Big Sur, CA

December 17, 2013

Welcome to Big Sur State Park!  As we were walking around, ashes were falling from the sky.  That’s not normal.  We looked at the sun and it was glowing red.  There was a forest fire.  It was only like 20% contained!  We met some nomads that were all beardy.  The women had long hair.  They only had their bikes, tents, clothes, and a few other things.  They invited us to come to their camp at night while they sing by the campfire.  I felt pretty awkward so all I did was stare into the fire.  When it finally got freezing, Tyler and I took action.  We told Mom it was so cold and she agreed.  We left my Dad to talk with them while we settled into the warm RV.  Some firefighters camped there too.  They made us feel safer and would tell us if we needed to evacuate.  Fortunately, we didn’t have to leave at all.  By the time we got up, the nomads were gone.  We drove off.  We saw the nomads taking a rest, but we couldn’t pull over.  We kept driving and saw a hitchhiker we couldn’t pick him up because Tyler and I were here.

~Jack

After careful deliberations with Kevin, Julia, Google Earth, Google maps, Map Quest and all the other mapping programs available, we decided to “take the plunge” and drive down to Big Sur on Route 1 in this 32 footer.  

The drive did not disappoint! There were lots of turnouts and vistas to stop at.  We had lunch at the top of one vista overlooking the Bixby Bridge in the distance.  When I was getting out of the RV, I did not notice a small lip in the pavement and went down ever so slowly and gracefully with both cameras in my hands.  Thankfully, the cameras survived with only minor scratches, I wish I could say the same about my knees!  One knee has a good scrape, one is bruised and my baby toe is pretty bruised too. Ouch! Better me than the kids. I got my pic though!

The ride turned out to be easier than we had imagined and arrived early at our destination, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.  Approaching our destination we had noticed some smoke in the distance, what we did not realize was that it was right where we were staying.  I had Scott pull over so I could take a photo.  The sun, at 2:30 PM, was a bright red fireball.  I really had never seen anything like it in my life!

2:30pm sun thru the smoke

Upon check-in we chatted with the Ranger and she told us that the fire had started at 1:30am the night before.  Allegedly,  some homeless, transient poured propane on some trees and lit it on fire.  The Fire Chief of this small community lost her home along with a 14 other homes lost.  Over 500 acres have burned and about 100 people have been evacuated.  The population is only 1,000 residents, so the impact of this fire is pretty big to the locals that live here.

As bits of ash were falling, the Ranger assured us we would be safe and notified well in advance if we needed to leave.  They do not have anything to plug into here, so if we needed to leave, we were all ready to go at a moments notice.  Upon check-in, we also met some nomads on bicycles.  The first guy we met was quite articulate, smart and peaceful. He said he sold everything in 1995 and has been traveling like this for the past 18 yrs! They were in a group of 10.  They referred to each other as brother and sister.  A quick google search and I came up with this statement, which I would say sums them up.

“The mission and purpose of THE MODERN DAY NOMADS is to glorify God by creating an environment that compels us to move beyond the chaos of daily life to the throne of God. To humbly serve Him in a spirit of excellence as ministers of music and media, and through music and media, prepare hearts to receive His Word and draw into close relationship with HimThrough His Son Jesus Christ in whom we serve”  website: http://themoderndaynomads.wordpress.com

Scott and the boys got on their bikes, while I nursed my knee, and met a few more of the group, brought them some extra firewood etc.  One young man came back after we ate and invited us over to their campfire to listen to music. 
We definitely like the boys to experience all they can I brought my camera and tripod hoping to get some nice photos around the fire because we really have not had that campfire experience yet.  I first asked them if it was ok to take a few photos and the answer was no.  One girl said that they were like the Amish, they like to remain somewhat anonymous and I respect that.  The kids and I stayed for about an hour and Scott walked us back and returned for another hour. 

While, I was not as “chatty” as usual because they were a softer crowd, I was able to have a couple side conversation with some of the girls.  One girl, I especially liked, was originally from New Jersey, pretty with dark long hair.  She even spent time living in Chicago.  Honestly, she is someone that could have been my friend while I was living there.  I asked her about her family. She did keep in touch with her mom, but, has also been living like this for 13 yrs, she is 37 now.  I just think their families must miss them an awful lot.  I did not want to probe too much into their personal life because I pretty much assumed they would not want to share too much.  Another woman was 56 and I could tell had a nice, big personality.  The roads here are tough to drive, let alone bike!  She said 2 of the guys had to help her, one by pulling her and one by pushing!  She said they also had to throw out supplies that were too heavy.

While Scott was still out, they noticed fire trucks moving into the camping area.  They used this place to stage the deployed firefighters from around the state.  Scott felt safe knowing the firefighters were here and if they left, surely we would too.  

We woke up to a calm morning.  I’m not sure what it will look like outside the park but we will be moving on later this morning.  One of the camp hosts told us about an Elephant Seal Rookery further south down Route 1 and we hope to see that in the next day or so.

We are all safe and will be heading out of the wildfire area soon.

~Linda