Day 11 - Los Padres National Forest - San Luis Obispo

Right after breakfast Luna and I headed across the street to visit the beach we had been told about. It was the typical incredibly beautiful Big Sur coastline and Luna had some fun chasing sticks on the rocky beach. We left camp as soon as we returned from the beach and stopped to call home when we got back in to cell service. As I was speaking with my mom I saw a tiny tick crawling on Luna's head, I immediately got it off, checked for more and decided soon after that it was time to head to a hotel that evening to get cleaned up and do some clothes washing.

Less than five minutes after hanging up the phone I came across fields and beaches with hundreds of elephant seals, it was absolutely incredible! I drove on to the promised elephant seal viewing site and pulled in to a large, crowded parking lot. The seals were very busy snoozing, sparring and communicating. Male elephant seals can weigh up to 5000 lbs while the females are up to a petite 1500 lbs. I spent around two hours watching them in awe and would have spent all day, but Luna was not pleased about being right beside the huge, noisy creatures, so we headed on. Right after leaving there we reached a field and beach where you can go right in to the area with them (keeping a safe distance from their sharp teeth) so I stopped there as well and went in for a quick look.

Our next stop was Morro Bay, I hadn't heard of it before, but Sean had mentioned it's beauty on the phone this morning and he was very right, it was stunning! I pulled in to the first gorgeous beach I saw and it was incredibly dog friendly with a large number of dogs running around off-leash on the beach, Luna and I were more than happy to join in! Luna had great fun chasing birds and stealing the tennis ball from a pack of four Golden Retrievers, the kind owner gave me the ball to use as Luna was fetching as if she was one of the retrievers every time I tried to toss it back to him. We spent quite awhile there enjoying the views and all the happy dogs.

We drove maybe 15 miles farther to San Luis Obispo and got a room at the Motel 6 there, Luna is tuckered out from a big day and I am trying to keep my eyes open while I go through the excessive amount of photos I took from our wonderful day.

Los Padres National Forest/Big Sur.

Los Padres National Forest/Big Sur.

Luna very unimpressed by the seals.

Bull vs cow size comparison.

Cow and pup.

Two females sparring.

Cow nursing her pups.

Two bulls fighting in the ocean.

What a view to have from the car! (Note the bull rearing up and the other seals around him).

A bull having a snooze on his side in the sun.

Selfie for the day - note the Elephant Seal on the beach in the top right.

Luna learning how to fly at Morro Bay.

Day 10 - Carmel-by-the-Sea - Los Padres National Forest

I started my morning off by immediately getting lost trying to find Carmel Beach. I eventually found the beach and had a wonderful walk through the beautiful white sand. Carmel Beach is an incredibly rare off-leash dog beach and it was absolutely wonderful to watch Luna and all the other dogs running happily free in the sand. Luna seemed a bit starved for stranger admiration, so kept running up to everyone she saw; one woman she spent quite awhile with being told what a wonderful, special dog she is, she was absolutely blissed out until she realized that their dog was getting the same treatment from me, she was so torn she had to tell us about it with some of her husky like vocalization. “Wow, what a very special dog you have” the woman said to me earnestly several times as she showered Luna with love, I definitely agree.

After the beach we headed off to Los Padres National Forest, which was only a couple hours away. We did make several stops on the way to enjoy the incredible views that Big Sur provides. Seeing the sign for the campsite I had found online the night before, I turned off the highway and drove up and up and up the winding road that had constant blind corners and not really enough room for two vehicles. It was kind of unnerving looking over the edge of the road right next to my car and seeing endless clouds below as I drove. After around 13 km I gave up looking for the campsite, I was in the middle of nowhere with a dwindling tank of gas, becoming slightly carsick, it was getting dark and the campsite was supposed to be only 11 km off the highway. I turned back and found a great dog friendly campsite just off the highway only minutes away from the road I had left to begin my hour-long detour. The ocean is right across the highway from the campsite, so I can hear it from my vehicle. We had just the perfect amount of time for me to heat up my dinner on my camp stove and set up my vehicle for the night before darkness arrived. There is supposed to be a fantastic beach right across the road so I am looking forward to checking that out in the morning!

I am attempting to take photos of myself as well, I'm new to this whole selfie thing!

Above the clouds

Day 9 - Doran Beach, Bodega Bay - Carmel-by-the-Sea

We spent a relaxing morning taking a walk on the beach and getting all set to go. A woman I had seen many times over the course of the two days approached me with a smile and said "So you're from Canada!", she must have seen me at my campsite with my Alberta license plate, that or I am becoming "the Canadian" in town. Luna is feeling much better today and the medications seem to be doing their job well. We stopped in at a McDonald's parking lot this afternoon on our way to San Francisco to use some free wifi to update my blog and decide where to head next and what the most efficient routes to take would be. I was finishing up when I realized my arrival time in San Francisco would be around 3 pm, right when rush hour might start, that sure hurried me up.

