A road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), starting from ... and traffic can vary, especially in Big Sur. Download offline maps and book lodging early during peak season.

Globe-trotting correspondent Robert Wernick heads west, to the precipitous cliffs that plunge into the Pacific at Big Sur ... Tourists driving Highway 1 along the coast will find the land here ...

Operators are using two massive remote-controlled earth-moving machines, maneuvering them like toys in a massive sandbox.