Gualala to Bodega Bay

Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010
Leaving Gualala, took these two photos of the Surf Motel:

Just a few minutes down the road and who do I see up ahead? Franklin from Bellingham:

Again, we ride together for a bit. Passed a very unusual house that reminded me of a wizard's hat:

[Edit: Ron from Fort Bragg informs me this is not a house but a church or chapel.]

Lots of livestock––mainly cattle, sheep and goats––along the way:

Came across this general store in Stewarts Point:

Built in 1868. (100 years before I was born.)

Here's a panoramic view of the interior (The shelves in the far left of the photo are facing the shelves in the far right.):

The owner of the store told me the population of Stewarts Point is three. They live next to the general store in this house that was built at the same time:

After leaving Stewarts Point, I was again back into thick, wet fog for most of the remainder of the day. Here's a view of what Highway 1 typically looks like along this stretch:

I think I passed a lot of scenery today which wasn't visible due to the thick vapor. Every so often the road would descend and I'd catch a glimpse of the water and rocks:

Or one of the ubiquitous turkey vultures attempting (in this fog, unsuccessfully) to dry its wings:

Stopped for a rest at this little market in Ocean Cove:

The landscape here alternates between grassy, windswept, rocky hills fronting the ocean and thickets of trees/forest, usually inland a few hundred yards or more from the shoreline. Stopped in one of the forest thickets to get a photo of the sunlight streaming through and noticed spiderwebs on this plant (hemlock?):

Passed another interesting house:

Stopped in Bodega Bay at Doran City Park campground. Pitched camp:

Amazingly, if you zoom in on Google Maps, you can see the spot. Search for Bodega Bay in Google Maps, then start zooming in where the arrow is pointing:

You'll find the campsite with the fire pit/barrel thing and the picnic table (I made a circle and rectangle to mark the fire pit and table.):

Cool!

Met two other Bay Area residents (They weren't together.) who were camping nearby; Adrian, a young guy who was camping around, killing time before going to work on a farm in Petaluma, and Nicole, a 20-something who'd been out day-hiking with friends and had decided to camp in Bodega Bay instead of going home. The three of us sat around the fire at my campsite and talked. Adrian had a guitar with him, so he added ambiance for a while. If it all sounds enchanting and groovy, it wasn't. The air was slightly cold and thick with water vapor/fog, the conversation wasn't inspired or interesting, and the guitar playing (noodling) quickly became tiresome. Eventually I told them I needed to hit the sack and they left.