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Where is Guadalupe? |
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Wanting to get out of the house for a bit and being ubber broke, I decided to go for a hike. Not only is it free, but I can work off some of the lbs I'm trying to lose. I drove 20 minutes from Santa Maria passing by various farms on Main Street westward to the Dunes Visitor Center, which apparently is closed on Wednesday. Note to self: call places before you go, especially in small towns like Guadalupe. A big city girl like me doesn't think of things like that. At least they had maps telling me where the Dunes are.
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The Dunes cover roughly 18 miles of Central CA coast line from Point Sal Beach to Nipomo. They boast a wide ecological diverse environment and compromise of various parks including Pismo State Beach, Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve, Oso Flaco Lake Natural Area, Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve County Park, Paradise Beach County Park, and Point Sal State Beach.
After driving on a dirt road, reading a sign warning me of mountain lions, and watching bulls graze off in the distance, I finally arrived at the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve County Park.
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The trail leading to the beach is .75 miles and consists of slightly hilly sand dunes. This park has the highest sand dunes on the west coast up to 550 ft high. There is no way in hell I'll be climbing up those.
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Looks like a desert, but we're at the beach | | | | | | | |
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The trail only marked with orange wooden sticks |
As I slowly make my way up the trail, I see a dark blue lake to the left full of ducks and birds flying.
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Lake |
At the end of the trail is the pacific ocean with the beach empty untainted by tourists. I love the serenity of being lost in my thoughts as I stare at the waves crashing on the sand.
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Caught red handed trying to steal my food |
I miss the beach, and I can't wait to go to Pismo and the Oso Flaco Lake Park soon.
Until the next adventure, cutiee23
Links
Dunes Visitor Center; 1055 Guadalupe St. Guadalupe, CA 93434
Guadalupe Nipomo Dunes Center
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