Salt Point State Park

It has been awhile since my last "real" ride, so I have been itching to get out on the open road.  As I was sitting in my room Thursday evening bored to my wits end, I jumped on the Internet and started looking for places to go.  I realized, I have yet to travel north along the California coast and decided Salt Point State Park would be the perfect destination.  I loaded my gear that night and awaited the morning for departure.

I laid in bed in anticipation, like a fat kid waiting for his cake.  I started my ride at about 10:00 and the first stop was at the Golden Gate Bridge.  Last time I was at the Golden Gate Bridge was when I was 12 years old.  Now that being said, I have been to San Francisco thousands of times but never had the opportunity to visit the Golden Bridge.  But this will definitely be a trip to take again when I have someone to enjoy it with.

 While at the Golden Gate Bridge I thought to myself "self this would be a great self pic opportunity".  So I pulled out the camera, set the timer and placed it on the curb.  I think the picture turned out good, other than the back of that black car protruding into it.  After leaving the Bridge, I headed to Hwy 1 and could immediately smell the sea air and couldn't wait until the California coastal cliffs were in view.  Hwy 1 north had an abundance of sharp turns that made the southern roads look like a straight track.  The windy roads made for a fun ride, as the pegs on my bike scraped the blacktop and the scents of nature changed from sea air to the raw green smell of wood and sap.

And before I knew it ... the cliffs of the California Coast.  The views from the coast of California are magnificent and can almost always take your breath away.  The experience of the coast can't be justified by a mere explanation, the sounds, scent, feel and sights all play a role in the experience.  As I made my way further north, the road made its way from the coastal waters then inland to the valley of trees winding back out to the coast.  During this section of the ride, I made several stops and played the typical stereotype role of an Asian with a camera.

The picture to the right would have to be one of my favorites (I have a couple favorites out of the bunch).  I think back now and wish that I would have waited there for the sunset.  I continued my ride north in hopes to finding a campground before it got dark.  I arrived at Gerstle Cove at Salt Point State Park about an hour later.


 

I setup camp as quickly as possible and attempted to catch the sunset, but I missed it by minutes.  But I sat there and took pictures anyway because the colors in the sky were still captivating.  It was now time to get back to camp and start my campfire and eat some dinner and have a beer.

For dinner I had a superb Italian dish from a Chef you may have heard of ... the infamous Chef Boyardee, and to compliment my infamous dish was a cold 24 oz of Coors light lol.  After having dinner and sitting around the campfire wishing I had someone to talk to, I decided to get some sleep.  After laying in my tent for about 30 minutes, I realized that it was probably not a smart idea leaving the empty spaghetti can out for the animals.  So I got out of my tent, grabbed the spaghetti and beer can and started my 50 yard hike to the dumpster.  Walking in complete darkness because the flashlight I had brought decided it didn't want to work, even with fresh batteries.  As I got near the dumpster, I heard a loud deep tone roar followed by what sounded like a scream.  Now I'm no sissy lala, but I'm going to be honest the sound alone stopped me dead in my track and I had to ensure I didn't wet myself.  As I stood there frozen in the "OH F*CK" factor, the only defense I had were the two aluminum cans in my hands and unless whatever made that sound was deathly allergic to aluminum, spaghetti or beer I was gonna be screwed, unless I walked back briskly to my campsite.  As I neared the campsite my steps got quicker and larger, I quickly jumped into my tent as if it were going to embrace me as a Roman Soldier would use his Shield.  The screaming went on for about 45 minutes and was followed by silence.  While still wide awake in my tent I could hear something moving around just outside my tent, then the cling clang of the cans hitting the ground, which by the way I placed ever so carefully on the picnic table before jumping into my tent.  

In the morning, I noticed that the little culprit sniffing around my campsite was a not so little Raccoon (look at the size of the paw prints) but the roaring and screaming, I was told by the Ranger it was possibly a Mountain Lion.  After talking to the Park Ranger for about an hour, I loaded up my gear and started hit the road.  But before I left Gerstle Cove, I rode down to the day use area and took pictures of the Tafoni Rocks.

The skeleton looking rocks were tailored naturally by the sea, some of the rocks had perfect circular holes going all the way through them.  After spending some time here, I got on the bike and headed north in search of Bowling Ball Beach.  After riding for about 2 hours north along Hwy 1, I came into the small town of Point Arena.  I stopped in at a little market and cafe where I enjoyed a small cup of hot cocoa.  The lady working behind the counter was very polite and took several attempts of telling me how to get to Bowling Ball Beach.  It wasn't that she was giving me bad directions, it was my poor attempt of locating the correct hiking path.                                                   

After locating the correct path and a short hike down some steep steps, I realized this was definitely worth the trip.  The slabs of rock on the ground looked like a bowling lane with an abundance of "bowling balls" at one end ready to be rolled down the lane. 

But watch your step as you walk on this beach, as you'll see a plethora of Hermit Crabs, Star Fish, Sea Amnenomes and other Marine creatures.  I wanted to go back to the cafe and thank the lady for helping me locate this beach and for being so polite, as I'm sure she had to get annoyed just a little with me returning several times with the same question.

I saw several cranes while at this beach, but I wasn't able to get close enough to take a clear picture.  I zoomed my camera in as far as it would and slowly walked towards this fearless crane.  After snapping a dozen pictures, each time getting closer.  This was the closest I could get before it decided I was too close and scurried away.

I ended my trip here.  For the ride home, I decided to ride towards Santa Rosa and head down 101 rather than taking the coast to save some time.  It started to rain a bit during the ride home soaking me from head to toe.  But in the end this trip was worth every penny and the heart pounding experiences lol.