered on a national park – in this case it was the Los Padres national park. 

Rancho Oso has a large equestrian centre where they offer boarding and outrides with about 70 horses. They also have chickens, goats, peacock, pigs etc. We were fortunate to organize a trail ride with just Derek, myself and the guide. The horses were well behaved and we had a great ride in the park.

The RV Resort has a lot going for it. The scenary is spectacular with mountains all around.   It has several areas to camp, we chose a spot that was on a hill.  There were several tiny homes which are for sale and rent. Also several group camping spots, one had wagons converted into tents and communal areas for eating. 

While in Santa Barbara, we took a trip to a nearby town called Solvang. Solvang is called the Danish capital of the US. The town was founded by danish immigrants in 1911. The entire town has danish architecture with thatched roofs, old world craftsmanship and traditional windmills. There are many danish bakeries so we treated ourselves to coffee with a cream cheese/strawberry danish and also aebleskiver. Took a stroll around town and popped into some of the shops. We bought a small christmas tree and garland. Everything looked so pretty with christmas decorations and lights. 

We were sorry to leave as it was such a beautiful campsite.