Wright's Beach

My husband and I decided we wanted to get away since the weather forecast in town for the weekend would be temperatures around the mid 100s. Yes, someplace cool would be nice! I looked online for places where the weather would be cooler with available campsites. I didn't expect to find an opening at Wright's Beach on the Sonoma Coast. Luckily for us there was one site open, site #13 a drive-through. This site is more exposed than some of the other sites, but we situated the RV to block a site behind us.

Since the site across from us only had a person tenting, we were able to see the ocean from our site.

The greatest reward to this campground is the wide beach...and I mean wide. This is looking down the coast, south, towards Duncan's Landing.

And this is looking up the coast, north, towards Jenner. The tire tracks in both photos are from the lifeguard who was there to rescue anyone thinking of taking a swim on this warm day. It was 82 degrees at the beach, but nobody was foolish to try swimming in the waves on one of California's most deadliest beaches. Those waves look inviting, but there are dangerous rip currents which would sweep one under -plus the water is freezing. Even at the park's kiosk, the ranger warned not to go in the water.

This is looking into the direction of the campground. The campground is nestled in the green of trees.

Crashing waves at Duncan's Landing are beautiful and fun to watch. One brave soul was swimming in the waves close to shore keeping a friendly eye on us. Sadly, I couldn't capture a decent photo of that curious seal.

Our walk along the beach took us up the coast where we found a set of stairs and a path up the hill to...

the Kortum trail; a coastal trail that starts a Wright's Beach and travels north to Blind  Beach and Goat Rock.

We found the trail post and headed back to Wright's Beach campground.

The trail started out as a dirt trail, but shortly it became a boardwalk.

Just one of many pretty plants in bloom.

We continued our journey across the board walk looking at the vegetation and wondering what type of animals were hiding under the plants during the day.

The boardwalk ended at a road, which we then followed back to camp. From the road you could see the beach and Duncan's Landing.

We hiked this trail twice going in the same direction from beach up to bluff. It wasn't until the second trip that we discovered at the trailhead at the Wright's Beach parking lot that there was a sign stating no dogs allowed on the Kortum Trail. There wasn't a notice at the post coming up from the beach...oh well. Along the bluff was one last resurrection lily from a group of bulbs showing off its beauty and for one to admire its glory.

While at the bottom of the bluff, the vegetation had already turned brown, orange, and red.

With two hikes in one day of walking the beach, climbing the bluff, and traveling back to camp, my feet were tired. The evening was spent looking for shooting stars and admiring the Milky Way.

We will definitely come back to this wonderful campground.

A Peaceful Walk in the Woods

This is the second time I have traveled this path. Both times has brought me great joy walking through the many diverse ecosystems of this area.

The start of my hike is a descent.  The trails quickly changes to walking under a canopy of  young redwood trees.

I stop to listen to the forest.

After reaching the floor of the evergreen woods, I walk along the boardwalk to quickly leave the hustle of the Muir Woods.

I start my ascent through the deciduous forest.

The climb out of the forest brings me to an interesting place.

The view from the wooden walkway is the true beauty of this spot.

I enter the forest again to continue the climb.

Many steps later, I'm rewarded with a spectacular view. Somewhere out there is the ocean.

A touch of color among the harsh browns delights me.

Back under the canopy with what looks to be Bavaria, I continue the climb.

I'm surprised at how quickly the landscape changes.

Just at the top of the trail awaits a wonderful bench.

I sit to take in the view from where I have traveled. 

Just before my journey ends, I'm rewarded with another beauty of life.

Hiking with the Alligators

During my recent visit to Houston, my daughter and I went out to Brazos Bend to hike this lovely Texas State Park. The trail started out under the canopy of trees covered with Spanish moss.

Quickly, we were traveling beside Elm Lake. At the edge of the lake is some type of lock or spillage gate.

Along this area of the lake are many water plants with light, bluish flowers. We were amazed by the density of the plants growing in the lake. It looks like a meadow of wild flowers.

Fortunately for us, we took the wrong path. We had planned on traveling around Horseshoe Lake and over to the Big Creek Loop. Instead, we were on the Spillway Trail that took us over to the observation tower by 40 Acre Lake. The Spillway Trail had two alligators resting on the trail. And, we counted four more alligators swimming in the swamps that we walked beside while hiking the trail.

 

The trail etiquette is to stay on the trails and to stay clear of grasses, twigs, and soil near the side of the trails since alligator nests are found along the water's edge. 

We weren't about to venture off the trail to get a closer look at the pretty green waters. Even though the trail is wide, seeing an alligator resting at trail's edge is very scary. 

The warning is to keep at least 30 feet from an alligator, and don't assume that they are slow moving.

During our walk along the path we saw a turtle cross the path at record speed. I wasn't about to piss off an alligator to see how fast it could move.

From the observation tower there were stunning views of the flat and swampy Brazos Bend. 

After climbing down from the observation deck, we headed back in the direction we came- along this trail. Back at the junction with the lock, we took the Old Horseshoe Lake loop. We never did make the trek out on the Big Creek Loop since it was closed to hikers. This State Park has a campground. If ever my husband and I take an RV trip to Houston, I plan to stop here for a couple of days. There are many interesting trails to explore. So next time I visit my daughter, I will venture here again to hike and learn more about this beautiful area.

A Midweek Break

We took a couple of days off to visit and explore the coast north of Jenner, CA. Since we didn't have reservations at a campground, we were fortunate to stayed at the lovely Stillwater Cove Campground. Our site was right next to the empty site on the left, the picnic table area.  We were lucky that the campground during midweek wasn't in full use. Even the bike-in/hike-in site behind us was empty.

Even though Highway 1 was close to the campsite, we hardly heard any road noise.

Stillwater Cove Campground is situated in a lovely area of forest that is along the coast. From the campground one can take a short hike down to the beach or walk alongside a stream that feeds into the ocean. The plus is that dogs are allowed to hike these trails. Thank you Sonoma County!

Naturally, we did both short hikes.

In the evening, we ate hamburgers with bacon and fried onions and mushrooms. I'm preparing dinner.  It was such a wonderful bug free, cool evening that we relaxed and enjoyed our leisurely meal at the picnic table. We took a couple of strolls around the campground and met the wonderful hosts, Sue and Betty. It was fun chatting with them. They have been full-timers for at least eight years and this is one of their favorite places to be camp hosts. They sure do make one feel very welcome!

We also drove up to Sea Ranch area and walked a short section of a trail along this stretch of beautiful coast.

As we headed back to Jenner and home, we stopped to look at the sea lions lounging and sunning themselves on the beach. They look like tiny dots lined up along the waters edge of the beach.