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April 24 - United States: Caspar State Beach, CA

Jon went for a run this morning, and then we spent some time doing laundry.  So we didn't hit the road until 12:00.  We seem to have a perpetual problem with leaving early, but we're quite happy with our problems.  For lunch, we stopped at "Moore's Flour Mill & Bakery & Now Deli".  It's an old flour mill in Ukiah, equipped with the water wheel and all.  We enjoyed two very tasty turkey sandwiches from the deli and some of the most amazing cookies we've ever had for $.30 each.  We sat out in the sun and munched.

Orr Springs Road

Leaving Ukiah, we took State Street north until it ended, and then hopped on "Orr Springs Road".  The nice woman at Motel 6 told me about this road when I checked out this morning, and she said it's a lovely drive to Highway 1 on the coast.  Orr Springs Road took us through Mendocino and along a windy two land road.  It was a stunning drive, and a gorgeous day for it. 

A Taste of the View From Orr Springs Road

We went over some mountains and then through a valley filled with redwoods.  For the longest time, we were the only car on the road.  It was like having a part of the country just for ourselves.

Some of the Redwoods Along the Drive

Towards the end of the drive, after two hours, we passed about 12 cars.  Must have been rush-hour on Orr Springs Road.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse

Once we got back to Highway 1, we drove north for maybe an hour when we were distracted by a "Coastal Access" sign.  We have a weakness for these types of distractions.  The drive took us along the coast and through some lovely neighborhoods.  We stopped at the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, which was a half-mile walk from the teeny tiny parking lot.  Along this walk there were signs about whale migration patterns and silly whale questions such as "Do whales have belly buttons?".  Unfortunately, we never got the answers to these crucial questions, because the lighthouse was closed for the season.  But we did get to enjoy the view from the cliffs.

View From Point Cabrillo 

Caspar Beach RV Park

We were so charmed by the area that we decided to stay the evening, even though it was only 3:00PM.  The nearby RV Park looked very nice, and was right across the road from the beach.  There were a few RVs in the site, but absolutely no tents.  We had the entire back section of the campsite to ourselves.  We set up our tent and stuff and then went for a walk on the beach.  The rocky beach was in a little windy cove and we walked over to the cliffs until we couldn't go any further.

Heidi On Caspar State Beach

Back at the campsite, we were glad that we'd gotten there during daylight, because we had time to figure out how to use the camp stove Jon's Mom loaned us.  It's a pretty slick set-up, and we made a nice dinner of pasta with it.  Jon's very handy to have around when camping - a testament to all those years in Boy Scouts.

 

You Can Take the Boy Out of the Eagle Scouts, 

But You Can't Take the Eagle Scout Out of the Boy!

Since it was a chilly evening, we turned in early and curled up in our sleeping bags with books before falling asleep.

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