More Coast

Luckily we didn't have the normal coastal fog while we were staying at Van Damme State Park.  We stopped in at Russian Gulch State Park because we heard they have an interesting sinkhole.  At an estimate, I'd say the sinkhole is about 60 feet across and 40 feet deep.  The waves come in through an outlet to the ocean which is probably about 50 feet away.  It's not much of a picture, but an interesting phenomenon.

It must be pretty soft rock because we saw several caves and bridges.

Just look at the beautiful color of the water when it reflects the blue sky.

There was a lot of churning going on.

Explorer Ron

We also stopped at Point Cabrillo Light Station.  Am I missing something or should the light be on the ocean side of the building?

Just to catch up a bit, I'm going to add a few pictures from our next stop.  Thirty miles farther north on route 1 is Westport-Union Landing State Beach.  It's only $25 ($23 for seniors), so cheap for a CA State Park and you get to park on a cliff overlooking the oeean.

They seem to have a bit of an erosion problem.  This used to be the state park road and, before that, it was route 1 in the sixties.

That's us on the left, next to the tree.  Don't worry, we're far back from the edge.

It's quite a rocky area.  People look for abalone which cling to those rocks.  Crazy.

Trees and Ferns

When we arrived at Van Damme State Park and Ron asked for a sunny site, I thought they were going to laugh at him.  After all, we're in Redwood land.  But they were very helpful and gave us a couple of sites to look at.  One was just right.  It had lots of sun for the solar panels and we could even get satellite TV.  Because we arrived on a Tuesday, we were able to get three nights.  Those weekends really mess us up. What also surprised me was that we had no internet or phone.  Although I didn't know it at the time, this was the first of seven nights that we were without internet.  It's a good thing I had scheduled a couple to post, but now I'm a week behind again.

There were a couple of hikes in the park that sounded interesting - the Pygmy Forest and the Fern Canyon.

The Pygmy Forest was just a short loop and, while not exactly what I was expecting, it was pretty unusual.

The soil in this particular area is very poor and a tree with a trunk diameter of 1/4 inch and a few feet tall may be 80 years old.

The rhododendrons were as tall as the trees and putting on quite a show.

The Fern Canyon trail left from nearby.  On our way, we admired the colorful Madrone trees (Arbutus menziesii.)  These trees shed their outer bark like a snake skin, revealing the eye-catching new red bark.

Within a short distance from the pygmy forest, suddenly the trees got much taller.

These Coast Redwoods shoot up relatively quickly, but this burned out trunk could be 2000 years old.

The trail led us down into the most gorgeous canyon with ferns galore.

And not just one kind of fern.

I've never seen anything like this.  Is it a fern?  It has a segmented stem like bamboo.

The tiny Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) was everywhere.

Ron and I agreed that this Fern Canyon trail might be the most beautiful forest hike we've ever taken.

A Bright Light

When we awoke the next morning, we opened the curtains and were blinded by a bright light.  What’s this?  Although we have had some afternoon sun, this was the first morning sun in recent memory.  I took the opportunity to photograph our overnight spot under this gorgeous Monterey Cyprus tree.

Even the trunks of these trees are pretty cool.

We had a big day, about 100 miles to Van Damme State Park in Mendocino.  After the first stressful 20 miles, we were ready for a pretty pull off.

I’m not sure if this section of CA 1 is any easier than driving Big Sur.  The road has no shoulder with at least as many turns and hills as the more famous southern section.  And cows!

More pictures through the front window.

Turn, turn!

This is what it looked like from my seat.

Ron is my hero.

Back to the Coast

Ron was missing the stress of driving twisty route 1 along the coast (ha!), so back west we went.  It was a short day when we stopped at Bodega Dunes State Park in Bodega Bay – the typical state park $33 price.  Arriving on a Monday, we had our choice of sites.

We wanted to stretch our legs, so drove out to Bodega Head at the outer end of the peninsula.  Although it was hazy, as usual, the cliffs were dramatic.

We spotted some gulls nesting on the offshore rocks.

The Bodega Head Trail was pretty, even in the haze, with wildflowers galore.

I especially like these tiny irises.

The cliff seems to be encroaching on the trail.  Yikes!

We could hear lots of barking so we knew there had to be sea lions on that rock way out there.

Bodega Harbor, on the left, is well protected by the sand spit.  But I don’t know if I would stay in that RV park.  It seems that one big wave would take it all out.

