Butter Date: Ventana Wilderness

Bixby Bridge, Big Sur

Looking down the barrel of an empty weekend the only reasonable response is...Big Sur!

View from Ventana Inn

Before moving up here, the idea of going to Big Sur on a whim for a weekend had been our shared design. And when the weather report all but heralded an entire weekend in the 70's we decided we would camp. 70's in February!? I love you, California.
So Friday we loaded the wagon with all our camping gear and hit the road. It never fails to blow my mind how much stuff two people can have just to go camping, for less than 48hrs no less. Backpack campers we are not. Car camping suits us just right.

our campsite

We watched the sun set on our drive down PCH and arrived to the campsite just after dark. Pitching a tent in the pitch black is never fun but it was well worth it to awake in Big Sur the next morning.

reading by the campfire

It may come as no surprise that my favorite part about camping is the cooking!
The only challenge here is my favorite part of Big Sur are the restaurants, namely the Big Sur Bakery. So how then does one reconcile these two loves? Split the difference.

guacamole!

Campfire 'baked' potatoes

an unconventional use of a weenie roaster!

grilled asparagus with homemade arugula pesto

Tired from the drive Friday night, we opted for a simple campfire dinner: grilled asparagus and 'baked' potatoes in the campfire (a girl scout classic)! On the side we feasted on a giant bowl of guacamole and tortilla chips, another campsite favorite.

Spanish Tortilla, camping style

With the leftover 'baked' potatoes, I was inspired to try my hand at a Spanish Tortilla, or a potato omelette the next morning. While I am no Spaniard, I was quite pleased with the results.

Outside at Big Sur Bakery

Second Breakfast!!!

Before trekking out on a big hike, we decided to get our strength up with second breakfast at Big Sur Bakery! A bobstock and a coffee set us right to hike the Pine Ridge Trail, a rather strenuous hike set in the beautiful Ventana Wilderness.

Along the Pine Ridge Trail

Set deep into the Ventana wilderness

the moon above the Ventana double cone

The trail was very narrow and very steep but the sprawling views of the valley and the Ventana wilderness pay off big time. We're not sure how far we hiked but we were on the trail for 3+ hours, the whole time looking for widening of the trail to take a picnic break. Since we saw none in the 3+ hours on the trail, we made a picnic at the base of the trail.

a perfect picnic spot

base of the Pine Ridge Trail

The perfect spot to watch the sunset in Big Sur might be Nepanthe, Ventana Inn or Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn but we were just as pleased parking the car along the side of PCH and watching it from there!

We went to The Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant for dinner where I enjoyed an amazing smoked duck pizza, an unbelievably perfect pairing with Pinot. Really, the duck/pinot pairing would make a convert of any vegetarian or wine-hater around!