R.I.P., MAURICE HINCHEY. THANK YOU!
Day 80 – Sadly, our Congressman for 20 years, Maurice Hinchey, passed away last week; the funeral is today. Maurice always did the right thing for us, putting the people first; it certainly hasn’t been the same since he retired around 4 years ago. He is missed, for sure.
79 miles
Today we travel to our next campground & new areas to explore. We got up around 7 a.m., 38 degrees & sunny; beautiful day. So far, the temperature is holding steady at the house. The girls haven’t figured out we’re leaving yet. They’re relaxing in the sunlight.
Army Corps of Engineers Lake Mendicino Campground, Ky-en Campground, 1275 Marina Drive, Ukiah, CA 95482, (707) 467-4200, http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lake-Mendocino/Camping/Kyen-Campground/. Check-out time is 11 a.m. (strictly enforced); don’t know about check-in time. Reservations only via website or phone. The campground hosts did not accept cash or checks. This was a good campground. It was fairly strictly watched over by the campground hosts; they did warn people by 11:20 a.m. that they were beyond check-out time & they had to leave. A hiker with a tent who evidently didn’t have a paid reservation was asked to leave. A fairly large campground, this time of year 21 campsites were open. During the Thanksgiving holiday, maybe 7 sites were filled. Later, just 3. The sites needed a good raking – there was trash at some – but not much & the benefits outweighed this minor imperfection. Beautiful lake, nice site (#13) on a hill overlooking the campground, mostly tree’d but some sun, kayaking & biking, located close to a major town for supplies, and the price – $25 per night minus 50% senior discount card – so we paid $75 for six nights. No hook-ups, dump station was closed, minor traffic noise. We would stay there again.
After getting gas & propane at the Indian Reservation ($.50 cheaper per gallon for gas) we left Lake Mendocino, heading south on Highway 101 at 11 a.m.. After leaving Ukiah, the rural scenery was gorgeous, rolling hills & vineyards. We went west on Route 128 near Hopland on a winding road through the hills. We reached our destination, Hendy Woods State Park, at 12:40 p.m., 58 degrees and sunny. We drove through the campground & picked a campsite. #27. We were the only ones camping other than the campground hosts. There are two campground loops; 1 ½ were closed for the season. Site #27 was private and large, nestled in the redwood forest, quiet & beautiful. The campground offered no hook-ups but they did have a dump station (YAAAA) and water spigots fairly close by. $38 per night including senior discount. Situated a long distance from the nearest highway (Route 128), it was very quiet. The Navarro River was close by; there were nice hikes through the redwoods within the Park, and bicycling was permitted on all paved roadways. Perfect.
We set up, unpacked, & had lunch, then drove to the Day Use Area to check out the area. A short hike brought us to the River. In the opposite direction, various hikes ranged from .3 miles to 1.7 mile hikes through different redwood groves. We walked to the River, then walked a ½ mile trail through old-growth redwood trees. Drove back to the campground & walked through the area that was closed & the area that was open. A very nice campground, we are lucky we found it & that others have not. Hee hee.
Our campsite is large with the standard picnic table & fire ring, plus a large area for setting up the screened tent if we need to use it. So far we haven’t encountered many bugs. We hope to ride our bikes here & hike some of the longer trails during our stay. We won’t be able to camp among the redwoods that much longer, so we need to take advantage of this Park. We’re 20 miles from Highway 1 & the Ocean. Close to the wineries. We have decent internet reception but absolutely no cell voice signal, weird.