The San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles Express

We dragged the Tincan from Pismo Beach State Park up to the El Chorro Regional Park just north of San Luis Obispo.

A short walk from our campsite is the trail up to Eagle Rock with panoramic views of the surrounding “Irish” Hills.

All this talk of the wildflower “super bloom ” made us eager to find a place we’re we could do some flower peeping. We were not disappointed.

El Chorro Regional Park is located on CA Highway 1. Highway 1 runs up the coast of California and we used our proximity to checkout the many vista points and beaches near us.

Elephant Seal Point

After a long winter at sea the seals return to this rookery in the spring to molt and rest up. These mammals are huge, males are 3,000 to 5,000 lbs. and females weighing in at up to 1,800 lbs..

If you time the tides right you can explore the numerous tide pool along the highway.

Morro Bay was a short drive up Highway 1 from El Chorro. The Morro Strand and Morro Rock Beach were too enticing to ignore.

The Strand offered lots of shore birds for watching and sand dollars for the taking.

The Morro Rock is a dominating landmark on Morro Bay. The rock is actually a volcanic plug and one of nine extinct volcanic peaks in the area.

Morro Bay is also home to an Elfin Forest.

The forest preserve protects a group of Pygmy Oaks which can range in height from seven to twelve feet tall.

The boardwalk through the forest offers great views of Morrow Bay and the surrounding mountains.

The town of Cambria is located off Highway 1 and is home to the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve with its scenic Bluff Trail.

We had a great time exploring the area around El Chorro Regional Park and we are sure to return. It’s time to move inland for a few days and checkout the Paso Robles wine country. We opted for a private RV park that put us close to the action.

Those are vineyards behind the Tincan.

Wineries in Paso Robles are abundant. We spent an afternoon cruising the back roads to checkout the local offerings.

This is a beautiful grape growing area.

Dilecta is one of the smallest producers in the area, 800 cases annually. The owner-vintner conducted the tasting and his Mom did the label art work.

A rare sighting of us together at the Tablas Creek Vineyards which produces excellent Rhône style wines.

Paso Robles isn’t just about wine. Beer culture has made some serious inroads. We visited Firestone Waker, Barrel House Brewing and Silva Brewing. All three are offering up some tasty brews but to our taste Silva was the best of the group.

Of course, all the beer gardens are family friendly.

The sun has set on Paso Robles and the Sierras are calling.