Mt Tamalpais – Best camping ever!

Ever wondered what it feels like walking in the clouds as the cold, fluffy light clouds caress your body or sleeping to the waves of ocean?? Ever thought of waking up to chirping birds and see wild flowers in all colors and beautiful panoramic views with ocean on all sides just a few feet away?? Ever imagined of having a private beach with lot of sea stars and cliffs to explore all to yourself?? The life suddenly takes on an unhurried quiet pace and you forget the rest of the world! This is not a dream, but our experience camping at Rocky point-Steep Ravine Environmental Campground. 

A very foggy day, I felt pity for all those visitors in the passing by tourist buses. They had no clue what they were missing, even the Golden gate bridge towers weren’t visible to their entire length let alone Alcatraz Island or Bay bridge. But we decided to continue driving to Point Reyes, this time to explore the north end. It was the day of Far West Fest(voted Best Music Festival in Marin), so there were more people than usual near Inverness, a small community in Point Reyes.  The Tule Elk reserve was completely covered in fog so we missed the hundreds of pairs of eyes watching us except for two groups. 

At McClures beach, we saw a seal in the waves near to the beach staring at us as if it wanted to come out. We took Tomales point trail but returned halfway losing the amazing views to the fog. 

The Abbotts lagoon trail took us past a fresh water pond to a footbridge crossing the brackish lagoon with a sandy shoreline and a open ocean. We were shocked to see the lagoon totally engulfed in fog on our way back from the trail. 

The fog followed us to Highway 1. We were lost in it for a while, drove here and there but then finally found our campground at an unbelievable location. Just off hwy 1 with a locked gate on west, one mile south of Stinson Beach, Rocky point-Steep Ravine Cabins and Environmental Campground was part of Mt Tamalpais state park and right on pacific! (The gate could be opened with a key combination emailed upon reserving the campsite.) Two playful dears welcomed us and we drove carefully down the narrow road, nothing being visible on either sides. The campsites were little walk from parking, so carts were available to carry stuff to the sites. We were able to hear the loud waves setting up the tent and sure the ocean was close by. As the night passed, the clouds slowly moved away and we could see rows of lights from the Stinson beach across the shining ocean.

Next morning as we came out of our tent, the scenery had changed, nothing in common with the day before. The clouds dispersed and clear skies emerged. There were wild flowers everywhere, the sea shone blue and we could feel the warmth of the sun rays. 

We climbed down the cliff to the beach and played with the fierce waves hitting the rocks. 

We went exploring around, there were only seven primitive campsites and nine rustic cabins each with great views.We saw Bunnies running along, a seagull trying hard to eat sea star, fearless geckos and a snail. We enjoyed breakfast overlooking ocean, packed everything and started driving back. 

All along the way, we could see the rugged coast reminding us of Big Sur and the Muir overlook was just awesome. 

At the Golden gate bridge, there were huge crowds taking advantage of the perfectly clear day. 

We had lunch and walked on the streets near 19^th Avenue sipping bubble tea, wondering what a perfect ending to our California trip.

A long drive from East to West coast

A really long 3 day(Apr 30-May 2, 2011) drive across 9 states: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming,  Utah, Nevada and finally California was an absolute dream come true! Without much planning, we decided to just hit the road and drive as long as we can in a day. This cross-country road trip was around 2500 miles, mostly on I 80W experiencing the changing landscapes: the great plains in Nebraska, salt flats in Utah, mountains in California and meeting local people. Above that, an hour being added to life each day- fun and tiring too!

  

Day 1: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa

We started early Saturday and by noon we reached the “Windy City”. Enjoyed Panda chinese for lunch at Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis and continued to drive through small cities. It was very windy all day and not much sun. As we entered Iowa, cattle and wind farms was a common scene. By evening we were right at the border of Nebraska. We stayed for the night at Omaha and had dinner in the downtown. The place reminded of Boulder, Colorado with live music, horse carriages, busy restaurants and streets with friendly people.

