Fort Bragg - Day 3

Actually, I should have called this post: Day 2-1/2, as most of this adventure was done in the afternoon and evening. Oh well, I'll leave it for now.

We went to the amazing Botanical Gardens late morning, on a beautiful 63 degree, blue-sky day on the coast. I took a LOT of pictures, so I won't show them all here, but look for an email sometime tomorrow, to where I'll post all the pix for the entire week. WE HAD A SUPER TIME!

If and when you ever get to Fort Bragg, the Gardens are something you won't want to miss. A non-profit maintains everything, and they do a smashing job. There are well-marked trails (see photo below), and a map to keep you from walking in circles. One trail takes you right out to the bluffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I took MANY pictures, so will only share a few here; look for an email to a "cloud link" where I'll post them all for you to click through at your leisure!

A flock of pelicans came through while we stood on the ocean bluff ... Don't look up, or at least keep your mouth closed if you do?

And, yes, there were sculptures, here and there around the Garden, made by local artisan's. And, amazing trees (like the one below) that are sculptures themselves. Everything IS labeled by the way, with the scientific name, of course, and the name that us common folk know them by ... Wait! Is that some kind of rose? Or a berry? I was never too good at remembering the different species of growing things.

Anyway, more to come in the "cloud post" of all the pictures.  After the Gardens, we headed for downtown Fort Bragg to visit two museums. The first displayed a huge cache of glass from Glass Beach, polished by the ocean over many years. The displays were organized by glass type and color. Last time we visited it was illegal to pickup glass off the beach. 

The City Council tried to impose fines on people that got caught, but the courts kept throwing the cases out. Finally, it is legal again, however the beaches have been picked clean, as you might imagine.

Next up was part of the train museum where a fantastic diorama of the entire area was displayed, dating back to when steam locomotives were used to bring logs down to the mill. Across from the dioramas room was the workshop where a couple dedicated enthusiasts were hard at work, sanding, painting, and maintaining the cars and engines.

After a busy day, we retired to the RV to rest before dinner (we had walked over 4 miles). Dinner plans for Thursday night were special, since my birthday was the following day ... I chose a fish dinner at The Wharf restaurant, right on the harbor.

The setting, dining room, wait staff, and the meal of fresh caught salmon and Alaskan halibut (fresh from Alaska?), were first rate. We had a calamari appetizer to start, with a honey-mustard dipping sauce that I thought Louise was going to use on everything! It WAS indeed yummy, I have to admit. There was a red dipping sauce, too, equally good and nothing like we've ever had before. No picture because we ate it all before I thought to take one. Ha!

We each ordered one fish type, then split plates so we could taste both. Cooked to perfection, both were "melt-in your-mouth" good ... accompanied by a chunk of polenta, fresh tomatoes, and carrots/string beans sautéed in butter and garlic. Yes OMG! 

The view from our table, looking out to sea, under the Hwy 1 bridge ... 

Of course, we just had to have a desert ... me, the Olallieberry cobbler, topped with vanilla ice cream, and a layered moose for Louise, chocolate, of course. Wow! We waddled out of the restaurant and decided a short walk along the jetty entrance to the harbor was in order after the big meal. 

Then, it was back to the bus and some relaxation for the rest of the evening, trying not to think about our plans to leave in the morning. But, we were up early and headed out of camp by 8:15 ... Such a nice time, we had. If I hadn't booked dinner at the Elks Friday night I think we would have remained for the weekend.

Friday night at the Elks Lodge in Auburn, for a smoked beef ribs dinner.

I hope you enjoyed tagging along ... I'll post all the pix to the "cloud" and, if you don't get an email from me, drop me a note. See you on the next adventure!

God bless,

Dennis

Fort Bragg - Day 2

We spent a good part of day #2 on the coast walking around the town of Mendocino, just 10 minutes south on Hwy#1. This is a similar place to what you might find on the East coast, in New England. In fact, many episodes of Murder She Wrote, staring Angela Lansbury, were filmed here. This picture is of main street as seen from the ocean bluffs, west-side of town.

The architecture looks to be what you will find in most coastal towns along the coast ... old buildings, somewhat weathered by the constant foggy mornings and windy afternoons. It has been 15 years since we last visited and many have been restored and occupied by new business; a few familiar business remained having weathered the COVID down-turn.

We hit perfect weather this week, no fog and only a slight breeze, with temps in the low to mid-60's ... A small bakery in-town offered a generous cup of black coffee plus a fresh-baked cinnamon role, of course. 

Here are a few pictures of the local buildings.

