A beautiful day at COASTAL TRAIL - NORTH (GLASS BEACH). A large contingent of Fogdodgers showed up for the hike: Shari, Diana, Jeff, Nancy, Tom, and their friend, Tony,  Erik, Deb, Sam, John, Sky, Beth, Bob, Toni, Joe, Jean, and Bob running by. After all the rain we've been having everyone was eager to enjoy clear skies, moderate winds, and lots of flowers blooming all over the headlands.

Afterwards some went to breakfast at Denny's and Toni and I went to the Home Style Cafe.

John's photos:

Resting-turkey-Vulture (the sign has good advice!)

Clematis

Lilac

Skunk passenger cars

Skunk dummy water tower (I remember the old one, an actual water tower)

Stewart-Street-House-House-on-Stewart

NEXT SUNDAY, April 28 @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, NAVARRO RIDGE ROAD
(beginning at the Whitesboro Grange). You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

Well.... rain again, but not too bad. Eight of us showed up to hike around the Mendocino Headlands. Charlene, Sky, Eric, John, Shari, Nancy, Tom, and Joe did the usual loop with intermittent light rain and some cold wind. Very light car traffic, so we often were walking in the street when a few cars came up from behind.

Afterwards four of us went to Saint Anthony's for their pancake breakfast, and, lo and behold, four more Fogdodgers, the Slackers, were having their own breakfast at Saint Anthony's: Fran, Jean, Diana and Jeff.

John's photos for the week:

Fog-Rain-Dodgers

Farm-House-Mendocino

Well-pruned-hedge

Window-art-Mendocino

Morel-Mushroom

Trillium-spring

NEXT SUNDAY, April 21 @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, COASTAL TRAIL - NORTH (GLASS BEACH). You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

BIG RIVER LOGGING ROAD (aka Ron Jahelka Trail)

Some have wondered why the Big River Road is also called the Ron Jahelka Trail.  Ron was a very well liked Fog Dodger that passed about 20 years ago.  Big River was his first Fog Dodger run and his favorite place.  Upon his passing, when we unable to scatter his ashes into Big River due to permits and fees required, I said we would memorialize him by naming the trail there for him.  The name isn't used much but I don't want to remove the memory.

Sometimes when we're walking on the Coastal Trail several abreast, bikers can come up fast behind and scare the heck out of you.  So, one of the walkers came up with a solution: (click on the photo to enlarge and brighten)

                                                                   Thank you biker

It was a very pretty morning at Big River.  A little cool at our start but without the normal wind that so often comes down the canyon.  It was sunny and clear, the road mostly dried out and the river was a beautiful jade color.

Present today: Diana, Jeff, Kim, Doug, Fran, Jean, Bob C., Sky, Beth, Bob D., Eric, Shari, Peter, Nancy and Tom (15).

.  

Joe's off to view the eclipse and John is out of town.  That leaves me to come up with whatever for the blog.  Well, I've tried moving several of my favorite photos over unsuccessfully and so I'm giving up on that.  Instead, I'll just get to what we're all about, the food.  Next week is the second Sunday so we will stick close to Saint Anthony's and the great Pancake Breakfast they serve.

NEXT SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, MENDOCINO HEADLANDS AND TOWN.  You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if 

     needed.  More trivia:  I found out this morning that this location also goes by the name Potty Point.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

WARD AVENUE

An amazingly beautiful day at Ward Avenue. Lake Cleone was full to overflowing and (I think) had not broken through the dunes to empty in the ocean. Toni and Joe walked on the beach doing Toni's beach survey for the the Noyo Center. There were at least seven seals at the rookery. Toni and Joe joined part of the group on the way back to the Ward Avenue parking lot. Hiking were Toni, Joe, Nancy, Tom, Kim, Doug, Sky, John, Eric, Shari, Charlene, Beth, Bob, Fran, and her son Steve, who ran.

Afterwards, six went to Denny's for breakfast while four of us went to the Home Style Cafe.

John submitted some nice photos:

Mackerricher-Lake-with-sunburst

Mackerricher-tree-siloutte

Mackerricher-widened-drainage

Mackerricher-Springtime

Mackerricher-Parks-Dept

Scraffito-Pot

NEXT SUNDAY, April 7 @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, BIG RIVER ROAD (a.k.a. THE RON JAHELKA TRAIL). You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

With the threat of rain only a small group hiked at NAVARRO RIDGE ROAD. As it turned out the rain was very light and only occasionally merited unfurling the umbrellas. Hiking were Nancy, Tom, Eric and Joe. As usual we hiked east up the road and returned to the grange. We sighted some birds along the way, turkeys, turkey vultures and (probably) a great blue heron atop a barn.

Afterwards the four of us were joined by Beth and Bob for breakfast at the grange.

John sent a goodly batch of photos:

Navarro-Barn-at-Sunrise

Navarro-Ridge-Barn-at-Sunrise

Navarro-Cabin-Daffodil-Water-Tank

Navarro-First-Bridge

Navarro-Ridge-Barn-Near-Kitty-Mailbox

Navarro-Ridge-Cow-Barn

Navarro-Ridge-Sunrise-Barn

and some from a ceramics event at the grange:

Whitesborogh-Grange-Korean-Ceramic-Session

Whitesborough-Grange-Ceramic-session

Whitesborough-Grange-Korean-Ceramics

NEXT SUNDAY, March 31 @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, WARD AVENUE (Mill Creek Drive is still closed to cars but walking is OK). You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

A cool day, with light breeze but no mosquitos at BIG RIVER HAUL ROAD. Hikers were John, Nancy, Tom, Jean, Fran, Eric, Ginny, Terry, (and Sandy), Charlene, Kim, Doug, (and Bowie), Beth, Bob, and Joe, a decent sized group. Access to the trailhead, so to speak, has been improved by fresh graveling of the road.

The hike being near Mendocino, eight of us went to breakfast at the Good Life.

John stopped at several places along the hike and took many photos:

Big-River-Bridge-of-course

Big-River-east

Big-River-east-sunrise

Big-River-Early-Morning

Big-River-Seagull-at-rest

Big-River-Alders-waiting-to-bloom

Big-River-west

Big-River-Maintenance-good-work

NEXT SUNDAY, March 24 @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE,
NAVARRO RIDGE ROAD. You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.

A few fogdodgers were away on trips but a decent number showed up at RUSSIAN GULCH for the hike yesterday. Again we lucked out with the rain holding off until after the hike. Hiking were Jean, Fran, Shari, Eric, Diana, Jeff, Charlene, and Joe, with Bob running. A couple of us went down to the beach rather than up the canyon. Going up the canyon the trail was blocked just before most of us would be turning around. Several trees had fallen across the path.

Six of us went to St Anthony's for the pancake breakfast.

John did not make it but sent some photos anyway:

Russian-Gultch-Sailboat

Russian-Gultch-Early-morning

Russian-Gulch-Waterfall

Russian-Gulch--Bay-Bridge

Russian-Gultch-Flowering-Plum

Russian-Gultch-Waterfall-up-higher

Russian-Gulch-Creek

Russian-Gulch-Umbrella

NEXT SUNDAY, March 17) @ 8:00 A.M.: GROUP RUN/WALK/BIKE, BIG RIVER ROAD (a.k.a. THE RON JAHELKA TRAIL). You can click on the "Our Routes" tab at the top to get directions, if needed.

EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY, GROUP RUN/WALK @ 7:30 A.M.: COASTAL TRAIL - MIDDLE, behind the Fort Bragg Fire Station.