Northern Ca Part 7 of 7 - Spouts and Beacons

Let’s wrap up the week-long adventure to the tippy-top of CA.

I last left you on a secluded Lost Coast beach watching someone surf netting, a new site to me. Perhaps you as well?

But the icing on the cake of this trip was this:

At the mouth of the Klamath River a splendid detour off Hwy 101 exists,  Coastal Drive.  Seated above the water sits a relic of WW2.  Two cinder-block buildings, camouflaged to look like ranch buildings from above and the water, allowed watch over the ocean for threats.  Strange, eh?  But smart. They would be obscure.

There, I had my first whale siting.  Look closely in the photos and you’ll see the tail in one and a spout in another. Must’ve been a gray whale?

I’d been hoping all trip-long this would happen.  I begged the Water-Gods to show me whales. I even avoided crossing my fingers and toes at the same time to avoid bad luck.  ;  )

Fortunately I had the place to myself because the happy dance I did while gaping would’ve been embarrassing.  Here I noted a couple separate spouts.  A cow and a calf perhaps?  I REALLY could use a pair of binoculars.

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Fast forward to the Mendocino Coast.  It’s just a few hours north of where I sit now.  Fantastically dramatic, it’s up there with Big Sur in rugged beauty.

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, EST. 1909

This one involved a lovely jaunt out a wind-swept tall-grass field:

The Third Order Fresnel Lens, so intricate:

Along the jagged coast the lighthouse guards, I found cormorants defying gravity, roosting on rock walls:

Plants surviving the constant battering of waves.  I think Dr. Seuss designed them.  Anyone know what they are?

I wrapped up that trip with a stay at Bodega Bay. There I supped on BBQ oysters and beer.  A local clued me into a huge whale migration occurring off Bodega Head.  ”I must’ve counted 20 spouts in 20 minutes!” She revealed.  I headed up the next AM and there they were, though not as numerous, the rain and fog obscuring a bit. I still managed to drink in my fill of amazement.  It was a grand conclusion to a hell of a road trip.