This Country Store is for sale, by the way ... check it out at Sotheby's Realty, Mendocino, CA.

Water towers and/or observation platforms seem to be the thing to have here, and there are several poking up above buildings in the community. There are several structures dating back to the late 1800's as well, nicely restored.

From the downtown, it's an easy walk to the ocean bluffs, so the next few pictures are of that hike. Interestingly, there were a two boats in the bay with divers over the side. We stopped one of the divers coming back to his car and discovered these were not fisherman or divers going for crabs or abalone ... Apparently, they are harvesting sea urchins, which have been killing the natural seaweed habitat. The divers were also replanting seaweed ... who'd thought that?

A pix of us then a few from the bluffs.

More pix from the ocean bluff ...

That hole in the cliff goes all the way through to the other side, creating a natural bridge of sorts. As you walk over the bridge, there is an opening (cave-in?) where you can see into the water, passing half-way through the tunnel. Very cool!

This "structure" appeared to be the remnants of some type of pier or stair going over the cliff sometime in the past, about to finish its journey down. Ha!

Also, some large anchor chain, maybe to tie up an old whaling ship ... or something?

Today we are going to the Botanical Gardens, two miles from camp. Then, a fish dinner at The Wharf restaurant, right on the water in the harbor ... for my birthday, which will occur on Friday. 

So, more pictures to follow tomorrow ... stay tuned!

Fort Bragg Holiday

Being spontaneous can sometimes offer amazing adventures, and that's just what we decided to do on a mid-week trip to Fort Bragg on the coast. You might think finding a spot virtually impossible during summer months ... Well, avoiding the weekend and booking mid-week for three nights wasn't an issue. We had our pick of six different sites, some full-hookups. We chose water and power only for $66/night since our tank capacity will easily cover 4 to 5 days.

Our campsite and first visitor:

We chose Fort Bragg as it is the perfect spot to go exploring from; lots to see and do in the area. Not only is the downtown a great place to poke in/out of the many shops, but there is a museum, glass beach, and one of the best Botanical Gardens on the west coast, just 2 miles south of town. Drive another 10 minutes and you'll find the little seacoast town of Mendocino ... a touch of Carmel on the North coast.

These people sleep-in here and most shops don't open until 11am. So, we are just relaxing in the RV and watching blue sky roll in and out, overtaking the marine layer. Nice and cool, about 52 deg and headed for 65.

Anyway, a quick ride through town yesterday after arrival to check that our favorite Italian restaurant was still there ... it was! Also, this sign was an unusual find as I thought Radio Shack was long gone. I may have to stop in and see what they have before we leave.

So, this should get you started with the Blog ... more to come after today's excursion.

To Fresno and Home

The trip from Boron to the other side of the Tehachapi pass served up the worse road conditions of the entire trip. If you traveled in the "slow lane", the pavement was chewed up so badly by the many trucks traveling this route, that our poor motorhome (and its occupants) were shaken and bounced beyond imagination. And, to the extent that it was dangerous to open a cabinet door or the refrigerator without help to catch items that were now boobytraps to the unsuspecting or inexperienced RV traveler.

Having said this, the Tehachapi area and 3,970-foot pass through the mountains offered interesting views and subject matter. The pass connects the rather bleak Mojave Desert with the beautiful and fertile San Juaquin Valley. The Eastern slope is the birthplace of the wind energy industry and is covered with more than 3,300 giant wind turbines. The picture shows a small fraction of those visible along the highway. Not the best picture, but hopefully you get the idea.

If you look closely at the picture above, you might notice the tail sections of hundreds of aircraft stored at the Mojave aircraft boneyard by Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed, and Airbus. Some reach the end of their useful lifetime and are scrapped here, while others are refurbished and returned to active service, I'm told. Well, I don't know about you, but I sure would like to know which are returned to active service ... before I board?

This is your Captain speaking, "Pay no attention to that desert critter slithering across the floor of the cabin." Yikes!

A storm had passed by the day before, so there was a sprinkling of "white stuff" in the hills. West-facing slopes looked deep enough to ski on, but the roads were completely dry as we passed through at 10am.



Yes, there were a lot of trucks out as Hwy 40 to 58 to 99 is a major commerce route across the USA. We passed many trains along the highway, as well, with engines in front and back pulling/pushing, respectively, more than 100 cars sandwiched in between, caring new autos, lumber, oil or gas, and yes, Borax, and many unknowns.

So, any pictures taken were quick and not the best, as it takes a lot of concentration to squeak by when the opportunity presents itself with only a few feet between our mirrors. If you get stuck behind a truck while in the bumpy slow lane ... it will take much longer to get to your next stop.