We had a quick stop at one of the viewpoints of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful sight, however I could not help feeling sad for all the lives lost from it. I did see call boxes with numbers of help lines on them around the bridge.

Carmel was supposed to be just under 3 hours away, however we were stuck in San Francisco rush hour for that amount of time, we finally pulled in to our campsite at 8 pm. In 2012 my brothers and I road tripped down this way for a couple weeks and stopped in at Carmel. I had had nothing to do with the planning of that trip so hadn't realized when I booked the most economical, dog friendly campsite in Carmel that I had booked the same place we had stayed at before, it was a pleasant surprise to pull in and realize that. When we were here last, my brother, Sean, jokingly said "There's a spider on your foot!" and then realized there actually was, thus resulting in my immediate panic and resulting feeling of having bugs crawling all over me the entire time I am here 3 1/2 years later; yes, I dwell on things. The campsite very impressively has wifi so I can do my online stuff in the comfort of my bed.

The beautiful moon last night.

Right across the road from the Golden Gate Bridge viewpoint.

Snoozing happily away while I update my blog at McD's

Day 8 - Doran Beach, Bodega Bay

We woke up to a beautiful, clear sunny day after a restless night. Luna began having diarrhea last night so had to get up once in the night to take care of that and she puked two other times. Her stool was bloody in the morning so I looked up the local vet and was able to make an appointment for 11:30 am. She has some kind of Colitis and is on a special diet for a few days as well as some antibiotics. I believe it is from some stream water she got in to yesterday in Fort Bragg. The vet thinks it should clear up in no time, here’s hoping he is right! Despite her predicament, Luna was in wonderful spirits this morning! Duran Beach is dog friendly, however dogs are required to be on-leash, which I obeyed at first until I realized I was alone on the beach with one other person who had his dog off-leash, so I decided to risk the fine and let her have some fun. Luna took full advantage of this glorious time, running up and down the beach with reckless abandon, chasing birds (which she had no chance of catching), running alongside the other dog (Spot, the Basset Hound/Border Collie/Lab type mix) and romping through the water. I walked and chatted with the dog’s owner for quite some time before I had to head back to get to my vet appointment. I put Luna back on leash on the way back as the beach had begun to become populated with surfers and other people enjoying a nice walk.

After the appointment, I returned to Duran Beach, having decided to stay another night at this beautiful place. I settled on the beach with a book for a little while and then went for another walk, spotting sea lions playing in the water just off the beach. As we walked in the water a big wave came up and Luna had to swim to keep herself afloat, she was not impressed and avoided the water as best she could after that. She was dragging a little bit, so I cut the walk short and headed back to camp. I settled back on the beach and watched for sea lions as I munched on saltwater taffy that I had picked up at the store in town.  An older gentleman came over with his dog and chatted for a few minutes, I learned that his name is Ira and he used to have a business that built the bodies of a certain brand of cars. His little dog, Benji was a Yorkshire Terrier mix of some sort, a cute little fellow. I took one more walk along the beach as the sun set and ran in to Ira again, we spoke for a couple more minutes, then he shook my hand and gave me a hug “from California”. Everyone here is so incredibly friendly, everywhere else there’s been a mix of friendly and very hostile people, here in Bodega Bay, everyone is so kind! As I settled down to a dinner of Indian food and buttered bread, a woman got out of her car and approached me; she had a load of wood they needed to get rid of and wondered if I would like it for a fire, they wanted to give it to someone “bare-bones camping” rather than someone with a fancy RV. I took her up on the kind offer and attempted to light a fire, but it had become too windy for someone with my level of inexperience at fire building to get a fire going and I didn’t want it badly enough to keep trying, I am sure the wood will be harvested by some very happy person soon.

 One of the Sea Lions, unfortunately I didn't have a zoom lens with me to capture a more discernible photo but you can see how close they were to shore here.

The happy faces of an excited digger

Serenity

Day 7 - Fort Bragg - Doran Beach, Bodega Bay

I woke up to the sun coming in above my curtain through my foggy car windows after a cozy first night in my car. Luna greeted me in the typical manner that she celebrates the morning – by cuddling up to me, giving me many kisses and then showing me where her food is as soon as I sit up. The bathroom at the campsite was absolutely revolting; most of the stall doors could not be locked, the toilets were not the colour they were meant to be and some were wiggling loose from the floor and there were cigarettes plastered against the stall doors, plus, no soap was provided! I was glad to be getting out of there despite the beautiful forest the campsite was located in.

