Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg,

After leaving Cloverdale, we headed west again.  We were headed to Fort Bragg, which is in Mendocino County.  We had been told by several people that it was a beautiful area and that we would really enjoy it.  This area has a lot of what we love, hiking trails, big trees and rugged beaches. 

We had originally decided that we were going to stay at this really cool boon docking site just north of town, which was free, and we LOVE free! Unfortunately for us though, the spot was completely over run with road construction equipment, so we ended up coming up with a plan B.  We were told by a gentleman at a winery that the Westport RV park was the best RV park in the area.  So we decided to check it out.  It was a really cool place, it had its own private beaches, the spaces were fairly spread out, and there were hot showers and free wifi, it was perfect.  The only issue that we were running into is that we were checking in on a Thursday, hoping for two nights, which typically is very challenging with the weekend crowd.  Luckily someone was checking in on a Saturday, so it would work out perfectly.  

After setting up camp, we headed back into town, I had read about a sea glass beach on a different blog and really wanted to check it out..  As we were driving back into town we saw a huge beach, with no one on it and really wanted to get the pups out.  It looked amazing.  We pulled into the parking area, and much to our delight we saw only a couple of other vehicles.  There was a little family that got there just before we did, and then the only other people there were a couple and their pet pig.  Yes I said their pet pig.   Luckily our crazy mutts paid no attention to the pig, they were too distracted by the seagulls.  We walked as far down the beach as the tide would let us and decided to just hang out there for a little bit.  We watched the dogs chase the birds, and each other, and found a really cool cave in the rocks.  The biggest we have found, typically we only find ones that are about two or three feet tall and only go back a couple of feet, but this one is huge! It was about 15 feet tall and went back about 50 feet.  It was fun to check out, although in the back of my mind I have the fear that the tide will rush in and carry us out to sea, I think I have seen too many movies ;)

A giant mussel shell I found

Buddy has developed a new habit of trying to eat everything we pick up

After hanging at the beach for about an hour, we continued into town to the Glass Beach.  So apparently up until 1960, it was common practice for the people of Fort Bragg to just take their glass and metal trash and throw it into the ocean, which is how this area developed such a large glass beach.  When we first walked up to the overlook it did not look like there was going to be any sea glass left on the beach, and there were a ton of people there too.  So we wondered if there wasn't any glass left because it has become so popular to just collect it, but realized that there is still plenty of sea glass left to be found.  It was fascinating how much there really was mixed in with all the little rock pebbles.  We sat down for a few minutes and just searched the area right by our feet.  We searched for sea glass for about 15 minutes and decided to climb back up the embankment and just take in the beautiful coast that surrounded us.  As I stood there marveling at this beautiful coast, I kept hearing Willie Nelson and LeAnn Womack singing “as the sunset west of the Mendocino County line,” and couldn't help but stare.  The coast lines here honestly just leave me breathless, they are that beautiful, and no pictures that I take could ever do them justice.  

We have decided that if there is a brewery in what ever town were are in, we will check it out.  We happen to like beer, a lot, so really it just fitting that we will be having dinner at the North Coast Brewery Taproom restaurant.  This brewery has been around since 1988 and serves some really delicious beers, the one that we both had at dinner was the Old No 38 which is their stout that they serve, which also happened to be the special of the day, and came with a souvenir mug from their store.  The menu included everything from a caprese salad, to pizza to fish ’n chips.  I tend to not be able to resist pizza, and Kyle always is compelled to try the fish ’n chips, both of which were amazing.  After dinner we walked around town a little bit after getting ice cream at Cowlick’s Ice cream shop.  Down town they had this huge cross cut of a coastal redwood, it is remarkable how big these trees are. It was the biggest tree known to be cut down in Mendocino county.  Kyle and I stood there admiring its massiveness and couldn’t imagine ever cutting it down.  The tree was cut down in 1943, the estimated age of the tree was 1,758 years old, it took 80 man hours to cut this thing down! These things are huge! 

