25 Oct 2007 Northern California Coast & Redwoods

24-27 October
The north coast lived up to all expectations for spectacular scenery. With a stop at the Cowgirl Creamery for some Mt. Tam, Pierce Pt. and the pungent Red Hawk cheeses, we continued up the Shorline Highway 1 on the east side of the Tomales Bay. The winding switchbacking highway was beautiful but slow! We camped at Gualala Point in Sonoma State Beach near the Russian River in a dark wooded campground before continuing in the morning through Sea Ranch, Mendocino, Fort Bragg and the mystical Humboldt Redwoods. Connecting to the 101 Redwood Highway took us through Avenue of the Giants and all the legendary groves of majestic Sequoias. I have an innate attraction toward the redwoods, or maybe learned. I don't know why; perhaps because the huge trees are comforting to a native of the Puget Sound, or maybe because my dad used to sing "This Land is Your Land" from the time I was very small and the line about the Redwood Forest always struck a chord in me. Being among these massive trees that have stood here for centuries gives me a unique peace. I don't want to leave the forest because I feel as though I am losing something as I watch them shrink unnaturally quickly in the rear view mirror.

Although I hoped to camp in the forest, we found a site on the beach that rivaled Pt. Reyes, which was the best so far. It was at Gold Bluffs Beach in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The six mile unpaved, hilly, muddy road to the campground was a true initiation for my Southern California freeway-raised Mini Cooper. She really showed us what she was made of. Massive cliffs at our backs and the ocean stretching out in front of us, we arrived just as the sun began to set. We had enough time to choose a campsite among the sandy and tufts of grass and worry about how exposed we were to the unrelenting wind! The colors of the sky combined with perfect clouds were unparalleled that evening. We stood in awe long after the sun sank below the horizon only to look behind us and be again struck by the beauty of the moonrise. The silhouette of the line of trees crowning the cliff set a screen for the full moon to burst through in all its glory. The bright glow and slight tints of color encircling the moon emphasized the far-off jagged line of the forest high above us. As if that wasn't enough sky magic, we woke up in the morning to see that perfect round moon looming over the ocean about to sink away as the sky turned hazy shades of pink from the sun rising over the cliff at our backs - this visual to the pure rhythm of waves all night, only a few yards away from our tent.