One if by Land . . . Two if by Sea

Today is going to be a little different pace than yesterday.  Zac Brown’s “I ain’t in no hurry today” is the theme.  Got up, made coffee with my Bailey’s to set the morning since it was slightly chilly about fifty degrees.  Hit the road about 9:40 AM driving south down Hwy 1.

You could see the fog bank off shore several miles and it seemed to be inching closer to the coast as I drove.  It was a very pretty drive with the road winding its way along the coast climbing up and down several thousand feet from sea level up the mountains.  Driving the coast is not a fast way to travel with average speeds about 35 to 45 mph.  There are stretches that 55 is the speed limit but it is hard to maintain any speed as you slow down for the curves posted at 30, 20, or 15 mph.

I drove about an hour past one of the places I was thinking about camping, Navarro Beach where the redwoods state park is just a few miles away.  As I climbed up one of the cliffs from the beach area there was a pretty steep incline as I noticed a lone bicyclist walking his bike up this steep grade?  He was about 2/3 of the way up as I spotted a small pull off about 700 feet above him so I quickly pulled off.  It was a great picture taking opportunity as I waited for him to reach me.  I took several photos with my camera and iphone as he pulled up to where I had stopped.  I handed him a cold bottle of water and greeted him and we started talking.  John was from South Africa and started his bicycle ride in Vancouver BC and was on his way to LA.  We talked for a bit before I headed off onto other vistas. 

I passed by the Organic Valley Farms close to Manchester CA.  It was interesting to see everyone working the fields and the logo on everything around the area.

I stopped around 11 AM at Lighthouse Point Arena to take photos of the lighthouse and the beautiful rocks and waves crashing onto them below the cliffs.  As you travel down this coastal highway it is easy to stop multiple times to take photographs of the rock formations in the ocean.  At one point today I had to tell myself, just how many rock/ocean/wave photos does one need to take?  There are just rocks, some with holes in them creating a tide pool splashing through as the waves break on the rocks.  Some “rocks” are a big as a small city block several hundred feet long and ten stories tall or more.

The fog layer was rolling in along the coast so I figured it would be a long day driving in the grey soup weather but it only lasted a few miles and cleared up.  The fog band was just offshore most of the day with small bands of fog that came ashore. It turned out better than I was expecting with only brief periods of fog to deal with.

I should have gotten fuel at the morning start but figured I would get something along the way.  Well on this roadway there are few places for any services much less gas stations.  I had almost 400 miles on this tank of fuel and was just starting to debate the five gallons of fuel on my roof and whether or not it would be needed. I pulled into a small community by the ocean called Gualala and several services.  The Exxon station was there so I pulled in and started pumping my gas.  Yes this is not Oregon and had to do it all myself.  They know they have you as the price was $3.05 a gallon.  $72.00 later my tank was full having pumped almost 23 gallons into a 22 gallon tank.  I probably would have been walking or pulling off the five gallons I have carried since Anchorage Alaska for emergencies.

Just past Jenner by the Sea was a small state park called Goat Rock where off in the distance I saw a lone hang glider pilot soaring over the cliffs.  I went through Jenner and past the tidewater marsh and started climbing up along the ridge line.  I found the cut off to the beach and the park and drove several miles to get to the cliff where the glider pilot launched.  There was a guy working on his paraglider chute but he has not anywhere close to preparing for takeoff.  I took some photos, a video and had another cup of coffee while watching him make his turns go out away from the cliff face to the front edge of the lift band and watch him lose altitude then turn back towards the cliff into the lift band again rising up over the take off point.

There were several neat places along the way; Duncan’s cove (I thought a great title for a book), Bodega Bay where I stopped for fresh oysters and also tried the BBQ oysters both were excellent at Nick’s Cove Seafood. 

I was making my way toward another lighthouse out on Point Reyes Station. It was a rough road drive the 20 or so miles out to the cliff where the lighthouse was. Not worth the drive or the bumps in the road as it was about a two and a half hours round trip out and back. It was totally fogged in so there was nothing to see.  On the way out I passed several working farms with cattle open grazing along the road.  I saw three deer on a hill above me grazing.  They looked up but continued to eat.  I noticed after almost an hours drive out there was a sign saying the lighthouse was closed Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I know there are a lot of mad people driving all that way only to find out it is closed.  They need to put the sign as you leave town so you can turn around.  With the fog, bumpy roads and miles of “historical farms” along the way I didn’t think it was worth the drive.

I stopped briefly in San Rafael for ice and a quick bite to eat and realized all the curves had shifted my top pod, cooler, and gas tank on my roof.  It had slid slightly over the side of the driver’s side of the vehicle so I had to push everything back up where it belonged and then retighten all the u-bolts holding the wood rack to the car top rack.  There were too many curves, quick stops and shifting left and right over the last two days driving along the coast.

Right at six PM Placido Flamingo and I were heading across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.  We were going in the right direction as those going over to Marin County were bumper to bumper stopped traffic.  I noticed the tunnel leading off Marin and to the Bridge was named for Robin Williams who grew up there. There were many people on the side of the bridge on both sides riding bicycles, walking or jogging across.  I was totally surprised just how many were on the walk paths on each side.

After crossing the bridge I turned quickly off at the Presidio and through Daly City.  Traffic was back up and took about thirty minutes to go just several miles. It is a large Asian community close to the college, SFSU.  Through Pacifica and back onto CA 1 to Half Moon Bay where the fog rolled back in again.

Since I have been in California it is very noticeable how many Toyota Prius vehicles driving around.  They are everywhere.  I did several counts and it was averaging about 1 Prius for every 7 vehicles passing by.  Many times it was one out of three.

I stopped at one last lighthouse before Santa Cruz called Pigeon Point Lighthouse and hostel.  I debated staying there and not camp but decided to continue toward Santa Cruz for the night.

Tomorrow after some place to hit in the morning I am changing up my plans from my original thoughts.  I am not going to continue to Los Angeles and points south on CA 1.  I debate Palm Springs at 110 degrees right now and my plans to hike in Joshua Tree NP.

We will see what tomorrow brings . . . around the bend in the road.

Ice