Treasures from Trash

NOTE:  This post was written yesterday, but as there is no internet at my new location, I had to find a Starbucks to come to in order to upload this.

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.”

-- Neils Bohr

This morning I got up at about 6:45 A.M. and walked the 2 miles to Starbucks again.  They are having a promotion for bonus points on iced lattes, and being the sucker I am for their rewards program I had to go get one.  I justified it by telling myself that I needed the caffeine for my extraordinarily long two-hour drive to my next stop (side note:  I actually got this drink without extra sugar and with coconut milk instead of regular milk, so I can say it was kind of healthy for me).   After shooting myself up with Starbucks, I went the 2 miles back to my van, packed up, and left Dutcher Creek.  My next destination was Mackerricher State Park, just north of Fort Bragg.   This is one of the spots I had originally wanted, but when I checked availability online several weeks ago it indicated they were totally full this weekend. I called this morning to ask about availability, and the ranger on the phone said there were plenty of first-come-first-served spots. He asked what type of vehicle I was bringing and I told him I have a 21’ van. He said that would be no problem, as all the sites could take anything up to 25’.  Happy at this news, I told him I’d be there in a few hours. I pointed my van onto Highway 128 West and was on my way.  Highway 128 is one of my favorite roads to travel on.  I’ve been to Mendocino multiple times, and I always look forward to this section of the highway that stretches between 101 and 1, just past Navarro. For a brief period it twists and winds through several redwoods.  The sunlight filters down from the unseen treetops above, and lands on the greenery making it spark to life against the dark trunks of the trees.   As you progress down the road, the light and shadows constantly flicker back and forth as if there were some giant flame above and it creates quite a dramatic drive. 

Running on Solar

It looks a lot like the Endor forest where Luke Skywalker flew through the trees on a speeder bike in Return of the Jedi.  (Random Trivia: the location where that scene was filmed was actually only a few hours south of Navarro Redwoods).  You can see a small clip of the drive posted above (don't worry, I was extra careful while filming it.  I am a professional knee-steerer while driving)  A few miles past Navarro, the redwoods end abruptly and Highway 128 spills onto the side of the Navarro River just before the river spills into the Pacific Ocean.   128 ends and merges into Highway 1, and I drove through Albion, Little River, and Mendocino before finally passing through Fort Bragg and turning left into Mackerricher State Park. 

The park is quite large, with several hundred campsites speckled throughout it.   A girl at the ranger booth greeted me as I drove up and asked if I was here to camp.  The name on her badge said “Sam,” and she appeared to be maybe 20 years old. I told her that I was indeed looking for a camp spot, and she said there were several to choose from.  An older gentleman, who looked more like you’d expect a park ranger to look, stepped out of the booth.  He had friendly eyes that sat behind thin-rimmed bi-focals and a neatly trimmed gray beard. 

Where does this boardwalk lead?

Wisps of gray hair were tucked up under his ranger hat, and his green shirt looked freshly pressed.  He smiled and asked, “Are you the 21-foot van that called a few hours ago?”  I told him that I wasn’t the van, but I was indeed the person with the van that called.  He chuckled and said, “Welcome to Mackerricher Park!”  Sam conferred with him about what campsite she should direct me to. It became apparent that she was new at the job and was in training.   After a brief discussion, she came back and told me to pick any empty campsite I liked, and to come back and let them know which one I chose.   I drove through the park to the Surfwood campground, and selected spot 134 as it had plenty of sun and not too many encroaching neighbors.   

I got my van setup, and then went to explore the area.  Mackerricher is a fantastically diverse park.  It has some forested sections, a little lake with picnic tables, a rocky beach with tide pools, long strips of sandy beaches, and a nice little raised boardwalk that makes it accessible for just about anyone to explore the coast. I started off by walking on the boardwalk a bit. 

This is better than jogging on the treadmill.

It was nearly 70 degrees out with only a few faint clouds in the sky, so lots of other people were visiting the beach as well.   The boardwalk is dotted with a series of signs that point out the geological features of the area, identify the various types of plants and sea life that are in the area, and give a history of the Native Americans that used to settle the area.  It also leads to a few good lookout points as well as to some interesting tide pools.   Still feeling the caffeine in my veins from the morning’s Starbucks, I felt that I had a little extra energy and that the casual boardwalk-walking wasn’t burning it off for me.  I decided to go for a jog, so I headed back to my van and put on some jogging shoes.

There is a long trail that meanders along the ocean for several miles south of the park.  It passes little woodsy areas, a few small motels and restaurants, a spooky old quarry-looking building, and a few stretches of deserted beaches.    I followed it about 2.5 miles and eventually ended up at a beach called Glass Beach

Hey Scoob...this place is like Yikesville!

This has got to be one of the most unique beaches around.  It has a rather unfortunate past, as in the early 1900s it used to be a dumpsite for local residents.  People would come and essentially toss their garbage into the ocean here—this included household trash as well as things like glass, old cars, and appliances.  The beach continued to be used as a dump until about 1967, when people realized that it probably was not a great idea to continuously throw junk in the ocean.  There were several cleanup efforts that resulted in most of the garbage being removed, but the glass remained and it was continuously broken into smaller and smaller pieces.  Over the years, the pounding of the waves and grinding of the sand and pebbles polished all the bits of glass into smooth jewel-like pieces. It is pretty spectacular to consider that something so beautiful could evolve from such a depressing past. 

Sea Glass Jewels

 I think that this is one of the spectacular things about life—it has a tenacious ability to evolve and change in unexpected ways.  Life is not linear, and the more tightly you hold onto a vision of the future based on what you know today, the more surprised you will be when it arrives.  I pocketed a few small pieces of the sea glass as cheap little souvenirs, and made my way back to my new home for the next 2 nights, excited to see what new treasures wait for me down this road. 

Sunset at McKerricher State Beach