“The Bakery,” Pinnacles National Monument, date unknown California Historical Society |
“National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”
—Western historian and author Wallace Stegner, 1983From Redwood National Park in the north to Joshua Tree in the south, California’s parks are as varied and diverse as the population of the Golden State itself. The oldest, Yosemite, was established in 1890; the youngest, Pinnacles, graduated from monument to park just three years ago, on January 10, 2013. Each California park has its own kind of beauty and all are a reflection of the society into which they were born.
In celebration of our national heritage, The National Park Service has declared April 16 to April 24 National Park Week. This year, the NPS—in conjunction with its centennial anniversary on August 25 and in partnership with the National Park Foundation—is offering free admission at every national park during National Park Week.
The California Historical Society joins the celebrations with the following images from the CHS and NPS collections of the geological and springtime delights at Pinnacles National Park.
Pinnacles National Park: A Walk on the Wild Side
High Peaks Wildflowers, Pinnacle National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
“In the spring, Charley, when the valley is carpeted with blue lupines like a flowery sea, there’s the smell of heaven up here, the smell of heaven.”With its total of nine National Parks, California offers residents and visitors choices for every season of the year. In a year like this one, when rainfall in the northern and central parts of the state has been back to normal levels, this is the time to visit places that will soon turn “golden” as the weather warms. Right now, many landscapes are surreal shades of green and carpets of wildflowers are abundant.
—John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962)
Sitting astride Monterey and San Benito counties, southeast of the Salinas Valley, Pinnacles—California’s newest National Park—is a geologic wonder amidst rolling hills. Just west of the Gabilan Mountains, the park is on the wilder edge of what author Steve Crouch called “Steinbeck Country,” in reference to the region featured in the novels and short stories of California’s Nobel Prize–winning native son.
Rainbow, 2016, Pinnacles National Park Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Ancient volcanoes and continuous seismic action helped create the park’s tall spires, talus caves, and the spring-fed valley called Bear Gulch.
High Peaks, Pinnacles National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Talus Cave, Pinnacles National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Bear Gulch, Pinnacles National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Pinnacles National Monument, date unknown California Historical Society |
Pinnacles National Monument brochure, date unknown California Historical Society |
“Lizard Rock,” Pinnacles National Monument, date unknown California Historical Society |
Yarrow, Pinnacles National Park, 2014 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
California Poppy, Pinnacles National Park, 2014 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Green Bee on a Yellow Pincushion, Pinnacles National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Condor Release, Pinnacles National Park, 2008 Courtesy of Sara Bartels/National Park Service |
Tarantula in the Sun, Pinnacles National Park, 2016 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
Large spiders aside, this National Park may truly be California’s springtime gem.
High Peaks at Sunset, Pinnacles National Park, 2013 Courtesy of the National Park Service |
“The sun took a long time to set on the last day of May . . . the Santa Lucia range to the west was rim-lit interminably by the hot glare of the sun hanging poised above the Pacific; meanwhile across the valley the highest peak of the Gabilans and the jagged volcanic plugs of the Pinnacles were turning a deep red.”
—Steve Crouch, Steinbeck Country (1973)
Alison Moore
Strategic Projects Liaison
amoore@calhist.org
Shelly Kale
Publications and Strategic Projects Manager
skale@calhist.org
Sources
- Steve Crouch, Steinbeck Country (Palo Alto: American West Publishing, 1973)
- Alison Hawkes, “More Visitors Expected as Pinnacles Becomes a National Park,” Bay Nature, Feb. 21, 2013; http://baynature.org/article/more-visitors-expected-as-pinnacles-becomes-a-national-park/
- Hikes in Pinnacles National Park, http://www.hikespeak.com/central-coast/pinnacles-national-monument/
- National Geographic, “Pinnacles National Park,” http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/pinnacles-national-park/
- National Park Service, 2008 Condor Release, Pinnacles National Park; https://www.nps.gov/pinn/learn/nature/release08.htm
- Office of Congressman Sam Farr, “House Passes Farr Bill to Establish Pinnacles National Park,” Press Release, 2012; http://farr.house.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases-archive/2012-press-releases/895-house-passes-farr-bill-to-establish-pinnacles-national-park
- Office of Congressman Sam Farr, “President Signs Bill to Create First National Park on the Central Coast, Press Release, 2013; http://farr.house.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases-archive/2013-press-releases/938-president-signs-bill-to-create-first-national-park-on-the-central-coast
- Office of Congressman Sam Farr, “Secretary Salazar, Representative Sam Farr Unveil New National Park,” Press Release, 2013; http://farr.house.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases-archive/2013-press-releases/945-sec-salazar-rep-sam-farr-unveil-new-national-park
- John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America (Philadelphia, PA: Curtis Publishing Co., 1962)
_______________________________________________________________________Read about other parks in the CHS blog series, A Mirror of Us: CHS Celebrates the National Park Service Centennial:
A Mirror of Us: CHS Celebrates the National Park Service Centennial
Death Valley National Park; http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-mirror-of-uschalliss-gore.html
A Mirror of Us: CHS Celebrates the National Park Service Centennial
Joshua Tree National Park; http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-national.html
_______________________________________________________________________Learn more about National Park Week
http://www.nationalparks.org/national-park-week
_______________________________________________________________________Learn more about the NPS Centennial Initiative
http://www.nps.gov/nava/learn/management/centennial-initiative-2016.htm
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