As we descended the pass and headed west to Hwy99, the road got better as did the traffic, as trucks stopped trying to pass each other ... You know, the old "my Kenworth is faster than your Freightliner races!"

I missed taking a picture, but the first crops you see entering the valley are thousands of acres of orange orchards. In fact, one of the places we like to overnight is the Orange Grove RV Park, where all the sites are pull-through, flat, and in between the trees of the grove. You are allowed and encouraged to pick oranges during your stay. This is a very large and friendly park, link: Orange Grove RV

We typically stay at Orange Grove when coming or going, but on this trip I chose to travel a bit further towards home to overnight at the Elks Lodge in Fresno. The Lodge is away from the highway about 6 miles, but worth the side trip. $35/night, water and electric.



The view out the front of the bus window is of a 3-acre storage basin and bird sanctuary, full of all kinds of water fowl. At night, the reflections of lights from businesses across the pond offer a private, peaceful and tranquil setting. The picture was taken during the day, of course, so you'll have to use your imagination.



From Fresno to home, the trip went quickly with only one stop to walk the doggie. The RV needs a major interior cleaning, and a maintenance service and safety-check, as all that bumpy road caused "something" to come loose, causing a rattling noise in the front suspension during the last 50 miles. I'm thinking (hoping?) shock absorber mount (cheap), or trailing arm bushing (maybe not cheap!)

A few statistics (approximate):
Miles traveled = 1,402
13 nights, 14 days away
230 gallons of gas consumed
6 mpg average (those hills kill mileage; the bus averages 8 mpg on the flats)
New, 300 amp/hour Lithium coach battery (overdue) = $1,200
New tow bar (unexpected) = $550
Good times, good visits with friends, good food = PRICELESS!

I hope you've enjoyed riding along on our adventure to Quartzite, AZ and back. I'll wrap this post up with well wishes to you and your families, and I'll be sure to copy you on the next trip, possibly to UT in the Spring.

So, until the next trip, God bless and stay tuned ...

Boron, CA

This was our 2nd overnight stay in Boron, in as many years, and we chose to do a little more than just camp. After the requisite visit to the 20 Mule Team Museum in town, the curator suggested we visit the Borax mine and processing plant 4 miles west of town. Wow! I do not know how we missed this bit of history the last time through. A few pix to follow, but first a little Wikipedia reprint:

"A large borax deposit was discovered in 1925, and the mining town of Boron was established soon thereafter. This borax deposit is now the world's largest borax mine and operated as an open-pit mine, the largest in California, one mile across. This mine supplies nearly half of the world's supply of refined borates, employing over 800 people."

The road up to the Visitor Center was RV friendly, actually smoother and better maintained than Hwy40, with plenty of parking and room to turn around.

The equipment running around this 24/7 operations mine look like ants, but are huge. Look at the men standing next to the shovel in the next picture and you'll get an idea of just how big this operation is. We watched the giant dump trucks going in and out of the mine from the view deck on top of the Visitor Center.

One of the fellows at the Visitor Center, Larry, was friendly and informative about the area and operations. We found out that Borax is used in many household products, and in the making of glass and other things we use every day.

Larry, to the right of the chunk of mineral, greeted us at the door ... This specimen contains crystals of boron and other substances. The Visitor Center was really interesting with well-documented picture captions, dioramas, and a history of the plant, the people, and the area. Larry told us that Lithium was recently discovered in the mine, but wouldn't talk about it for some reason ... maybe a pending contract with Tesla? Ha!

There is a hugh version of a dump truck in town, similar to those used in the mine, and we were told that it would fit inside the bed of the much larger trucks in use at the mine.

That's it for this post. We are headed to Fresno today as soon as it warms up a bit over the Tehachapi pass, where it was 19 degrees this morning. Tonight we stay at Fresno Elks Lodge, where we've been before, but never when the lodge was open. So, we are looking forward to going inside, meeting a few local folks, and maybe have dinner, served on Wednesday's.

Oh, one more bit of info ... Domingo's Mexican Restaurant in town is under new management and serves up the best Mexican food we have ever tasted; stop and eat here and you won't regret it. This is a family-owned and run restaurant, and they will make anything you ask for, even if you can't find it on the large, multi-page menu. 

Christie and I had a combo plate of Chile Colorado and Chili Verde (not on the menu) ... OMG, good, while Louise ordered Carnitas Fajitas, on a platter with more meat than you can consume in one sitting (leftovers anyone?)! We met the new owner, and a 16-year employee who waited on us, small-town nice!

More to come, so stay tuned ...