Pinnacles National Park - part 3

In my last installment ()https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2022/04/pinnacles-national-park-part-2.html, we had just gotten out of the Bear Gulch Cave...

We continued along the trail on our way to the Bear Gulch Reservoir.

We had a few more cave-like areas to traverse, and then a set of steps to climb...

Climbing the steps...

Carl continuing up the steps...

... until we got to Bear Creek Reservoir.

There were a few other people there, but it was mostly quiet and peaceful.

The overcast skies from earlier in the day had disappeared.

I was heading across the dam area.

Obligatory selfie while we were on the dam

I looked up information about the reservoir:

One of Pinnacle's most iconic sights, the dam creating Bear Gulch Reservoir was completed in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Created to prevent flooding down stream but mainly for its aesthetic value, the reservoir is still a highlight for visitors, surrounded by Pinnacle's rock formations. This is a great spot to have lunch or watch the sunset. To get there, hike one mile up the Moses Spring trail from the Moses Spring Trailhead. Depending on the time of year, you can go through another park highlight, the Bear Gulch caves, on your way. Make this hike a loop by returning on the Rim Trail. The reservoir is important habitat for the red legged frog, a threatened species in California.(https://www.nps.gov/places/bear-gulch-reservoir.htm)

We had planned to make a loop by returning on the Rim Trail to the Bear Gulch parking area so we were happy to find this trail marker for Rim Trail and Bear Gulch area.

Some views along the Rim Trail...

It is amazing how the sunshine changes the view...

Just beautiful scenery...

Valleys and rocks...

This shrub had such brilliant flowers...

Pinks and purples and blues.

Some more views on the way down...

We did a better job of taking pictures on the way down, both because we had not been on this trail previously, and because there were other hikers for whom we would stop and allow to pass us, so we were stopping more, even though we were heading downhill.

Just a couple of last pictures...

The last picture from our visit to Pinnacles National Park.

For not knowing anything about the park before we arrived in this area to doing some research and then making our day there, we found that Pinnacles National Park is very enjoyable, but... you have to get out of the car and hike. You're not going to see much driving on the roads in the park, and, at least from what we saw on the east side, there aren't locations where you can pull off the road and see views immediately.