Coastal Landscape: A view of the coastline, Highway 1, and the iconic Bixby Bridge is seen from a viewpoint about a dozen miles south of Carmel, Calif. and a short distance from the bridge. The late afternoon sunlight gives the scene a warm glow as the sun sets. The west coast provides many scenic views but images including Bixby Bridge have become iconic views. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
McWay Falls: McWay Falls can be seen when traveling California Highway 1 through Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We enjoyed exploring the Big Sur coastline with its many popular scenic locations. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Travels in 2025 led us on two trips to the west coast where we spent a total of seven weeks exploring various locations primarily in the southern portion of California.
We traveled the California coast from San Diego to Santa Cruz during the first half of 2025. Several locations were repeat visits while we discovered many new sites along the coast in central California.
In between our coastal explorations we spent a week in March at Death Valley National Park. This proved to be an excellent time to visit the park as temperatures were pleasant if not a little cool and the crowds were minimal. This was our first visit to Death Valley and we enjoyed visiting several sites within this huge national park.
The images in this Post will feature some of the highlights of our travels in California. Next week will feature other travels elsewhere primarily in the western region of the country.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Magic Carpet: Ice plant ground cover is seen throughout the Monterey Peninsula and Pacific Grove, Calif. The plant blooms from late April until early June producing fluorescent pink and purple blooms. Shown is a popular area in Perkins Park on the shores of Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove seen in May 2025. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Keyhole: A keyhole arch creates a stunning site as waves crash into the sea stack and waters pour through the keyhole Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, Calif. The beach is known for large waves crashing into the rocky shoreline creating big splashes and great scenery. For a short period of time in January sunlight creates a striking view as the sun light passes through the keyhole creating spectacular lighting as the waves pass through the keyhole. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Big Sur Camping: We enjoyed staying in Big Sur for a few days including camping in the famous Big Sur State Park. Campsites in the park are surrounded by coastal Redwood trees, pines, and other trees. Shown is our van as we leave the campsite for a day of exploring and site seeing around Big Sur. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Zabriskie View: A view toward the south from the Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. The walkway at Zabriskie Point reveals a portion of the badlands in the area. The textures of the landscape and the various colors of the soil and rocks are easily visible from the walkway and viewpoint. The popular viewpoint is named in honor of Christian Zabriskie who was an executive with the Pacific Coast Borax Company over 100 years ago. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Salt Flats: Salt Flats cover hundreds of square miles on the floor of Death Valley National Park. Shown are visitors as they explore the salt flats at Badwater Basin in the national park. The flats look like snow from a distance but are hard as a rock to walk across. Badwater Basin is a must stop especially for first time visitors to Death Valley. The elevation at Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level. In the distance in the photo is Telescope Peak, which is the highest point in the national park. The peak still had a covering of snow when we visited the park. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com