During a 2007 California conference trip, I spent the Saturday after the conference exploring Pinacles National Monument, south of San Jose. An ancient volcano that straddled a fault line was split in two as the plates along the fault slide in opposite directions. Half the remnants are here, and have eroded into a rugged landscape (the other half is several miles to the south now). Roads enter the east and west side of the monument, but do not connect because of the landscape. Hiking is the primary activity here.

I had been to the ... (more)