We first headed to Glass Beach, an old dumping ground for garbage that had all been cleaned up except for the sea glass. Over the years, tourists have taken sea glass so that the beach is much less covered in the colourful glass, but it is still very beautiful. “Are you from Fort Bragg?” a woman who had been walking around the beach picking things from the ground asked suddenly, “No, I’m not” “Oh, I just thought you being here alone with your dog you would be. I am, we come here every day.” “Nice, it is beautiful here, I am from Canada” “Oh.” She took a drag from her cigarette and continued on, I am becoming more used to these types of monotone people, it seems to be a mix of them and very friendly people, not much middle ground. Another woman came along and smiling, greeted Luna and I and asked if I had seen the seals, I hadn’t, so she pointed them out to me, I thanked her and went to get a closer look at the two creatures dozing on a rock, they stretched up to get a look at Luna and I, determined we were not a threat and continued on with their nap; Luna didn’t notice them at all. Luna had never been to the ocean before today and she was a little uncertain what to think of it; the noise of it scared her a little at first, but she conquered that fear, the waves coming on to the beach at her still makes her run for cover, although she is happy to wander in to the quiet tide pools. She tried drinking it a couple times and was not impressed; she made quite the face of disgust, shaking her head with her lips curled up. We walked for quite some time, enjoying the views and the smell of the ocean. It was so hot out, I had a light jacket on, as I wanted pockets, but was drenched in sweat and Luna was panting away, I believe it was 15 C. I dropped Luna’s leash for a couple minutes on one secluded beach and she had a blast running around and chasing sticks. We met a friendly couple and their 15 year old Border Collie who was so excited about everything and perhaps a little off his rocker. Many of the people there were either middle age - senior couples who seemed to be blissfully happy together or people not much older than I to middle age who were a little odd and quite possibly high on something. There were a lot of dogs around, several with backpacks matching their owners’ big loads.

We then went to Noyo Harbour area and walked along the cliff edge watching the grey whales that would come up and spray water through their spout as they migrated South. This place was full of families and dogs. There was a small dog park in a field at Noyo Harbour and I took Luna in so that she could interact with the one dog that was in there, a young Border Collie. I spoke to the owner for several minutes, it was quite evident that he was drunk, both with the way he was speaking and the large beer can beside him. “Wow, Canada!” he repeated several times, thinking back, he may have said “Canada, eh?” as well, but I didn’t notice as I am so accustomed to hearing “eh”! I asked about the Mendocino Coastal Botanical Gardens as I was planning on heading there next, he told me enthusiastically that it was across two bridges and that’s all I was getting out of him for directions, but it was all I needed as I was able to find it fine. I didn’t end up going in to the gardens as I was feeling more like hitting the road and not spending as long as I would want to for a $14 entrance fee.

The drive from Fort Bragg to Bodega Bay is about 3 hours and most of it is extremely windy roads right at the cliff edge beside the ocean, a rather unpleasant drive, albeit, beautiful, that is, if I could look at the views without dropping hundreds of feet in to the rocks and ocean. The sun was setting and many people were pulled over the watch is set, but I was determined to find my campsite before I was driving those windy roads in the dark and find it I did, around 6:30, just before it became pitch black out.  I fed and watered Luna then set up my camp stove to heat up some Indian food. We have the entire parking lot and tent camping site to ourselves (everyone else is in the RV sites), so Luna explored while we waited for the water to boil. Now, Luna and I are laying in the Lexus, listening to the waves rolling on to the beach, the sound is lulling me to sleep and Luna has been sleeping like a dog the past hour and a half that we’ve been in here, time for bed!

Day 6 - Rancho Cordo, Sacramento - Fort Bragg

The Motel 6 in Rancho Cordo, Sacramento County had several security guards patrolling the motel the entire time I was there, constantly walking around the perimeter of the motel and stopping anyone who stood in one spot for more than five seconds, I am curious as to what warranted that a necessity. It was a beautiful, sunny 15 degrees Celsius out this morning when I left the motel; I had to roll down the windows, as it was too hot, what a difference! I stopped to get gas and a woman was waiting at the pump; she asked how I was and told me a story of running out of gas, 99.9% certain it was a scam but just wanting her to go away, I gave her a dollar and she was very gracious about thanking me, commenting on how cute Luna is and getting out of my hair. I regretted that instantly and wished I had stood up to her or just told her I didn’t have any cash, but it was too late, I just took the lesson I got from that and left, trying not to let her dampen my good mood.

