Garry and I were driving down PCH towards Pescadero yesterday when we saw this big handmade sign that announced, "Straw Maze." We looked at each other and said, let's go! We had no idea what to expect, but we weren't in a rush, so we thought we'd have a little adventure.
The Straw Maze turned out to be a labyrinth that is constructed every year by the men at Arata Pumpkin Farm in Half Moon Bay. They start building it around March/April every year out of some 1500 bales of hay. It takes 3-4 months to construct, and every year it is a different design. They used to only have it up in time for Halloween, their busiest season, but these days they make sure it is ready to go by midsummer so tourists (even local ones like us) can stop by and get a little lost.
The owner got the idea because he was born on Crete and wanted to pay homage to his native culture (remember the myth of King Minos?). We thought that was pretty cool.
Average time to solve the maze is about 30 mins, though we saw a couple that went before us who did it in about 12 min. Garry and I didn't time ourselves because I actually wanted to explore every nook and cranny in the place, even if I knew it was the wrong way. It turned out to be a lot of fun.