Return to the North California Coast, 2021

We started to narrow down the list of possibilities for an extended anniversary weekend. We’ve been to the top of Hager Mountain and out to the Lost Forest. What would it be this year? Choices are somewhat limited, and although we’d really like to check out a yurt in the mountains of Idaho that will have to wait for another year. How about the wildflower bloom in the California deserts? Well, you need some rain for that. A hike on the Olympic Peninsula? Sort of hard if the trailheads are closed. After lots of thinking and staring at the map we settled on the northern California Coast. We headed out on Friday and made it to the Smith River for our first night. Then it was off through the narrow band of the redwoods on the way to the coast.

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Northern California, 2019, Part 2

We were up and headed north from Navarro early. We had a train to catch. It had turned windy and cold overnight, was it the forecasted storm blowing in early? We rolled into Ft. Bragg before most of the town was open. We acquired our tickets and took a chilly walk around town and then checked out the model railroad.

Several people have put a ton of time into the Mendicino Model Railroad to give us a glimpse into the past. I wonder how they decide who gets the remote controls for the day. We then jumped the train and took a short ride up Pudding Creek on the Skunk Train.

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