Today we got down to some bona fide fooling around. We decided to head to the coast west of Healdsburg on a road that goes out to Stewart’s Point on the Pacific. We got a late start due to procrastination and lack of effort.
We left Cloverdale’s TT campground at Russian River and, after getting fuel and tobacco, headed south to Healdsburg. The road to Stewart’s Point on the east end is wide, well-marked and easy to drive. For the next 43 miles the road gets increasingly challenging to drive with long, blind single lane only portions, continuous sharp curves, 10% or greater climbs and descents, ancient one-lane bridges across waterways and stunning scenery right from the outset. On the east end we started in rolling hill pasture with oak and conifer clumps and by the time we got to the west end and the ocean, we were driving in almost exclusively second-growth Redwood forests. The road follows two local streams that seem to be about a circuitous as possible. I don’t think we went more than about 12 miles as the crow flies but it took us 43 miles and an hour and three quarters to make the crossing from east to west. To eliminate any confusion about our sanity, we returned the same way after a short trip up the coast for a picnic and a whiz.
When we got back almost all the way to Healdsburg, we came by some superb viewpoints to see the fires raging in the country east and southeast of our current camping spot. The columns of smoke are truly impressive. I’m glad nobody I know is over there on a fire crew. It looks like a terrible job this year.
Peggy tricked me into taking her out to dinner on our way home. She first said, “How about taking us out for dinner tonight?” and I answered, “Okee-Dokee” so we pulled off at a place called the Hamburger Ranch and BBQ on the north end of Cloverdale. The prices are a bit high but the food was excellent. A brisket plate with 2 sides and a very large cheeseburger with sweet potato fries was about $35, no drinks but tip included. Their baked beans are to die for.
We got some pix along the way. Click here
Due to a complete lack of talent on the part of the operator, today’s pictures also can be seen in the album for the 21st.