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Road Trip August 2008 Caspar Beach, Fort Bragg and the Redwoods of Northern California

Coastal Redwoods Fort Bragg Caspar Beach

XXOur road trip at the end of August 2008 took us to the coast of Northern California. XXWe drove through beautiful Redwood forests and along the rugged coast. We camped XXat Caspar Beach were we met old friends and made new friends. We visited Judy's XXold home towns Caspar and Fort Bragg and rode a train called "The Skunk."

And now, join us on our trip

Our first stop was Hendy Woods State Park. The park was founded in 1958 to protect some of the few remaining groves of coastal redwoods. Today, there are two redwood groves in the park, Big Hendy (80 acres) and Little Hendy (20 acres). Ironically, the park is named after Joshua Hendy who built and operated one of the largest sawmills on the Navarro River. We only stopped for a short while, but we sure enjoyed the redwoods! Click the right turn signal to see more of Hendy Woods State Park.XXXXXXXX

From here, we drove through Navarro Redwoods State Park. This park is a little bit different from most other parks for it consisting only of an 11-mile long stretch along highway 128 in Mendocino County, California. It is located along the banks of the Navarro River. Unfortunately, we only had time to stop for a couple of minutes on our way to the coast. Click the right turn signal to see more of Navarro Redwoods State Park.XXX X

Shortly after leaving Navarro River Park, we got onto highway one. This is one of the most beautiful roads in America, stretching all along the rugged California coast. While there is only one stop light per 100 miles on this road, we found ourselves stopping much more often because the views along this road are always breathtaking. One of the most amazing spots on this trip was the bridge over Albion River, just south of Mendocino. (Click on the pictures below for larger images).

We didn't stop in Mendocino this time, but we took a detour to Mendocino Headlands. This state park was founded in 1974, after several years of agitation from citizens concerned about the possibility of blufftop development. It is a rugged area, covering 347 acres of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino. Click the right turn signal to see more of Mendocino Headlands State Park.XX

From Mendocino, it was only four miles to Caspar Beach. This is a small strip of rugged coastline and sculpted rocks just south of Judy's birth town Caspar. Click the right turn signal to see more of Caspar Beach. XXXXXXXXXXXXX

And with that, we reached our destination. The camp ground was just across the street, in walking distance from the beach. It is tucked away in a cove, protected by 100 ft high beautiful cliffs and surrounded by lush greenery. Click the right turn signal to see more of the camp ground. XXXXXXXXX XX

One of the highlights of this annual campout is a giant bonfire right at the beach. We hope our pictures captured a little bit of the spirit. Click the right turn signal to see pictures of the bonfire. XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The place were we had the fire was once the location of the Caspar Mill (left picture). Today, there is almost nothing left of the the place that was once the heart of this little comunity. (right picture). XXXXXXXXxX

Of course we also paid a visit to Judy's home town. Judy was born in Caspar and spent her first years in this house (left). Click the right turn signal to go to Caspar. Xx

While we visited Judy's old school house, we were invited to take part in an interesting little community project: Click the right turn signal to watch us bulding a clay oven. XXXXXXxxXXX

We also visited Fort Bragg, just a ten miles further north, where Judy went to school for eight years. The town is proud of its history of hard working loggers and fishermen. Click the right turn signal to get to Fort Bragg. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

One of the highlights of this trip was our ride on the "Skunk Train" through the redwood forest. Click the right turn signal to ride train with us. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And this concludes our August 2008 road trip - for now. There are still a number of things we'll add to it so please come back here. But for now: Thank you for taking the ride with us!

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