We visited Fort Ross which is where a group of Russians set up a settlement in the 1800's. They were hunting -- you guessed it -- sea otters for their pelts. Here's a door knocker at the fort.
We continued on up the coast and had lunch at The Shelter Cove Inn. We were able to order up lunch and sit outside. The cost of lunch was high (California style) but the views made it so worth it!
We continued up the scenic coastline and made the turnaround at Salt Point State Park. This is the place I remember spending many weekends with Russ camping while he went abalone diving. The place is much like I remembered it -- crashing waves, surge and lots of wind.
Yes, it is a sport only for young. The ability to dive down 15-20 feet and retrieve one of those animals takes a lot of physical stamina and mental illness if you ask me. Nuts, I say, just Nuts!
Yesterday (Thursday) and today I was able to get out early in the morning, before anyone else had the chance to rough up the river, on my kayak. The Russian River here is pretty low so it is easy to put in and paddle for hours without worry of any rapids. Originally I planned to listen to tunes on my cell phone while paddling but I decided to treat myself to auditory heaven instead. Listing to the early morning sounds of the river and forest. It was so nice. At one point I was accompanied briefly by a river otter.
I saw an eagle with her babies high in their nest on a telephone pole, a blue heron, tons of ducks and their ducklings and lots of scary looking seaweed underneath my boat.
This picture is a duck who was coming to check me out. She swam close and then looked behind to see that one of her ducklings had followed her. I heard her squawk at the kid and he turned around and headed back to the shore.
Just so you know I wasn't making up the Blue Heron thing:
Not sure if I mentioned it but Elspeth came on over to visit with us on Tuesday. Elspeth is a nurse who worked with Russ and my girlfriend Pat. When Elspeth saw our photo on my post Sunday, she contacted me and asked if I thought it was a good idea that she come over on Monday night. She lives in Glen Ellen and has worked with Pat and Russ at Tahoe Forest Hospital. We both agreed that it would be great to surprise everyone so we did!
That's her on the right and we are enjoying some of her awesome red wine from the Delaney Family Vineyard:
Thank you Elspeth for coming all this way, drinking very little so you could get home safely and bringing us this fabulous wine. So good see you and re-hash so many memories. We did you proud on the wine you left behind!
So tomorrow we head out for home. This trip was expensive, in more ways than one (our awning got messed up) but you can never take away the incredible memories (did I tell you about the fellow camper who gave us some pot?) and the wonderful friendships we share.
So, looking forward to the next trip . . . vaya con dios everyone!
Sounds like a great time and thanks to both of you for the use of your driveway for a few nights.
ReplyDelete