La Gaviota
The men of explorer Gaspar de Portolà‘s expedition named the place La Gaviota, Spanish for seagull, in 1769. The official diarist of the expedition, Father Juan Crespí, called the coastline San Luis, in honor of the King of France.
Later, during the Mexican-American War, when General John C. Frémont and his 700 men of the California Battalion were marching south to Santa Barbara (1, 2, 3), he learned that Mexican californio troops were waiting in ambush for him at Gaviota Pass. Rancher William Benjamin Foxen led Frémont’s men through nearby San Marcos Pass on Christmas eve, 1846. The American troops went on to occupy Santa Barbara without any bloodshed.
Even later, a young Dustin Hoffman, playing the title character Benjamin Braddock in the movie, “The Graduate,” drove a beautiful new Alfa Romeo through the mist and into the Gaviota Tunnel (officially the Gaviota Gorge Tunnel [in my photo above]).
The photo above was taken from a tripod in a “truck-parking space” (sure, the driver made me move, but he did not run me down! 
) in a Caltrans rest area with the only public restrooms along a 250-mile stretch of Highway 101 between Los Angeles and the community of Bradley, north of San Luis Obispo (there is a beautiful 360-degree panoramic photo at this SLO link!), according to the official Gaviota State Park Web site.
Gaviota State Park comprises 2775 acres that offer hikers grand vistas of Gaviota Pass and the Pacific Ocean. The Gaviota State Park site offers a map and details of the trails, which include a large wind-carved cave and large oaks. Another site describes the Gaviota Hot Springs and Gaviota Peak Trail. Yet another site focuses on Gaviota State Park’s beach and camping, swimming, picnicking, scuba, and surf fishing, a railroad trestle of the Southern Pacific Railroad (the “Ghost Bridge”) and an old highway bridge that once served automobile traffic in the area. According to this last Web site, a telephone number for camping reservations and information is (805) 968-1033.
-Bill at
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