To the Seashore! Wed, 7/28/21

Salt Point St Pk campground was one of those that had "no availability," even in its overflow parking, darn it.  But we could (and did) park in the day use area for a few hours.  A light fog drifted in from the water, filtering through the trees up yonder hill, enchanting really, and looking as though elves should step out of the woods.  Never mind, back to reality.  We ate our lunch in Tergel overlooking the ocean and then we were out the door to hit the trail and scamper over these amazing tafoni rocks.

A light breeze felt good to us as we walked along the shore path.  Salt Point consists of rocky promontories, panoramic views, kelp-dotted coves, and a rugged coastline, plus some stellar grasslands.

Tafoni means cavern in Italian and Salt Point is riddled with the stuff.  It's fascinating to look at, with different colors, shapes and sizes, often right next to each other!  Next to each other, yet totally unalike. 

No towering waves today; I think we were at neap tide.  An hour later, the tide was definitely coming in.  I believe I see a harbor seal at left on that big black rock out there.  Maybe I can get closer.  

Does this sandstone remind you of a sponge?  A honeycomb?  Swiss Cheese rock?  Any of the above?  Tafoni is pocked with intricate formations.

Good lord, turkey buzzards by the sea.  Oh, yuck, they're the clean-up crew.  Appears that a dead seal (of some kind) has washed up and is being dispatched by the three above.  We had to walk quite a distance once we were downwind of this before our noses said, "whew, okay to breathe!"

Jimmy, above, on one of the paths we walked, but we clambered down to the rocks frequently.  Fog fingers drift around the trees.  "Fog comes on little cat feet ..." 

I guess a sparrow and a lizard qualifies as wildlife?

A few wildflowers remained.

I love to poke around tide pools, but you have to work to get down to 'em.  There's a green jacket at the red checkmark, and that's where Jimmy parked as I made my way to a series of tide pools.  

Here's another harbor seal draped over the rocks.  I backtracked so as to not disturb this one.  Geez, that position looks truly uncomfortable, head hanging over the edge like that, but the thing is smiling. 😊  Behind the seal is a forest of sea palms.

I always look for fish and octopus in tide pools, but didn't see any today.  Lots of different-colored sea stars and limpets instead ...

... as well as a slew of crabs.

As I eased over a few more rocks, this group came into view.  I am quiet on my feet, but they must have ESP or something, 'cause the one (big spotted torpedo) in front raised it's head, as if to say, "what do you want?  Go away."  I moved along.

Jimmy and I rejoined and continued walking on the shore path.  We stopped to watch this group of seven (probably) females with their pups.  The tide was incoming and as we watched, a wave burst over the ones positioned lower on the rocks.  Their heads raised in protest.  You could almost hear them yell, "No fair, I'm getting all wet!"  As we stood there, all seven inched higher on the rocks.

I would be afraid to kayak on the Pacific Ocean.  Lots of rocks.  And waves.  This paddler was returning from his fishing (we could see the fishing pole).  At upper far right, is one of two more kayakers. 

And to round out our own adventure,

here's the brown pelican flotilla passing by.

 

I checked my watch.  It was time for us to leave as we'd have an hour/plus drive to our next camp in Guerneville.  While the distance is roughly only 30 miles inland, Hwy 1 and Hwy 116 are tortuous roads.

Well, we'd had a heckuva neat day already, first in the redwoods and then here.  We put almost five miles on our feet, all good ones, full of wonderful sights, scenes and vistas.  (And you know we were loving the cool temps!)  So long for now, Salt Point!

Cove Redwoods, Wed, 7/28/21

It was our lucky day when I found one available night at Stillwater Cove c/g on the northern Sonoma Coast. Every other campground I looked at on the coast screamed "no availability." Must have been a cancelation. Regardless, this c/g was a great find for us (and like many nowadays, it's by reservation only). What could be better than ocean on one side and a redwood forest on the other? Add cool temps, and we're hooked -- we'd stay for a month if we could! Only 26 miles north of Bodega Bay, too.

After a quiet night, we were up early so we could get out in those woods on the 1.5 mile, up and down Canyon Trail loop. The morning's low temp was 54 perfectly cool degrees. I wore shorts and a sweatshirt, which was just right for me. Jimmy chose jeans. Neither of us realized that a second-growth redwood forest would be included in this regional park, but what a terrific draw.

