Photo of Bixby Bridge, Big Sur, CA taken the day PCH reopened- April 21, 2011
Heavy winter rains caused several slides closing portions of Pacific Coast Highway 1, better know as PCH. On March 6, a slide 14 miles south of Big Sur on the north side of the Rocky Creek Bridge, washed 100 feet of road down hundreds of feet into the ocean below. This section reopened to single lane limited traffic on April 21, just in time for my drive out of Carmel to Big Sur for lunch at one of my all time favorite spots, Nepenthe.
Double click pics for larger view.
Further down the coast at the town of Gorda, (60 miles south of Carmel) PCH is still closed due to a landslide making it impossible to drive the Coast Highway from Carmel to Southern California. The alternate rout, traveling south from Carmel, is Hwy 101 to Paso Robles then west on Hwy 46 to Cambria on the coast.
Hillsides are still a spectacular velvet green, but not for long. Shortly they will turn brown until next winter’s rain.
Tom Irwin- April 21, 2011. Favorite Spot- Nepenthe, Big Sur
Big Sur looking north toward Bixby Bridge
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