California-Northern California's Mendocino Coast -15 of 49 on our RV Adventure

If you are a first-time reader, welcome to Lora and Erics RV Adventure Blog. You can read about us at http://www.LoraandEricsRVAdventure.com. We started in December 2017 with a goal to complete 49 states before heading home to North Carolina.

We traveled from Bass Lake Recreation Area in Bass Lake, CA to Wildwood Campground & RV Park in Fort Bragg, CA. The time to travel without traffic is 7 h 29 m (394 miles). For us pulling an RV, stopping for gas, food, and backtracking because of traffic was nearly 9 h. We book our reservation for June 2nd through June 5th.

The day for sure was long. We got up early and packed up and left by 7:30 am. Our goals were to hit the Pacific Ocean somewhere near San Francisco. Google Maps had the route to the Golden Gate Bridge at 3 h 45 m. We had to switch to an alternate route right at the beginning because of a Tri-Athlon being held at Bass Lake. Instead of making a left, which was blocked by Police, we made a right-hand turn. A past only a few bikers and one-woman runner on our exit, but it was also early so many must have been still in the water or in other sections of the event. The temperature when we left was 49 degrees F. As we made out trek off the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into the valley the temperature at 9:30 am was near 80 degrees F.

We lost about 1 h looking for gas just before San Francisco. We pulled off an exit and drove into a shopping area with a Chevron. We turned around in the parking lot to better access the gas station. When we got closer there were 2 sharp turns to enter, so I gave up and heading to town. Lora googled other gas stations. Each one we seen with Diesel was on the wrong side of the road. We were in a ritzy residential suburb of San Francisco. We finally found 2 gas stations on our side, but both had no diesel. We reversed course back toward the two gas stations we seen earlier through side roads. We finally found a gas station at $4.19 per gallon. I filled up over $100.00 and got back onto the highway.

Traffic was stop and go in major highway merge points as we got closer to San Francisco.

After a bit of stopping and going, I asked Lora to google map a city above San Francisco on Highway 101. The roads were in need of major repair. In some case the bumps were so back when we talked our voices stuttered. Lora registered an 11-minute running workout on her phone and 5,100 steps.

We see The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz from a distance, so can say we seen it.

We traverse another toll bridge north of San Francisco to cross the bay. The toll was $20.00.

On Highway 101 the traffic was better, but every overpass had roadway stripped so the road was once again bumpy. At one-point Google Maps had a major traffic hold up In the Sears Point and Sonoma region. It rerouted us off Highway 101 into Sonoma, CA. We eventually stopped at a Jack in The Box for a quick bit to eat. The temperature was early afternoon was now at 98 degrees F.

After we got further way from San Francisco I seen the Pacific Ocean was still more west of Highway 101. Lora looked again for cities this time on Highway 1. We found Fort Bragg, CA. Google Maps redirected us onto Highway 128. We started a twisty and windy series of hills through beautiful wine country. I looked like every winery had some sort of Wine Tasting event going on. We took it slow going over the mountains and pulled off numerous times for cars to pass by. We eventually made it in Redwood Forests. The change was amazing.

The redwoods were towering on either side of the road. Beams of light shining onto the front window as we passed through the forest. The temperature had dropped to the 70 degrees F. We would have easily stopped at a campground in the forest if they had any.

As the river on our side opened Highway 128 West ended and became Highway 1. A short mile or so, we came upon an opening to the Pacific Ocean. The sight was amazing. We quickly stopped at a pull off to allow cars to pass. We put the truck in park and took pictures of the scene. It was so surreal.

We were getting late in the afternoon and Lora was getting cranky from all our driving. We had not found a campground yet and Lora was getting antsy. The cell connection is in and out, so it was difficult to search for nearby RV Parks. We were headed to Fort Bragg, CA so we had a marker to go by. By 4:30 pm Lora was on edge, she struggles with simple searches of web-pages for rates and campgrounds. We stopped a couple of times on the side of the road, so I can search. We called two places and they had no space.

Now Lora is panicky, she skips reading reviews and just picks. We called Wildwood Campground & RV Park and they had an opening. The park is 4 miles off the ocean in the Redwood Forest. The park is nestled tightly in the woods. There is a community of residential campers and some visitors. The residential section is up front and off in another portion of the campground. All looks rough with rednecks, drug addicts, and felons. The path into the park is extremely narrow. The visitors are placed in the back. Our side 59 is a wide open uneven lot easy to turn around to position the camper.

It took us nearly 1 h 30 m to level the camper. We had to hook up and move the camper or add lifts under one side of tires to level. We used a Makeup bottle to roll on the floor to see if we were level.

Eventually we were level enough to start to settle down. The temperature now around 6:30 was 59 degrees F. Lora was cold and put on the fireplace. She started to read the reviews and there were a bunch of reviews of steels, police coming, fire and paramedics won’t come in with police escort, drugs, meth, etc. We are hear for 3 nights. Let see how it goes.

The next morning was nice and chilly. We washed up and headed into Fort Bragg. We do not plan to stay out very long because of the reviews we read on Wildwood Campground and the meth addicts and skimmers. We first filled up the truck. Gas prices in Fort Bragg is $0.30 - $0.50 lower than anything we have seen on California. We paid $3.69 per gallon. We headed south looking for access to the coast. When we found our first stop the view was spectacular.

The rocky cliffs and sandy beach surround by cliffs and boulders protruding just off the beach were a sight to see. The water was clear blue and green. Waves crash among the rocky boulders spraying the salty water into the sky.

Each stop was just as amazing as the previous.

Driving by a small cluster of homes on the cliff we see a deer in someones yard.

We see a sign for Point Cabrillo Light Station. Surveyed by the U. S. Lighthouse Service in 1873, construction of the Light Station didn’t begin until 1908. The demand for lumber meant that maritime commerce on the north coast was at an all-time high and a lighthouse was critical to the safety of the ships and their valuable cargo. The lens was illuminated for the first time on June 10,1909, under head keeper Wilhelm Baumgartner.

The parking lot is about a half mile from the station house. It was an easy walk. We see deer in the field walking down.

We could hear seals in the distance. The station house has a few houses and buildings. An aquarium, light house, museum, and rental homes. We see a few seal in the cove. We stayed and walked around for about an hour then headed back up the road to the parking lot.

After the Light Station we drove into Mendocino. The town is on the edge of a cliff. The beautiful little town was full of visitors. There was a film festival going. We headed to Mendocino headlands State Park for more photo opportunities.

We finished our pictures and started to head back towards Fort Bragg. We needed groceries, so we stopped at Safeway. After Safeway we drove down the road to buy some firewood for a campfire tonight. With everything completed we went back to the campground to find everything in order. We later built a fire and enjoyed the remainder of the evening.

I went to bed and Lora stayed up later. It turned out she met a resident, Melisa, and hung out with her for a couple of hours. She confirmed the campgrounds reviews about meth and drugs was true here.

The next day we decided to stay near the camper because of Melisa’s confirmation. Lora got a chance to sleep in. At one point she heard arguing across from our site through the woods. There were 3 men screaming at the top of their lungs. She kept and eye on them until they brook it up. There was no issues there after. Around 3:00 pm I started a fire in the pit. I ended up going to bed for a nap around 5:30 pm after eating stuffed shells. Lora remained up and sat with Melisa for a short bit before calling it a night.

I got up around 1:30 am to catch up on the blog and watch some TV.

We are headed to near Brookings, Oregon. Our goal is to leave California.

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