Dinky, but perennial, Stockhoff Creek "flows" alongside the trail.  We'd have to cross it twice, which wasn't a problem since it's so shallow, and logs had been strategically placed, as above.  A bridge across the creek was destroyed by flooding in Dec 2015 and hasn't been replaced.  Love how green everything is!

We didn't hurry.  You can see why.

Walking here was serene and beauteous.

Lush Ferns and Pink Oxalis (wood sorrel) covered the hillsides.

Tiny Stockhoff creek is at the bottom.

Stillwater Cove is only a couple of miles from Fort Ross, the historic Russian fur trading outpost. (Fort Ross was a thriving Russian-American Company settlement from 1812 to 1841.)  The one-room school, above, with Jimmy peeking in a window, was the Fort Ross School, used from 1885 - 1973.  Initially it was located closer to Fort Ross, but threatened with extinction, it was renovated and moved to this Stillwater Cove location in 1974.  History, folks!

Coming down towards the creek.

I think these black-stemmed five-fingered ferns add interest to the redwood forest understory.  Growing on steep hillsides, they help hold the soil in place.

This area of redwoods was only harvested once in the 1850's, and only the largest trees were cut down.  That means the trees we saw today are themselves a mature redwood forest.  Redwoods are the dominant tree here, but Douglas firs and tan oaks also thrive.  With the dry summer, we didn't see any wildflowers, but I bet it's drop-dead gorgeous in spring.

The downed redwood that Jimmy is standing by?  It looks fairly big, but not 300-ft tall big, right?  Check out the picture below.

I wondered how old it was when it fell.  I would've needed a magic magnifying glass to count the rings and a whole lot more patience than I possess!  Tee-niney rings.  Awesome trees.

Of course if you have shade and moisture, you'd have these things:  

Giant Horse Tails

On the return section of the loop trail, was an offshoot called Dead End Trail, which immediately started uphill.  We climbed along with it.  I kept hearing what sounded like an Osprey, but that didn't compute in a redwood forest.  I may not be able to tell one hawk from another by sound, but I know an Osprey when I hear it, especially a young'un crying for food.  Sure enough, at the top of the tree (red checkmark, above, left) was a parent, giving us the stink eye.  Somewhere beyond our view was a chick in a nest.  We saw the other parent fly into the trees and the kid got fed, 'cause it got quiet!  The birds probably fish in the bays.

If you've seen big trees, you've seen the square notches (kinda square) cut near the base that held springboards.  With springboards in place, tree-cutting these majestic trees was possible.  I cannot imagine cutting down one of those ancient giants.

What a nice morning!  Back at camp, we prepared to pack it up and move on.  We have another night to spend elsewhere.  But first, as we like to say, but first, Salt Point St Pk is only four miles north, and I'm here to tell you it's a really cool place.  Notice the two jugs of water above?  Each picnic table has two "fire prevention water" jugs atop.  Thankfully we didn't need to use them!  If you get the chance, we recommend Stillwater Cove, it's a grand place to stay for a while.

Stillwater Cove, CA, Tues, 7/27/21

 

The rest of the story:  After leaving our Duncan Mills c/g, we drove to the gas station in Jenner (on the coast), where Jimmy attempted to put gas in Tergel's tank.  "I'll pump, you look below Tergel to see if gas spills on the ground."  As soon as gas flowed into the hose, it leaked to the ground, so he stopped pumping.  What to do?  What to do?  We couldn't go anywhere far without gas.

We decided to quit our trip, call off the overnight stay at Stillwater Cove and the next one at Pocket Creek Farm, but I didn't phone anyone 'cause I didn't have a decent signal.  The nearest town that might have a fixit shop was Santa Rosa, 30 miles inland, on the 101 freeway.  We turned tail and pointed Tergel's nose toward Santa Rosa.  We had to have the gas intake hose replaced.

I brought out my computer -- we found several RV repair shops, and drove to the closest one.  No dice, they were overfull and didn't want us in their driveway.  With Smartie disconnected, we pulled into two parking spaces and started calling shops.  FINALLY, we reached Jeff at Jeff's Twin Oaks Garage near Petaluma.  He said:  "I'm booked solid, but I've never left anyone stranded.  Bring it (Tergel) in and let me look at it."  Whew, off we went, another ten miles down the freeway. 

