Ahh... Beaches!

Two camping posts in a row - it doesn't get better than that, in my book!

This time, we headed up the coast. My mom in Emma's car with Emma and Julia, and I with Carson, Reed, and Carson's friend Tony. We headed west from Fairfax, and then up Highway One. We were concerned about fog (a California coastal hazard in summer), but went for it anyhow. As soon as we hit the coast, we hit the fog too. It didn't look good! But our first stop was Fort Ross, where the kids explored the restored Russian fort from the 1800's - in the sunshine. I forgot my camera in the car, so you'll just have to imagine them grooving on the cannons and exploring the fort.

Then we drove up to Salt Point, and found a fabulous campsite on a golden, grassy, sunny hill, with a climbing tree AND a large climbing rock, practically no neighbors, and a short steep hike down to the coast. It was utterly gorgeous! The kids and I scrambled down the trail after dinner, and watched the flat red disk of the sun set into the sea - we could almost hear the hissing of the ocean as it set.


The next day we found the first of what would turn out to be four different, wonderful beaches. Emma and I flipped for who would take the car to Stump Cove (she lost), and my mom and I took the kids and did the 1.5 mile hike to meet her. We hiked along the top of the headland, with views into rocky coves with seals like large pillows sleeping on the rocks, and seagulls, and a blue heron. We rounded a corner, and saw our beach, deep in a cove. It was a mix of rock and sand, with gentle surf that was just enough for the kids to jump over the waves (for two hours), but not so much that we needed to keep more than an idle eye on them. Cormorants hunted in the kelp-filled waters, and Reed and I went bouldering and found limpets and a cave. It was beautiful, and at the end of the day Emma and my mom walked back while I brought the kids in the car.

The next day we had to pack up and leave our bit of paradise, and head up the coast to meet Bev and a whole bunch of her friends at Van Damme state park, near Mendocino. On that drive we found the only beach we didn't love - Manchester, where it was a howling, blowing fog that kept us shivering through a hurried lunch and only admiring the massive dunes from afar. We kept going, arriving first at our - sunny again! - site. It was the group site at Van Damme, and I can't really recommend it (somewhat akin to camping in a dusty parking lot), but the company was great and the beach and park were too, so it was all good.

On Wednesday we spent most of the grey but not too cold day at the beach right there at Van Damme - a short walk from camp. It was an even quieter cove than Stump, with almost no surf at all. But the sand was fine, there were seals hanging out (and apparently people-watching, as they would pop their heads up every so often and look at us), osprey were diving and catching fish, and the kids built sand forts all day and had a fantastic time. In the afternoon I went with one of Bev's friends and drove to Mendocino, where we ran along the trail that follows the contours of the cliffs on the Mendocino headlands. It was amazingly beautiful, not to mention a really good workout.


Thursday we packed up and headed back down the coast, making sure to have enough time to see some more beaches. First we stopped at Navarro State park, where the Navarro River meets the sea. There the beach was huge, sandy, and covered with driftwood - from tiny sticks to huge logs from redwood trees. There were several forts, and the kids had a great time exploring and playing their fantasy games in the fantastical structures. It was tough to leave there, but we did have to get home, so we headed on. We stopped for lunch at Gualala, but were disappointed to find that while we could see the gorgeous beach, we couldn't actually find the trail that led to it. But no matter - we continued south.

At Fort Ross, I wanted to look at the campsite (not great), and we drove down through it. At the bottom we saw a trail and decided to explore. It led down to a beach that was totally rocky - large rocks - and by pure luck it was low tide. So as a final hurrah to our trip, we got to spend an hour tidepooling: visiting with fighting hermit craps, black snails, hungry anemones (apologies to the snails!), purple and white sea stars, bright green and black crabs... it was a glorious end to an amazing trip.