We drove the windiest road I have ever driven for 130 miles through a forest, arriving at our destination in a little over four hours. Mendocino County is lovely, there are so many big, beautiful trees and many are clothed in vibrant green moss. It is warm and humid today, very foggy and there is a light rain coming down. I am camping at Wildwood Campground just outside of Fort Bragg, my first night car camping! I took Luna for a walk as soon as we got here, I went to the ‘Hiking Trail’ sign and continued along the path for about 15 minutes; I let Luna off-leash as no one was in sight. I was reveling in the beauty of the forest when a large brindle Pit Bull mix suddenly appeared in front of us, no collar and no owner in sight for several moments. The owner walked in to sight and said forcefully “Who are you”, taken aback, I replied stiffly with my name and she said, “Where are you from?” “The campground” “You’re dog needs to be on-leash and you shouldn’t be here” she replied angrily “I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I followed the sign to the hiking trail”, why is your dog off-leash then?” I challenged, knowing full well that she was likely somehow in charge despite her lack of professionalism “I own this land and the trail is only to the pond, it’s dangerous to go too far, put your dog on a leash and let me past”.  The words she said weren’t particularly offensive, but the way she said it, like she was speaking to a lower life form that wouldn’t get out of her way made me seethe with anger. Yes, I knew I probably should have Luna on leash, but with no one around and no signs at the entrance, I was going with the ignorance is bliss policy of having her off-leash in hopes that that would encourage her to do her business sooner (which she hadn’t done since the night before and can take a very long time when she is on leash) and if it is dangerous back there, why was I not informed and better signage put up so that people know not too go past the pond?! After cooling off, I drove in to town and ended up stopping at McDonalds; I neglected asking if the Egg McMuffin was vegetarian, so Luna was very happy to receive the meat from inside. I debated whether or not to give it to her as it was so unhealthy, but realized I was being very hypocritical as I was putting it in to my own body, I had to laugh at that. Back at the campsite, I set up my car curtains and settled in to write my blog. The rain is falling gently on the roof of my car and I am warm outside my sleeping bag with Luna curled up next to me.

Day 5 - Carson City - South Lake Tahoe - Sacramento

Luna and I spent a wonderful day at South Lake Tahoe. It was absolutely beautiful out and we were able to find some nice, quiet places to walk. We started out hiking through a beautiful forest at Zephyr Cove Park and had the place to ourselves, so Luna was able to be off-leash. Luna was absolutely ecstatic about this walk, doing zoomies all over the hillside and grabbing sticks that she would throw up in the air, then chase down the hill as they slid over the icy crust on top of the snow. I loved the red tinge to the trees and the many clusters of gigantic boulders that were all over the forest. I was very thankful for the snowshoer who had travelled the path that I took before me as I was able to walk in the holes that they punched with their snowshoes rather than constantly struggle through knee-deep snow. We climbed to the highest point and were treated to a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe. We climbed on to a large boulder and sat for some time in the warm sun, admiring the view. When it came time to descend the boulder, I was, for the second time today, touched by Luna's trust in me. Luna has a love-hate relationship with heights; she loves climbing on to things and taking a good look around, but she is terrified of getting off of the object if it is particularly high (high enough that I have to help her up). Once I had jumped off the boulder (thankful for the soft snow landing), I turned around and called Luna, she looked horrified but, even so, began to inch her way down the steep rock towards me, then placed her paws on my shoulders so I could lower her down; she was very proud of herself for this feat. Earlier in the hike I went to lift her down from a boulder and as soon as she felt my arms around her she calmly leaned right in to me and did a trust fall in to my arms, it was very sweet.

After the hike, I ate lunch at one of the many picnic tables at this secluded place and Luna sauntered by me frequently, pretending not to be keeping a sharp look out for any crumbs that might fall. We then continued on, keeping an eye out for a turn off that looked promising for a nice lake walk. We ended up at Nevada Beach, a nice long stretch of sand with stunning views of the mountains across the lake. Luna went for a dip in the lake, attempting to catch sand that I threw in to the water for her to chase. We sat for some time, listening the water lap at the shore, then carried on to Sacramento.

The drive from South Lake Tahoe to Sacramento is supposed to take 2 hours, however the first part of the drive was spent going at about 5 miles/hour on average through mountain passes. I expected to see a reason for why cars were backed up so terribly, why we'd spend minutes at a time at a complete standstill, but none came, the road just suddenly opened up and everyone began speeding like crazy, happy to be free from being bumper to bumper for 2 1/2 hours and trying to make up for lost time. I am in Sacramento now, the grass here is green, there are leaves on the trees and I have even spotted a couple Palm Trees.

Now here are a ton of photos that really do not do justice for the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

Here are my attempts to show that I am also on this trip and not just Luna. I got several other shots where Luna's expression was absolutely perfect, however the camera focused on the camera and blurred us out in them.

Using my hand as a headrest to get some shut eye while we were stuck in traffic.