Samuel P Taylor State Park and the California Coast

Just in case anyone was getting the idea that we were truly living a life of luxury, let me tell you what I’m wearing. First, it is pretty early, I’m guessing 7:45am. I’ve been up long enough to make coffee and find a spot with my lounge chair. We are at Samuel P. Taylor State Park close to Point Reyes National Seashore camped in a valley in a grove of redwoods, however the hills around us are mostly fields, brown and dry as bones, with cattle grazing (somehow). We are in view of the San Andreas Fault line, and when I look up I can tell that when we get out of the trees, and their shade, we’ll find sun and clear skies. But back to what I’m wearing.

 

Salt Point State Park - pretty close to the ocean. We are loving the openness of the fields at the expense of the wind.

We are tenting, remember. The sun goes down early and rises late – makes sense, it is fall. It is cold at night and in the mornings (my fingers are freezing in my thin gloves – the only ones I can type in).  When I got up this morning I put on: wool socks, fleece pants with my quick-dry hiking pants on top, long sleeve shirt, hooded MEC fleece, quilted vest, flannel camp jacket, merino wool toque with my fleece hood on top. I am feeling very “bunchy”. When I sit to write, I cover my lower half with the afghan I’ve been crocheting in the car; it is now big enough to be pressed into service and is remarkably warm. All concepts of fashion have been thrown out the window (although some may already be questioning my sense of fashion at the best of times).

Once again, the travel gods have thrown us a curve ball. In case you haven’t heard, some budget issue and party fighting (and the details escape me) has resulted in loads of federal employees being out of work – only those required for essential services are still working. This means all national parks, monuments and historic sites are closed! Today’s plan to visit Point Reyes – shot; our 4 day visit to Yosemite planned for next week (with 3 nights in a very cozy hostel) – well, who knows? We were so proud that we had actually planned some things, and made some bookings, but the universe seems to have a different plan in store for us. I can’t speak for Barry, but I am left wondering if maybe we are being called to be much more “nomadic”. We will hit San Fran tomorrow, and take in the free Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park, but that is all we know for now.

But the sun is with us these days, and the rain seems far behind. It is a most welcome change. We’ve driven Hwy 1 all the way down the coast and been amazed at the views and the myriad of small, funky towns we drive through. It is an incredible luxury to see something, like the little café on the water in Jenner, and stop for coffee and baked goods on the spur of the moment. Maybe one of the lessons of this experience is about being more present in the moment; we’ve had lots of opportunity to let go of control. This is in marked contrast to our “working” lives – so full of order and structure. As time stretches out before us, and the stretch seems long, we really do have to surrender.

We spent 2 incredible nights at Salt Point –at a state park that was virtually empty. It was open; catering to our strong desires to be out in big space with light and sun. It was also, as a result, windy (and I thought of my friends I know to be unsettled by the wind). We hiked and biked along what to now might be the most dramatic bit of shoreline we’ve encountered on foot. Incredible rock formations and spectacular wave action. The whole experience lent new meaning to adjectives like “roiling”, and “heaving”.  The wind was fierce and we had to bundle up, but the sun and the scenery paid us back handsomely. It is these days and moments that stun us in their beauty that make the physical discomfort, the uncertainty, and the missing of our lives back home worth the effort. The photos don’t really show the effort!

Wind strong enough I can lean right into it!

Incredible lunch spot - somewhat out of the wind

Can you tell from my clothing how windy it is here?

We have almost 3 weeks before we depart for Asia. We are reading our Nepal book and getting our brains organized for the next leg, which feels like we are “raising the bar”. This might be a good time to “ keep it simple”. XOXOXO

 Samuel P Taylor State Park:
Wow - totally different environment. Because the Point Reyes National Seashore was closed we hiked to a fire lookout on Mt Banadore (I hope I remembered that name right) - 447 m. Ecologically the area is very interesting: we were camped in redwood grove, big and towering trees, but hiked out onto dry, "dead" chaparral. You can see from the photos that valleys and some hillsides are treed, in marked contrast to the open areas. Our hike covered about 12 km - 7 of which took us from low in the valley to the peak through a fabulous maze of switch backs that kept us in the forest. Amazing trees and fruits I've never seen. I brought some back with me to ask the ranger about but sadly he could not ID them without seeing the actual plants.

We could do a whole piece on driving the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) - AMAZING! Mostly hairpin turns; putting our standard driving skills to the test. Lots of the drive we do in 2nd and 3rd gear. The views are spectacular and there is still so much more to see.

Bar with the 4 beautiful feathers he found. I think 3 were from vultures (turkey?) and 1 from a hawk. He sadly left 3 behind, but is now driving with the hawk? feather on the car visor. Campsite in the redwoods.