Day 2: Nebraska, Wyoming

After an hour drive from Omaha, We came across Lincoln, the only other big city for the day. Small towns passed by in the blink of an eye and it was all farms (with overhead sprinkler system used for irrigation) and cattle as far as the eye can see. We stopped for lunch at Perkins restaurant(Absolutely loved the fresh muffins here) in Sidney, a city to the west end of Nebraska. It was full of elderly people and the looks conveyed we were not the kind of people they often see (meant no offense). In Wyoming, the scenery slowly changed from plains to mountains covered with snow and the weather was very pleasant. Utah’s red and tan colored rocks welcomed us and the drive was little challenging on the curvy hill road as we got closer to the Salt Lake City. I was happy to be back in SLC after 2 years and we spent the night there at my sister’s. 

Day 3: Utah, Nevada, California

Salt Lake City was really beautiful in the morning with the pouring sunrays on the snow mountains. As we drove further, we saw the Great Salt Lake followed by acres of white land covered with salt, the famous Bonneville salt flats unique to Utah. We had a quick lunch at a Casino in Winnemucca and were back on the road. Evening as we approached Reno, nicknamed “The Biggest Little City in the World”, it’s vibrant life was quite apparent to the outside. Entering CA, we were fully excited looking at the pines and  national parks. The cities looked amazing between the mountains, nothing like I expected. Luckily we didn’t hit the evening traffic and were able to reach home by late evening.

Camping in the West 3 – Redwoods

World’s largest living tree – Monarch of the North Coast – Living link to the Age of Dinosaurs, Redwoods grow from seeds the size of a tomato seed yet can weigh 500 tons and stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. California Redwoods are a combination of national and 3 state parks: Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks. Further south on 101, Avenue of the Giants surrounded by Humboldt Redwoods State Park, offers by far the most outstanding display of these giant trees in the entire 500 mile redwood belt. A variant of these coastal Redwoods are Giant Sequoias grown only on the western slope of Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges. 

 On the way to California from Crater lake, we stopped by Rogue Gorge just off  hwy 62 which offers an interesting display of pothole formations.  By the time we reached Jedediah Smith state park, the visitor center was closed. Not sure of campsite availability and unable to plan the trip further, we chose to drive to Crescent city and stay at a private RV camp park for the night. We drove on the shore to catch Sunset but it was too windy to even get out of the car!!

Next day, We enjoyed morning walk on the beach, got the maps at the crescent city Information center and drove through Crescent beach and Klamath river overlooks. I was told we can find sea lions and whales from here, but wasn’t lucky enough.

At Klamath tour thru tree, it felt amazing to drive through a Redwood tree (only three drive-thru trees remain in California). We initially thought these were natural, but then didn’t like the fact that they were formed from forest fires or actually cut so. Next we drove through “Newton B Drury Scenic Pkwy” in Prairie Creek Redwoods State park and hiked to Trillium falls. It was a misadventure because we got lost (first time ever in our hiking history) and there were no actual falls and no spot of Elk.

Evening, we walked in Lady Bird Johnson Grove when finally I started to admire the giant redwoods, with tall beautiful plants and flowers. Walking in the Grove between the sky touching giants left us awe inspired. We felt they have lot to say having witnessed so many changes for eons from extinction of dinosaurs to dawn of humans, surviving the forest fires and other calamities, yet stand proud reaching for skies. A wonder by themselves, these magnificent redwoods along the coastline preserve the prairies and also serve as home for a variety of wildlife species as Murrelets and Elks. At night we stayed at a campground at Myers Flat campsite right by Eel river and were quite surprised to find access to web in the woods. 

Can you find me?

Next morning we took the south entrance to the Avenue of the Giants and drove through this world-famous 31-mile scenic drive. It was simply wonderful to walk around experiencing the peace in the cool hush of these ancient old growth forests and more beautiful are the foggy mornings with warm sunrays piercing through the tree tops to reach the cool forest grounds. 

We stopped at the Founders grove, Rockefeller forest, etc, taking pictures and admiring the nature. By afternoon we got onto the hwy 101 through North entrance and started driving back towards WA with Redwood bark and leaves as souvenirs.