Redwood Hwy to Patrick's Point

Caspar Beach was a bit of a disappointment. While the beach looks beautiful with a stream coming in on either side it's a bit grungy and the RV park was crowded and noisy.  Still we met some nice people and did some nice hikes.

For brunch we stopped in Fort Bragg at the North Coast Brewery (yes - they have breakfast, lunch and dinner).  The food is good and the beers are great.  The Garlic Waffle flies are to die for (especially if the American Heart Association hears about them). 

Entrance to North Coast Brewery

Hwy 20

After remembering a stretch of Hwy 1 just north that's so narrow and winding Toby almost got car sick the last time we were in the area, we take the advice of locals to cut over to Hwy 101 via 20. Hwy 20 is goes through Samuel Jackson Redwood park and was a very pleasant drive and nice to get back into some sunshine.

Samuel Jackson Park

Drier country close to Willits

Redwood Hwy 101 & Avenue of the Giants

It's *much* warmer by the time we get to Willits - temps ranging from mid 80's to low 90's versus 50's to 60's on the coast.  Feels good to be able to trade shorts for fleece for awhile.  This part of California is a strange mix... from the sublime:

Now that's a REDWOOD!

Electric Blue Eel River

Great ride through Redwoods

to the ridiculous and downright bizarre:

Do people really believe in Sasquatch?

Carved redwood statue

He who dies with the most toys, wins

By the time we get to Eureka temps have cooled down considerably and we are back into the fog as we near our RV camp for the night.

Eureka Slough

Into the fog

Azalea Glen

Our camp for the night is a wonderful little RV park right across the street from Patrick's Point State Park (great place to hike if you don't have dogs along as dogs aren't allowed on the trails).

Splinter @ campsite

Hound Hangout

Peter doesn't do AMs well

Do Not Feed the Otters

Zen lillies

Camp sites across the pond

Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Caspar Beach

Russian River

Not far from the Fort is the Russian River and where it joins  with the Pacific.

Russian River

Mouth of Russian River

Seals basking on island

Close up of island at river mouth reveals a large colony of seals. No wonder this area was so popular with the Russian fur trade.

Sonoma Coast

Even on a foggy day, the winding drive up the coast is a beautiful trip. Here are some of the sights along the way.

Long & Winding Road

with many small coves

and scenic overlooks

Through fog,

sunshine,

and overcast.

Lunch Stop at Sea Ranch

Lodge Entrance

Lovely, but pricey overlook for guest

Hungry

Bicyclists

We were surprised at how many bikers we saw coming down the coast, especially since there's NO bike lane, the road is windy and narrow. We shuttered to think of the bicyclist/log truck/monster RV all passing each other at once.

Close Encounters

Hey buddy, can you spare some room to work?

Caspar Beach

We finally arrive at our destination for the next two nights. Sorry, no more pics my one and only camera battery needs recharging.

Pano of Casper Beach

Fort Ross

Shortly past Bodega Bay going north is Fort Ross Historical Park.  It's well worth the $8 entry fee (even if we had left our CA State Park pass back at the house).

Splinter @ Fort Ross

Visitor's Center

This fort was the farthest south of the Russian settlements and was built orginally for the fur trade. The Russians brought Aluets with their kayaks from Alaska to hunt down the once populous sea otters. They also brought carpenters and tradesmen to build the fort out of the once plentiful redwoods.

Russian flag flies over the Fort

Inside the Fort looking at the Pacific

The blockhouse (heavily fortified with cannons) was the first line of defense against the British and Spanish who had competing interests in the area (hummmm... sounds a bit like our modern competition for oil in the Middle East).

Outside

Inside

The store house was the main hub of activity and to us the most interesting to visit because it shows how the Russians made their living.

Store House

Real Goods

Business Office

The main attraction, at least for modern tourists, is the lovely church.

Water well and Church

Postcard shot

Inside altar w copula

Of course we couldn't leave without some goofing off around the fort.

Marti attempts to light off a cannon

Peter poses as the ghost of a fur trader

1

Bodega Bay

Like most trips, we got off an hour or two later than we would have liked, but we were on the road and that was all that mattered.  First we took Hwy 1 from Santa Cruz to San Francisco.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

This lighthouse was named for the good ship Pigeon which was caught on the rocks just off the shore with all hands lost.  After the tragedy, the lighthouse was built to prevent losing any other ships on the rocky shore.

Devil's Slide

Devil's Slide is one of the more notorious sections of Hwy 1. With my fear of heights, I'm always happy to be going north rather than south and to be traveling through in good weather.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge with fog

I always love crossing the Golden Gate (and never tire of taking shots of it).  Here's the best one of the many taken crossing this time.

Light at end of the tunnel

Fog pouring over Marin Headlands

One price of leaving home two hours later than planned, was hitting the Marin Headlands in late afternoon in summer when the fog gets sucked inland with a vengeance. The fog was pouring in so fast Peter had trouble controlling the van through the heavy wind..

5pm gridlock in Marin

and the other problem with leaving late is TRAFFIC!  ... all the way to Petaluma no less. People commute to SF from Petaluma??? But I thought it was the chicken capitol of California, not a bedroom community for SF.

Bless the diamond lane, but why did it have to end so soon?

We pulled into our camp site at Doran Beach around dinner time and treated ourselves and the puppies to a nice long walk on the ocean side of the sand spit.

Walking hounds @ Bodega Bay

Checkers checks out a crab

In the morning, we watched a parade of fishing boats going out of the bay side of the strand for the day's catch. They streamed past our Sprinter camper and sped up just as they passed.

Fishing boats leaving Bodega Bay early am