Day Trip- Parkfield, Earthquake Central!

A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to take a long day trip. You see, we've just purchased a new vehicle- my old car was with me for 13 years, good years that it was kind to me. But alas like all good things of the mechanical nature it got old, it started to get expensive and it was no longer reliable.

At first we were going to take a long weekend and put some miles on it, but at the last minute- well, who am I kidding really it was my procrastination if I'm honest- we decided on a day trip instead. 

Where does one go when one has endless possibilities?!

If one is a giant nerd, then one heads to Parkfield, California. Population: 18.

Why Parkfield? Well a number of reasons really, but the San Andreas Fault was the main reason. We were actually heading to the Mission in Soledad, which is also ultra nerdy of us. As we stopped to get gas in San Miguel (which incidentally also has an amazing Mission) we decided a detour was needed- we were after adventure after all!! We headed out to Parkfield on winding, lonely country roads enjoying the scenery and the very strange weather we were having. 

Our little corner of California does not usually get humid summer weather- we get dry extreme heat or temperate seaside breezes depending on where you are in the County. Well this particular day it was overcast, humid and ready to drizzle. Oh, and did I mention the lightening? Not the sheet lightening we get on very rare occasions but the mythical bolt lightening. The kind of lightening that sets fire to dry, parched trees and hills. The kind that scares the daylights out of landowners the dry world over!

This is where Cal Fire comes into on our little adventure. A Cal Fire truck could be found just about every 10 miles or so just watching and waiting. I felt a bit better about the fact that we were driving right into the funnel cloud, knowing that if the lightening did start a fire, help was just a car horn away!

So with this dramatic scene before us we crossed the tectonic plates that make Parkfield famous (or at least well known- okay, maybe only with nerds!) And let me tell you, it's a crazy feeling to know that you are crossing the very things that created mountains!!

And after our amazingly long but beautiful drive from Parkfield, to Indian Valley Road, onto Peach Tree Road and finally to Hwy 198 we rejoined the world- the busy freeway, the shopping centers and people!

Before long we left all of that behind and found ourselves once again surrounded by fields, mountains and the occasional cow. Arriving at Mission Soledad- Our Lady of Sorrows- we unpacked our lunch and ate surrounded by grape vines, olive trees, high mountains and history. 

What a day!!