Day 89 – We got up at 8 a.m. this morning, sunny & 38 degrees. The mornings we can get a signal & check to see what’s happening in the world, are downright depressing. What a change it would be to look at the news & see only good things. There’s plenty of wonderful things out there in the world; wouldn’t people like to see some of that kind of news once in awhile? Makes you want to go back to bed & pull the covers over your head. Anyway……can’t do that……we’re changing campgrounds today. Maybe they won’t have a signal there. Sigh.
7 long miles!
MacKerricher State Park, 24100 MacKerricher Park Road, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 (just off Highway 1, 3 miles north of Fort Bragg), (707) 937-5804, http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=436. Check-in 2 p.m.; Check-out noon. MacKerricher State Park extends 9 miles along the coast with gorgeous views. There is a walking trail that starts miles above the Park and ends miles below. A section of approx. 3-5 miles is multi-use – a wonderful trail to ride a bike; people also ride their horses there. There are 4 campgrounds within the State Park. One was open during the winter – West Pine. We had site #107. It was such a good site that we found a couple was waiting for us to leave on our last day; we were hardly out of the site before they began moving their things in, LOL. Most of the campsites in West Pine have space between them & are large enough to kick back & relax with the screened tent or in our chairs, BUT most weren’t long enough for the larger RVs and wide enough for the tow car to park alongside. I think 30 feet would work just right. We were snug in our site length-wise, but the car fit nicely next to us. AND we had sunlight on the dashboard much of the day yet total privacy around us due to thick bushes & trees. Perfect. No hook-ups, there was a dump station & water spigots were throughout the campground. The other campgrounds were each different. Even though they were closed, we could walk through them. Cleone was a Group Camp. East Pine was tents only, no generators. Surfwood was the best for RV’s with sites near the ocean or the lake (all within walking distance at least). Almost all sites were long with room for the tow car behind the RV. Nicely spaced like West Pine but not as tree’d as West Pine. Opens in April. The West Pine campground was within walking distance of everything we wanted to do – trails, beach, boardwalks, etc. Very nice. $38 per night including senior discount. We would definitely stay here again.
We left MacKerricher at 12:15 p.m., in no hurry since we were only going a short distance. We needed to dump tanks, get propane, do laundry, etc., so we were moving to an independent campground to take advantage of full hook-ups & amenities. We’d checked out Pomo RV Park & Campground below Fort Bragg after it was recommended to us by a couple we’d met at a previous campground. We arrived at 12:45 p.m. & checked in, Rob got propane, and we drove to our assigned campsite, #27.
The site was plenty wide and very long which allowed us to bury ourselves deep into it. Private and no one was parked in the loop. Being Friday, I expected it to be busier, but it’s winter. 63 degrees (winter?) and partly sunny, a bit hazy. We unpacked & set up, dumped & filled tanks, had lunch, then decided to check out the area as we always do when we first arrive. We drove to the Mendocino Botanical Gardens because it wasn’t far away & we wanted to see if we could walk to it from the campground. They are having an evening event on the weekends where they’ve lighted up the Gardens & people can walk through, then relax with wine & live music. Then we went to the Mendocino Headlands State Park. Right on the Ocean with marshes and dunes & a great trail to walk or bike. Guess who’s going back there this weekend. We drove to Van Damme State Park to ask about their attractions, the Fern Forest & the Pygmy Forest. They also have a great beach, easy to get to. It was still early enough for us to go to the Pygmy Forest. We walked through it on the boardwalk & Rob took some pictures. What else is new.
Back at the RV, the girls have their heated pads again because we have electricity. We made dinner & sat down to relax. We’re all happy.