Lord's Land CA

It's getting later in the afternoon by the time we cross back into California and we still have not located a campsite for the night. So we drive inland On Hwy 199 to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park  (which shares administration with the National Park Service). Luck is with us as our National Parks geezer card gets us in free with half price camping. You gotta love these senior passes - best deal for surviving into retirement. Plus we score a pleasant large campsite close to some interesting hiking.

Hummm - where should we go next to find a camp?

Late afternoon light through the redwoods on Hwy 199

Our luck continues the next day with beautiful weather for late August.  In fact, it's so nice we buy sandwiches in Trinidad and park down at the beach. Although we have been through Trinidad many times, this is best weather we have ever encountered.  It's so nice many locals are also hanging out at the beach.

Trinidad beach

Harbor in Trinidad

Cove beach off of 101

Another beautiful cove beach

Later in the afternoon, we look for a camp site at MacKerricher State Park just north of Fort Bragg. Again our luck holds and we land in a nice site close to the beach.  Since there's still lots of light left in the day, we take the dogs for a long walk along the beaches. Thank you Cork and Cathy for introducing us to MacKerricher, it's becoming one of our regular stops.

Hwy 1 heading south just north of Fort Bragg

Almost to the park entrance

Nice afternoon for a dog walk

I especially love this part of the coast

David has gone ahead of us to visit with his brother Nathan who's the Director at Lord's Land a little further south on the Mendocino coast. David's promised us a personal tour once we arrive.

The town of Mendocino across from the Big River Estuary A little south of Albion, we turn east on Navarro Ridge Road and drive for several miles until we get to Lord's Land. This property has an interesting history starting with Sabine Ball.  She was born in 1925 in Germany and at age 15 survived the devastating firebombing of Dresden during February of 1945. In her twenties, she moved to the United States where she met and married a wealthy man.  After 10 years, she divorced her alcoholic husband and moved to Santa Barbara, California. She became fascinated by stories of the flower children in San Francisco during the Summer of Love and ended up buying this beautiful piece of land for artists and people pursuing alternative lifestyles. Soon a commune of 50 hippies were living on "The Land" in teepees and handmade cottages. In 1970, a young couple of Jesus followers found their way to the Land and started to share their faith with others in the community. Eventually even Sabine surrendered her life to Jesus. Drugs were discarded and couples married. Many former residents became pastors and missionaries. Other Christians found their way to Lord's Land seeking spiritual renewal in this lovely natural setting. In 1990, the Lord's Land Ministries incorporated.  Then in 2006, the Board of Directors voted to give the land to Youth With a Mission (YWAM) where it remains today.

Almost to Lord's Land

We're here

Inspirational bench

David meets us at the main office.  I grab a camera and we are off on a tour. We start at Big House, which is where many visiting groups are headquartered during their retreats.

Handmade gazebo

Entering the Big House

Large spacious kitchen to feed a crowd

Comfortable living room

Stained glass from an old Church

Inside dinning room

We then move on to the most famous of the handmade structures at Lord's Land, the "Wood Butchers" cabin. It was built entirely from a single old-growth redwood log without using power tools, nails or even hinges. For many years, this cabin was Sabine's home.

Girls must love this doll house

Trail to Wood Butchers cabin

Wood Butchers Cabin

Door pull on entry

Comfy living room

Master bedroom

Deck off master bedroom

"Desire the sincere meat of the word"

Window from living room onto deck

Although I would love to stay longer and explore the other cabins, the day is wearing on and we hope to get through San Francisco before the afternoon rush hour traffic, so we saddle up the camper and continue southward.

Navarro River Estuary

Navarro River Redwoods State Park

Navarro River

Crossing the Golden Gate

Holy Virgin Cathedral Greek Orthodox

Through new tunnel at Devil's Slide

Surfers at Halfmoon Bay

San Mateo coast

Santa Cruz - almost home!

Oregon Farm & Garden

The day after the eclipse the smoke is back even heavier than before. Evacuations are happening for the Black Butte area, which is only a few miles away.  Good thing we had planned to leave today. We decide to meet up at Belknap Hot Springs - a standard stop for us but is new for Cork and Cathy. After parking the registration area, we are immediately drawn to the Naughty Gnome art car. A passerby tells us it belongs to a woman who bar-tended at the big Madras eclipse celebration. Although we don't get to meet her, Cathy and Cork take lots of photos of her car.

Smoke fills the sky from wildfires

Naughty Gnome art car - Gnome Sweet Gnome

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

Say Hello to my Little Friend (my favorite)

After getting settled in our campsites, we take a short walk to the Secret Garden, a favorite location for weddings. It was built by Frank Perry Bigelow around the early 1900's and its design hardens back to the art of Maxfield Parish. It's a beautiful magical place even with smoke filled skies.

Reflections of trees along the path to the Secret Garden

Fast moving stream

Entrance to the Secret Garden

Waterfalls and hard scape

Smokey skies

David, Cathy, and Peter

No wonder it's a popular place for weddings

After spending a relaxing day hanging out at the hot springs, we saddle up for a short drive to Corvallis where we'll be staying with friends at their farm.  Along the way we pass through several old logging communities. All have been hit hard economically by reductions in commercial logging. Some have recovered but others are still struggling. When I attended Corvallis High School, my school would play football against the teams from these towns. The sons of loggers made pretty invincible football players. Soon we pass over the Willamette River into Corvallis.

This town is still praying for better times

Corvallis

Willamette River

Our friends Rick and Sherril live a few miles north of town on several acres of pasture land. Their home is a 100+ year old farmhouse.  The original owner/builders ordered it from a Sears catalog and built it themselves around the early 1900's. Recently the house suffered considerable damage from a fire and parts of it had to be completely remodeled.

Farmhouse front

Campsite out back

The back of the farmhouse

House shortly after it was built

Wonderful new kitchen

Great job Sherril on the remodel!

That afternoon Sherril takes us to the Airlie Winery, which is one of the few owned and operated entirely by women.

Passing farms on the way to the winery

Sign at entrance

We check in at the office

View of the vineyards

We ponder which wines to try as well as which snacks to order

After returning to the farm, Rick gives the guys a tour of his collection of old army vehicles.

Tanker truck

Classic jeep

Rick with all the guys favorite - the dump truck

While the guys are playing around with Rick's rigs, the ladies make good use of Sherril's new kitchen by rustling up a big dish of Paella.

Patti would love this S&P froggy

Salad & Paella

This is certainly a dinner we'll remember

We've all had a great time and are sorry to have to say good-bye the next morning.

Happy campers - Cork, Cathy, Peter, David, and me

Thank you Rick and Sherril - we had a great time

We all head for the Oregon coast, but split up as we near the ocean. Cork and Cathy head north while Peter, David and I go south to Carl Wasburne State Park.

The day's last rays filter through the trees

Our campsite

Campfire

Walking the dogs down the beach at low tide in the morning

It's a gorgeous day as we drive further south along the Oregon coastline... that is until we get closer to Brookings were a wildfire is raging out of control just east of town.  In fact, the smoke is so bad many of the residents are wearing masks to help their breathing.  The firefighters have set up hundreds of tents in the fields just outside town.

Classic Oregon cove

Smoke coming into Brookings

Large firefighters' camp

Speaking of smoke, we spot a large Smoke Shop just before we cross the border into California.  Giving into temptation, we stop to check it out and end up buying a small bottle of CBD oil. Later we discover it's pretty worthless.  Although we can't speak to the other products they carry, we certainly would never stop here again.

Avoid this place