There was an interesting story about this pond, locally known as the ‘Hole in the Head.’  It looks natural, but was created when construction of a nuclear power plant began in the early 1960s.  The project was scrapped in 1964 due to objections by concerned citizens.  Good thinking, since it’s very close to the San Andreas Fault.  The ‘Hole’ is actually 120 feet deep.

Taking a Break

After our whirlwind tour of San Francisco, we were ready to relax a bit.  But first we had to get out of town.  As usual, it was a foggy morning and the top of the Golden Gate Bridge was lost in the fog..

After we crossed the bridge, I would have liked to stop in the vista parking lot, but it was full.  Ron did a drive thru and I just snapped a picture out the window.

We stayed at the Petaluma Elks for three nights - $25 for full hookups, even sewer.  We really didn’t do much other than shopping and laundry, but one day we took a drive around Marin County.  We were going to stop at Muir Woods National Monument, but it was packed!  I don’t know if something special was going on, but the parking lots were full and cars were parked along the road for at least a mile.  Luckily, we had both been there a couple of times and we’ll see plenty of redwoods as we head north.

We stopped at a viewpoint on the Marin Headlands, and happened upon these ‘base end stations’ from World War II.  The soldiers were stationed here to watch for enemy ships entering the San Francisco harbor.

There was an interesting story about ordering parkas for these soldiers to keep them warm during the cold coastal summer.   I guess they came too late for my father who caught pneumonia and ended up in the hospital while stationed there.

I don’t know how they could watch for anything with the typical fog.  This is the view from that point.

We had a nice drive, made even better by a stop at Marin French Cheese Company.  ‘If you give free cheese, they will come.’

San Fran Drive-bys

It's taken me three posts to cover our one day of touring San Francisco.  To finish up our day, I directed poor Ron all over town to hit the places on my list.

First up was Lombard Street.  I suggested that Ron let me out at the bottom so I could take his picture driving down the "crookedest street in the world."  I'm sure that title is not totally accurate, but it is a one-block stretch which descends a 40% slope with 8 tight switchbacks.

Ron passed on my idea and there were so many people standing at the bottom of the hill that there was no place to stop.  I ended up just snapping a picture out the window as he drove by.  You can barely see the cars for all the landscaping.  I would need a 50-foot ladder to get a decent view of the spectacle.

Another drive-by was the splendid City Hall.

But I asked Ron if he could find a parking space for the famous 'Painted Ladies.'  Boy, did he come through - that's our car second from the left.

Checking with Wikipedia, I discovered that 'Painted ladies' is a term in American architecture used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details.

This row of houses is also famous for having appeared in the opening credits of the television series Full House.

Our next stop is not nearly as famous but it involves mosaic tiles, so I wanted to see it.  At the edge of Grandview Park is a mosaic stairway that is a masterpiece.  I made the mistake of directing Ron to the top of it because I thought the mosaics were on the steps.  Silly me, they are on the risers - just another case of me not reading the whole description.

We descended to the first landing and looked back - wow! 

So I went down a couple more.

Over 300 residents of the Golden Heights neighborhood helped create the mosaics.

At this point, I climbed back up and we drove to the bottom.  After all, this was the same day we did the 442 steps to Coit Tower.

Here's the bottom group of steps.

Oddly enough,  I was so in awe of this splendid sight, that I didn't realize until I looked at the pictures that it's actually one scene, from the ocean at the bottom, past land, then sky, and topped by the sun.

I loved it!  And best of all, there was hardly anybody there.  Once again, I could have used that 50-foot ladder to get the overall shot.

Next up was Baker Beach for a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Baker Beach is actually a nude beach, but I figured, "Hey, it's cold."  However, sure enough, as soon as I took this picture, some lily white guy came along and stood right in line with the bridge that everybody was photographing.  Geez.

We stopped at the heart-breaking Holocaust Memorial.  It's hard to comprehend the slaughter of six million Jews during the Nazi Holocaust of 1933-1945.  According to the signage, this amounted to two thirds of the European Jews.

On our way out of town, our final stop was at the overlook for the Sutro Baths.

I was more interested in taking a picture with the fog rolling in over the Marin Headlands across the bay, but the baths must have really been something in their day.

Taken from the AAA book - A lavish playground developed by wealthy former mayor Adolph Sutro opened to the public in 1896.  Standing at the ocean's edge, it boasted seven swimming pools (six saltwater and one freshwater), more than 500 private dressing rooms, an amphitheater, grand staircases and landscaped promenades, all looking out over the Pacific.

So ended a very long day of sightseeing.  I was really glad we don't do this all the time. I was exhausted!