He did it!  Jeff removed the cracked, leaky hose, and installed a new one, clamping it in solid.  Ah, relief, we were good to go!  Based on his hourly fee, this was beginning to look like one very short but very expensive trip.  But what else can travelers do?  Jimmy didn't have his tools with him, so we had to use a professional.  Jeff is one of the good guys!

By gum, we decided to continue with our trip.  Jimmy limped into the Rohnert Park Costco, with Tergel wailing away that it wanted gas!  He filled it with enough gas to get us anywhere we wanted to go, at $4.15/gal.  I got behind the wheel and drove the 50 miles west and north to our Stillwater Cove c/g, on those twisty-turny, two-lane, scenic roads.

Yes, Northern California's coast is scenic. 💝

Tergel and Smartie parked across the road,

so I could zip across to get the header picture.

Once we were squared away in our pull-thru site, we went out for an explore.  Down a quiet wooded path we ambled, crossing Hwy 1, to the cove.  Whoa, imagine our surprise to see this alien-appearing person hiking up from the water!  He'd been spear fishing and caught two Lingcod, which you see dangling from his shoulder.  He was happy, looking forward to a Lingcod dinner!  It appears the fish in front recently enjoyed a meal!

A picturesque, crescent-shaped beach at the end of the trail.  Not a sandy beach, nope.  No matter.  We weren't interested in basking in the sun, but we really enjoy checking over the rocks and shells.

And just walking along ... so relaxing.

Thought I'd just have a seat for a few moments on the bench above the Stillwater Cove mosaic.  Dry my feet, shake the tiny gravel off my water shoes.  The temp was ideal, not hot, nor cold, refreshing here on the coast.

As we left the water, I spotted a lot of activity in the bushes.  A small flock of Wilson's Warblers were hopping around, probably picking at berries.  I admired their little black berets!

This tranquil path led us to the water and now leads us back to our campsite.  With Tergel fixed, we could feel a heavy weight lift off our shoulders, and we breathed easy.  At our site, it was time to get dinner ready (not fish!).  Tomorrow will be like a skipping school day, we'll be free to go an do whatever we want and take nearly all day to do it!  Although, how would I know anything about skipping school? 😀

Let's go fishing! Monday, 7/26/21

Dawn was a mere suggestion at 5:30 when our alarm jangled, but we were quick to hop into action.  Coffee and a fast bite.  Multiple layers was the dress for the day ... the temp on the water would be a chilly mid-50's, with a brisk wind and light fog.  We packed PB&J and granola bars for lunch, with waters and a Gatorade, and we were out the RV door by 6:15am.  Unsure how much room we'd need for the trip home with tons o' fish, we followed our friends in Smartie.

We met Cap'n Mike at 7, per schedule, on the Bodega Bay dock where "Miss Vic" was moored.  Several small boats like his were parked at the dock, with passengers lining up to go out.  The deckhand mate, Austin, joined us, making seven altogether on Miss Vic.  Mike gave us the safety talk, fired up the engine, and away we went, off on a fishing adventure. 

Others followed!  I forgot to get a pic of Miss Vic, but it probably looked like the boat, dead center, above.  You see a heavy fog on the land.

The tide was out, making much of the bay a marshy area perfect for birdlife.

Once we cleared the jetty, it was open ocean for us.  Cap'n Mike warned us that salmon fishing was fickle, sometimes they're biting, other times, nada, and asked if we wanted to go for rockfish first and then troll for salmon.  We agreed to that, so we'd at least have fish to take home in case the salmon were invisible.

We headed north and would fish in the rocks off the Russian River coast.  I really like this picture.  If you look closely, you can see a patch of blue in the center, with redwood tree tops poking through the fog.

Two deck chairs were placed behind the cabin, out of the wind, and Marlene and I sat for a while.  Watching the seabirds fly right and left as the boat sped toward them, I was struck by the ocean's complexion.  To the left (port), the ocean appeared a shiny liquid silver, yet that same water took on a dullish lead hue on the starboard (right) side.  The always mysterious ocean playing with color.

Jimmy sat in the cabin next to Cap'n Mike.  Marlene moved inside the cabin to lay her head on the table so she could close her eyes and calm her tummy.  Cliff and Keith alternately sat in the other chair or atop the fish locker.  We motored for an hour or so in fairly calm seas and that chilly breeze, within sight of the coastal cliffs to our right, to our rockfish fishing destination.  It was a slice of heaven. Austin, the deckhand, prepared the poles, chopping bait and attaching lures.  

