Point Reyes National Seashore - March 2018

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The Dollar Girl

I know what makes the Lady happy. Happiness for the two of us is a simple thing. Go outside. The further outside the better.

With recent developments with her father's health, she has been in a bit of a whirlwind. Getting her dad to doctor appointments and overseeing his care and well being has taken a lot of time. It is slowly evolving into a routine and she has discovered that help is out there,  and is learning how to make use of it.

It was time for a break. It was time to make her happy.

We took off early afternoon on Friday as soon as she returned home from another medical appointment for her dad. The weather forecast was mixed, but called for mostly dreary drizzly days. A few nights away in the camper would work wonders for her. I know these things.

Point Reyes National Seashore - if you get beyond the well known  and celebrated roadside attractions - holds a wealth of places to discover. And it can be a place to "get away from it all" when it's needed.

We had a campsite reserved at the private Olema Campground.We were a bit apprehensive about the place. Would it be a haven for big RV boxes? The campground is within walking distance of the main Visitors Center and also trailheads if we choose to walk from camp. We were relieved of some of our apprehension when we were informed we would be fine with our small All Terrain Camper with a spot in the tent camping area.The campground also sit right on top of the San Andreas Fault.

It rained overnight and Saturday morning was still drizzly and cold. We drove over to Limantour Beach to spend the day.

We walked south.

We turned inland and intersected the Coastal Trail. It parallels the coastline and we continued south on it.

Iris were in bloom.

We took the spur trail down to Sculptured Beach.

The changing weather and light, augmented with mist from both the surf and clouds, imparted a closed in feeling to this vast intersection of ocean and continent.

We decided we'd return north by hiking the beach.

The mist turned to rain as we walked. The camera was stashed in my pack. Our rainflies went on the packs, rain parkas were donned, and we enjoyed being embraced in the many moods of weather on the coast.

The Lady started noticing pieces of sand dollars. Her excitement grew. 

"I want to find intact dollars!"

Soon she was back and forth across the beach, searching.

"This one's whole! Look at it!" she would call out. "Oh look at this one!" She held it close for a thorough examination. "I haven't seen so many sand dollars since I was a teenager!"

She was happy.

We took a long break. The rain had stopped. We laid out a space blanket on the beach and stretched out, propped up against our packs. Four young women rode by, exercising their horses in the surf; strong, good looking steeds.

Before we moved on we held a little ceremony as the Lady returned all her sand dollars back to the surf.

It was mid afternoon. We continued along the Limantour Spit to its western end.

We stopped where it turned into Drakes Estero.This place is endowed with natural beauty and history abounds. This is where most historians believe Sir Francis Drake landed in 1579 on his sea voyage around the world.

We turned around and headed back to our trailhead.

An opportunity for a self portrait appeared along the beach.

It was late afternoon when we reached the truck. We had walked a little under 14 miles. It had been a wonderful day.

We were surprised the sun was out when we returned to our campsite. We had talked of walking down highway 1 to have dinner at The Farmhouse. The warm sun changed our mind so we put together a quick dinner and sat outside on our chairs and dined in style.

Overall the campground was quiet and our stay pleasant. It regularly floods during the winter so be sure and call about current conditions.

Sunday we started out on an inland route that would take us along Drakes Estero.

Clouds and mist enshrouded the coast once again. The trail travels through various landscapes. Coyotes burst out in song around one corner.

It was four miles out to Sunset Beach on the edge of the estuary. The seaside was fog and mist.

Sun was breaking out inland.

The Lady wanted to explore.

We sat with our backs against the bluff and watched the fog move across the estuary.

An osprey with a fish safely in its talons appeared out of the fog on its way to a distant nest. A golden eagle also appeared and gained altitude to rise over the bluff.  A dump duck did a remarkable job catching crab after crab.

And the Lady was happy finding more perfect dollars.

We had walked out above Drakes Estero in fog. On our return, the sun was out, and new vistas were all around us.

We did not want to return home. We'd stay one more night on the coast so we turned into Doran Campground at Bodega Bay. It was near empty on this Sunday evening.

We set up camp and then wandered about.

Bodega Harbor was to the north.

We walked the length of the beach on the south side of the campground.

Fog worked at reasserting its dominance.

We were alone as we walked the beach in the night after dinner. The sound of the waves was hypnotic. The smell of surf and ocean settled deep into us.

We walked along the beach with our coffee the next morning. Alfred Hitchcock came to mind.

We were heading home so we dropped the top and headed to Howard's Station Cafe in Occidental for a store bought breakfast. The Lady insisted on a cinnamon roll for the ride home. No way would I say no to that.

This was our adventure. The Dollar Girl was happy with our getaway. I was too.