The Big Sur coastline, fog rolling in.

The tiny pink flower of the wild radish.

A wild radish, small but mighty, containing the taste of wildness in Big Sur.

Fog and sun on the road to Andrew Molera State Park.

Tom and I with our official California State Parks volunteer vests, standing next to the kiosk by the parking lot.

The Cooper Cabin, the oldest structure in Big Sur, built in 1861 or 1862 for Molera's grandfather of hand-hewn redwood logs and hand-split redwood shingles.

Tom, standing on the plank bridge that crosses the Big Sur River to the Creamery Meadow Trail to the beach.

A view of the Big Sur coastline with the famous, often photographed Bixby Bridge, opened in 1932 and loved for its aesthetic curve, matching the coast. is one of the tallest single-span concrete bridges in the world.

Eucalyptus trees along the Big Sur coast.

Tom on the Ridge Trail with a view of the Santa Lucia Mountains.

California’s golden hills, a view from the Ridge Trail.

A view up the coastline from the Panorama Trail, which cuts through walls of Morning Glories.

The coastal view from the Bluffs Trail.

Wildflowers blanketing the hills along the Bluffs Trail.

Morning Glories carpeting the trailside.

Bluff lettuce growing in Big Sur.

Manganese garnet dissolving in the rocks create the purple sand along the hidden beach.

A driftwood structure built by visitors at the purple-sand beach.

Bird tracks in the purple sand at the hidden beach off the Bluffs Trail.

Sunset over the Pacific.