Then it was time.  We were each given a pole with two hooks and advised how to use them.  Austin would net the fish if we pulled any up.  Okay!  I dropped my line down 70 ft or so, felt the fish hook on, and commenced reeling!  Two fish on.  Everyone was doing the same thing!  Two blacks, one black and one blue, one blue and one canary, etc.  (what?)  Within 30 or 40 minutes, the five of us caught our limit of 50 rockfish, plus two.  Who knew there were so many different kinds of rockfish?  We caught blacks, blues, a couple of canary's, gophers, and a copper.  52 of 'em, above.  Exciting!  Kept Austin busy!  Nice eating fish.

Since we had our limit of rockfish, it was time to head for deeper water, roughly six miles out.  Austin rigged four poles to troll for salmon.  I won't waste a second -- we didn't bring home any salmon, though we trolled for a couple of hours.  But what we did take home were terrific memories, of humpback whales blowing and breaching, of porpoises cavorting, leaping and playing, pelicans in formation.  Life on the sea.  Worth every penny.

Jimmy, above in his hat, watches a humpback whale off the port bow.

We ran across this guy, which the captains see every day they go out, because this boat is out every day catching eels.  Cap'n Mike and Austin had a sort of bad name for it.  Apparently it's the only eeler around, and they have a steady market with Koreans.

Aha, this stylish group is enjoying the day.  Austin, at left, in his oils, and me and Jimmy bundled up in various layers, pose while trolling for salmon.  The pole looks bent like a fish is on, but the line dragging behind the boat makes it bend.  I had a hat but didn't wear it.  Mostly I was in the shade, but the wind burned my face a bright red.

Here, fishie-fishie!

Somewhere around 1pm, it was time to head back to Bodega Bay.  I was sitting in the portside deck chair, in the shade, eyeballing land as it hove into view.  I was cold and Mike gave me a horse blanket to wrap up in, but the wind chilled me.  I had my windbreaker hood up to keep the wind off my head and face, which helped.  Mind you, I am not complaining, just tellin' ya that I used a whole bunch of energy trying to get warm.  It was all okay.  We hit a big ol' wave as I clicked the shutter, above, and caught the spray!   

Bodega Head, above, with people atop, some waving,

as we approached the jetty.

Messy critters, aren't they?

We're motoring in the bay.

You know, I don't think there was a single thing about this fishing trip that I didn't enjoy (the boat even had a proper bathroom [head] that ladies could use).  Back at the dock, it was Austin's job to haul those 52 rockfish out of the fish locker and filet them for us.  Below the fileting table, the ever-hopeful waited, harbor seals and gulls, above.

This entertainment was as much fun as all the rest.  A harbor seal (actually four of them) wanted this fish skeleton.  I dangled it above the water.  "You want it, come and get it."  The seal circled a few times, finally got brave, leaped up and BAM, it was his!  I did this a couple of times, pitching the remains to the seals -- and one big sea lion -- although Marlene claimed most of the remains for her compost pile.  Smart woman.  While her tummy was a bit off for a while, she didn't get sick, and enjoyed the day, too.

The prerequisite hold-up-your-fish photo.  Dang things were slimy.  Nobody had their names on a particular fish, we each grabbed two and held them up.  L-R, Jimmy, Keith, Marlene, Cliff, and yours truly.  El sol never did shine, but we didn't mind.  It would, however, take me hours to warm the ol' body.  But -- what a great day!

Back at the ranch (literally), we rinsed and packed our two-fifths portion of fish in five freezer bags, and then it was time for me to begin dinner.  Cap'n Mike asked if we'd be eating fish for dinner, but I replied, "No, turkey meatloaf!"  Keith had to work the next day, so he took off for home.  It would just be the four of us for turkey meatloaf, tater salad, zucchini casserole, and fresh melon, all but the melon pre-made.  We ate inside, to stay warm!

Over nine pounds of tasty rockfish!

Our eyelids grew heavy as soon as we'd finished dinner.  Our friends excused themselves and were making zzzzz's by 7:30!!  I took a half-hour nap at 7 so I could stay awake till nine!  Jimmy and I were in bed by 9pm, dead to the world.

I'd been lucky to find ONE available campsite for the next night, 20 miles or so north at Stillwater Cove.  Tomorrow morning, Marlene and Cliff would leave for home, and Jimmy and I would head to the town of Jenner, a short distance away, to try our luck at the only gas station there.  tbc