The End of the San Juan Coastal Tour - Home, 9/19

It rained all night – it rained hard all night. The first thing we saw when looking out the Winniemobile was that our campsite was flooded. Thank goodness we aren’t tent camping! The rain was still coming down this morning so we obviously scrapped the bike ride and decided to pack up and head home. Going over the coastal mountain range was windy (as in a lot of twists and turns), but so incredibly green. It was a shock when we hit the valley and saw how brown everything was. After being in rain forests for the last couple of weeks we got used to seeing every imaginable hue of green. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful and magical part of our country. I can sure understand why Josh wants to live there. (Today’s pic is a shot of one of our favorite camping spots in the Olympic National Forest.) Once we drove past Clearlake, the weather completely cleared up and it was downright hot in the valley. As we pulled into the driveway three cords of wood were piled high. Ironically, soon after we arrived it began sprinkling here. Mmm – sounds like the wood arrived just in time. I love living on the road and am usually a little sad when the trip ends. But not this time! I received an early birthday present from Ned and on the way home we picked up my first ever sewing machine. I’m so excited to be home and start making quilts – my new passion. Next week we are heading off to Point Reyes for a three day trip, camping with some good friends. Here’s hoping we can eek out a bit more play time before the wet winter really rolls in.

Mendocino Mellow - MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg, CA 9/18

We left one of the best ever campgrounds early this morning and continued our drive down the Avenue of the Giants. The weather was threatening rain, but so far things remained dry and warm. We definitely got a kick out of all the tacky roadside attractions, but the best by far is definitely “The Legend of Big Foot.” We passed drive-thru trees, mystery trees, confusion trees and tree houses! It made us appreciate that if this area hadn’t been made into a National Park and a State Park what the rest of the forest would look like. We pulled into MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg around 11 and had several campsites to choose from. We think a lot of people were scared off by the weather – lucky us. After getting settled in, we headed for downtown Fort Bragg and ate at a so-so Japanese Restaurant. Next stop, one of my favorite places in the world – Mendocino! The sky turned blue and it was really pleasant and sunny. We took advantage of the situation and rode our bikes around town and out to the headlands. The sea was an amazing color of jade and turquoise and really mesmerizing to watch. Out over the horizon we could definitely see another storm front headed this way. It made for some dramatic cloud formations as the sky was almost cut in half with clear blue on one side and lens shaped clouds on the other. (See today’s pic). I just love the vibe of Mendocino with the beautiful gardens, seaside cottages, water towers jutting above the homes and the smell of the salt water in the air. Later in the afternoon we stopped for some mochas and Ned waited patiently as I continued my picture taking safari. We eventually made our way back to the campsite and had a rousing couple of hours playing games while drinking wine and munching on some local favorites (goat cheese, french bread, peppadews and figs). Would you say we are camping upscale Mendocino style? It’s about 9:30 at night and a soft rain has just begun. We decided that if it’s nice tomorrow we’ll ride our bikes into town for breakfast and then explore some of the local trails and if the rain continues – we’re heading home.