We made it back to camp in time to watch the sunset on the beach, something that we had yet to do.  Don't ask me why it has taken us so long to do this, but I am so happy that we were able to this evening.  It was one of the most beautiful sunsets Ive seen in a long time.  While we were sitting down there, a fellow camper had brought out his remote controlled airplane and was flying it around in the sunset glow.  It was pretty funny to watch how much this little plane confused the heck out of our dogs, it was like they were trying to figure out what kind of bird this was… 

The next morning we decide to take my Uncle Marty’s advice and ride the Skunk Train.  The Skunk train takes you one a 1 hour train ride that goes about 40 miles up Pudding Creek into the Redwoods.  Before any major roads developed this was the only route from Willits to Fort Bragg.  They had a snack car in the front of the train, that served popcorn and other snacks, they also had a limited bar for cocktails to enjoy during the ride.  We had been told when we bought our tickets that they served a mean bloody mary.  We normally would partake in libations this early in the day, but when they are 2 for 1 really how can you resist. :) The middle car was an open air viewing car, that had been converted from and old passenger car.  the conductor told us how they made the car and how they had reused much of the steel to create the hand rails to lean on.  Then there was also a normal passenger car that you could sit down in, but the outdoor one was so cool, we never made it that far.   

Next on our agenda for the day was to go check out  the Cabrillo Point light house just south of Fort Bragg.  This light house is from 1909, its light shines from a third order Fresnal, on 270 acres of preserved land.  The light house and the surrounding buildings were restored from 1995-2001, and some of the old keepers houses are available for vacation rental.  Its about a 1/2 mile walk down to the light house from the parking area, and there are little educational signs all along the path to the lighthouse.  I have a feeling that this is a common field trip spot for the local kiddos.  Inside the light house itself is a visitors informational center, where all people and pups are welcome to wonder around, they even have treats for your pups, but we didn't take ours with us down there.  Sometimes it just nice to not have to be pulled around constantly and just enjoy the walk. ;)

We didn’t have a ton of time to spend at the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, we had an appointment for Frank at the vet.  Some how this dog always seems to end up with something going on with him.  The last few days he's been walking around a little crooked (more so than usual, this dog is always crooked), and holding his right ear a little funny.  We knew that it was most likely just and ear infection from all of the swimming that he's been doing, but we also feared that it could be either a tick or a grass seed and didn’t really want to take any chances.  So we mentally prepare ourselves for the rodeo that we know is about to take place, its inevitable, Frank HATES going to the vet.  Its a funny thing with him, and sometimes we don't want to have to warn the vet staff that he's a little nutty at the vet, every time we mention it, there is a sudden fear reaction that he always senses and it makes things that much worse.  We have discovered that you can’t let him decide whether or not he is going to cooperate, because when you do give him the choice, he’s always decided to be an asshole.  Not that I have ever worried about him biting, although I know others do, he is just really strong and REALLY fast and is a big talker..  Something that is very intimidating if you do not know him.  Luckily I have learned how to hold him still for the most part over the years, but when it comes to looking in his ears its always a little tricky.  Today was no different, I had a great grip on him, and he was holding very still for the most part, as the lady vet looked into his ear canal.  There was definitely something at the bottom of his ear canal, so the vet got the little forceps that go into the ear.  He did great as she put the clamps into his ear, but as she started to pull them out, it must have hurt like hell and he was done.  With in the blink of an eye he had thrashed his head just right to knock my jaw into next Tuesday, and launch the otoscope across the room and try to knock out the vet.  Luckily I didn't let go, but we were pretty much screwed on getting the object out of his ear.  She was fairly certain that it was just a puss pocket, and not a tick or a grass seed, but seemed to be in shock about what just happened and didn't seem too enthused to try to take another look.  She sent us home with some medication to put in there once a day for seven days and hope for the best.  I would say over all it went quite well, there was only minimal carnage, so in my mind thats a win.  I may have a broken jaw, and I now have a three inch black bruise on my thigh, but at least we don't have to worry abut him having a tick in his ear.  HA! 

After the circus, I think that Kyle and I honestly need some time to just decompress, so we headed back to the secluded beach we went to yesterday, and just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our beach chairs in the sand. We both read our books and just let the mutts run.   Except for Buddy, who kept staring at us for permission to do something.  Eventually he also discovered the joy of chasing the seagulls along the tide and ran more than he has in a long time.  It was pretty entertaining.  

That evening, we met some of our fellow campers because they happened to have two things I can not resist.  A yellow lab puppy and a French Bulldog, so I had to go introduce myself.  Im happy I did too!  They originally ended up inviting us over for the corn hole tournament, but by the time that everyone in their group finished dinner it was dark. So we all just sat around visiting.  Turns out that all the guys were avid duck hunters so Kyle and the guys sat there swapping stories and showing hunting photos of previous hunting trips.   

The next day we were back on the road to head up to the Eureka.  Our next adventure would be walking with Giants.