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| We love to take trips to the northern part of the California coast. There are lots of scenic spots to visit and great places to explore on foot or by car. It was the first week in November 2011 when we decided to stop for lunch and visit our relatives in Santa Rosa before continuing up to Mendocino for a couple days. We had been along this route before (see Boonville) but this time we stopped in the Anderson Valley at the Navarro Winery for a taste of their pinot-noir and gewurtztraminer. |
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Then it was on to the coast and the Albion River Inn. We had reserved a cottage overlooking the bay and ocean and were pleasantly surprised to find this to be one of the best places to stay along the coast. Besides great views, we also had a wood-burning fireplace (which was just right this time of the year), a complimentary bottle of wine and a great breakfast in the morning. |
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| The trestle you see below is actually highway 1. It crosses the Albion River and behind it is a small harbor. We watched several fishing boats returning from the ocean before sunset. That evening we drove to the Little River Inn for dinner and enjoyed a nice fire afterwards. |
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| The following morning it was raining, but we were prepared for that and after breakfast headed up to the Van Damme State Park. As it turned out, there were only two other fellows there who were just getting ready to go 'abbing' or diving for abalone in the ocean. From then on we had the whole park to ourselves. We had been told about the Fern Canyon Trail and how great this easy walk would be. There are numerous types of ferns along the little stream and we might find some mushrooms also. Shortly after we got started the rain stopped and the sun came out for the rest of the day. It was almost perfect. |
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| The trail follows a small stream and there were several bridges to cross. In the late spring or summer months, co ho salmon will climb up this narrow stream to spawn. But the main attraction for us now were the ferns. |
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Despite the sign about mountain lions, the only 'wild life' we saw were some slugs, a lizard and a fernando morturo' (staring at us with its dead eyes). There were several types of mushrooms, including some shelf mushrooms also known as conk. Notice the little white 'sticks'. Even the ranger could not identify them, but at home I found out that these are called strap corral mushrooms. |
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| After we had walked about a mile and a half, the trail became very wet and muddy. At this point we decided to go back. It was lunch time anyway and some warm soup or other food in the town of Mendocino sounded good. |
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