Gualala River Redwoods

Wednesday, May 8, 2013.

I left Bodega Bay at 8:10 am, with a tough morning ride to Jenner, where I purchased much needed caffeine. When I had awakened at 6:30 am, the fog had somehow intensified from the night before. Everything was pretty wet; it actually looked like it had rained. My tent was wet and the tarp it lay on was wetter, with water pooling in every dip and crevice. The sand was wet and I tried to keep the sand out of the tent. In so doing, I really dirtied up the tarp. I folded up the tent--sand all over the base and moisture everywhere. Yeck.

I took the tarp to a faucet and washed off the sand coating both sides. While I tried to “dry” it off or brush off the water with my synthetic chamois, it was no going. I went ahead and folded that baby up and laid it down on HD’s cargo area. While I was packing up, the camper from “nextdoor” came by to chat. He and his wife are from South Africa and they came to the US for an extended vacation of camping and sightseeing. They have been up the coast, camping at primarily state campgrounds on the coast with some detours into the mountains. They are planning on seeing Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore and, somewhere along the way, their daughter and her husband will be joining up with them. The South Africans are a retired couple and had some rental properties that they manage, but this allows them time to leave on vacations and enjoy their retirement. They wished me safety as I rode out of the park.

The morning remained quite cloudy but it was not overly cold, the temp maybe mid 60’s. The road was quite hilly and gave me quite a workout all day until I was about 15 miles from Gualala. A short ride past Sea Cove was a parking spot and turnout where Becky, a lady about my age, was setting up a canopy covering to sell her wares. She makes warm hats from recycled wool sweaters. She lived for 10 years in Portland and found that she could pick up genuine, 100% wool sweaters at thrift stores for fairly low prices. She has quite a hand at sewing so she made reversible hats, some with faux fur trim. I tried a on several hats and fell in love with a blue hat that covered my ears and fit nicely.  She wanted me to look in the mirror but I declined. I felt pretty grimey and could feel the salt on my face. Instead, I stuffed the hat in my cargo area so I could wear it that night or at least when I hit the mountains again--I figured I would need it!

Becky is an artist. She paints landscapes and portraits and gave me a greeting card that was a print of one of her oils. It was a landscape scene with trees and a river with mountains in the back. It looked like a knife style painting, with the colors laid on thick and bright. It looked like a Van Gogh. Quite beautiful. She also sings and plays the saxaphone, as well as other woodwinds. While she has a teaching certificate and has done quite a bit of substitute teaching in the Portland schools, she is now enjoying juggling these side businesses. Her passions are music, art, and freedom. She would like to do more traveling, but her lifestyle still allows quite a bit of adventure and the opportunity to follow her passions. She is doing what she wants and making enough money to make it work. Yay!!

Today’s scenery was nothing short of stunning. Even with the gray, cloudy skies. I probably would have wept with joy if the day had been sunny. To give Mama G credit, the clouds partially dispersed around 4-5 pm, giving the ocean that lovely blue color. I cycled through more Eucalyptus groves, rocky shorelines, grasslined hills, and the incomparable coastal redwoods. Between Eucalyptus and Redwood scents, my nose was quite happy all day. Going through tiny burgs with fireplaces burning logs and restaurants cooking who knows what, it was an olfactory orgy.

When I reached Gualala, I was pretty worn. I cycled around a bit trying to find a campground. A lady walking in the Gualala regional park told me about a private campground by the Gualala River. I went for it. It is called The Gualala River Redwoods Park. My gosh, is it beautiful! It seems as if all the campgrounds are very pricey for campers with RVs, private or state. The state campgrounds have a $5-10 fee for hikers/bikers. This campground is $20. That IS their hiker/biker fee and the spots are near the front of the campground by the kiosk/station. For anyone truly inside the grounds, next to the river, the cost is $50. So I decided not to whine! I did, however, take a walk through the campground and it really is picturesque. The campsites allow ample space so that you are not breathing down your neighbor’s neck. The River goes to the sea and in the summer, people sometimes kayak down to the ocean. Apparently there is decent fishing. I didn’t see any fish at 7 pm, although the water was very clean and clear. I’m camped near the fish cleaning station at the front of the campground, by the kiosk. Today is the first day of the season, so it is not crowded. They have a tiny store but it closed at 6, right when I got to the park. But the station managers told me that it opens at 8 am and they have free coffee--YAY! I know where I’m going in the morning!

Sarah and Jeff are the young couple that manages the park for about 6 months while it is open. Three years ago, they sold pretty much everything they owned and purchased a motor home. They work at 2 campgrounds--southern CA coast in winter and the Gualala River Redwoods Park in the spring and summer. They have a few months in between during which they take their own vacation and visit family. They love their lifestyle and see no change of plans in the immediate future. They get to stay in beautiful campgrounds, make a little money, and live very simply while having all their comforts and housing needs met in the motor home, and still go on vacation. They are two healthy, attractive young people and I was thrilled to meet them and see how they have decided to create the life they love.

Now the temp is dropping and I’m getting a bit cold. I wish I could heat up this tent! I can get toasty warm in my space blanket and sleeping bag, but then I can’t write and it pretty much means beddie bye time. I have finished my cheese and raisins for dinner and I’m preparing myself for the nightly invaders--raccoons. There are also quite a few mosquitoes here but citronella bracelets and a few sheets of Bounce seem to be holding them at bay. Tomorrow, I may find I’ve got a few bites, but hopefully it will be a quiet night. I still have to brush my teeth again, since I ate dinner. Better buck up and just do it and get it over with, cuz it ain’t getting any warmer!!

Good night!