Carrizo Plain National Monument to Vandenberg AFB SFB
The next morning I was up with the sun – at about 6 am – and there was no going back to sleep for a little while longer. I made my coffee, packed up, and headed out while there was still a haze hanging over the valley.
I stopped for breakfast – a proper (non-instant) coffee and a croissant – in Santa Margarita. I caught up on the morning’s news with the cell service, then got back on the road.
In San Luis Obispo I took a turn onto Prefumo Canyon Road to add some excitement that wasn’t the highway. The road left the outskirts of SLO and climbed into the hills west of the city. The road followed a ridge where I could see views of Morro Rock and the Pacific Ocean off in the distance.
After exiting through See Canyon, I took a wrong turn – are there wrong turns when you’re riding? – and went into Avila Beach. Running low on gas, I looked for a gas station but couldn’t find one. I made my way back to Highway 101 and continued south, finding gas in Pismo Beach.
I arrived at Vandenberg AFB SFB in the early afternoon and checked into my campsite at Wall Beach. There was a wall separating the campground from the beach. It was a nice touch to block the wind off the ocean. I wondered if this was another case of the military giving things uncreative names. There’s a wall! We’ll call it Wall Beach. In this case, the answer was no. The beach is named for the “wall” of cliffs above the beach.
After sunset, I discovered I was the only one at the campground. That was pretty nice, and quiet. The ocean view and sounds of the waves was well worth it for only $15 a night.
It was windy all night, but not so much that it was annoying.