11 Months to plan our next step and we wait 11 ½ to make it.
For the last 11 months every time that we have answered the question “What are you doing next?” we have ended at “We will be in Yosemite for the month of July.” Well the month of July has come and gone. When we first arrived at the park we looked at each other and said that we would soon have to decide what is next.
We did extend our Yosemite month for an additional 2 weeks into August with a volunteer work trip in the high country of the park but the inevitable was soon to happen. We would soon have to leave the park. We would soon have to stop at stop lights. We would soon have to pay for gas. We would soon have to deal with traffic. Ah yes, this is all true, but as it would turn out, we wouldn’t have to deal with these things for long. Enter in to the picture the California State Parks System. They have a neat little thing called “Campground Hosts”. Well they are by no means the only ones to have campground hosts, actually most public camps have them. However, California is only one of three states that has the Pacific Ocean. And thus the have campground hosts that get to stay for no cost at their parks right next to the Pacific Ocean!!!
So we are starting this week as the Campground Hosts at Russian Gulch State Park in Northern California. The park is actually between Mendicino and Fort Bragg along Highway 1. We will be working 25 hours a week and maintenance helpers and information providers at the park. In return, we receive a campsite at the park with full RV hookups. This means power, water, sewer, and propane. However we will still have no phone, and since we are in a remote area of the coast we will have no TV and no internet at the park. We are currently scheduled to be here until early October when the camp closes for the winter.
Now be sure to look up Russian Gulch on the California State Parks website and on the left side there is a link to photos of the coast in the area. It is spectacular and they have photos from the air and they will out do my photos all day. Also Google the area, it is an interesting area to visit. Lots of old lumber and fishing areas that are being replaced by Bed and Breakfast’s and parks. And yes, Fort Bragg is named after Braxton Bragg the civil war general that I am related to somehow. (Any word yet Beth???)
Well here are some initial photos of the place. Here is the Ford at the new homestead. The campground is actually very small and off of the main road. There are only 30 campsites total. No RV’s over 24’ are allowed and no large trailers as well. The entrance road is a single lane and drops down about 100’ from the main highway to the bottom of the ravine as you can see the highway in the next photo.
The park is very narrow and deep. It follows the small creek up the ravine away from the ocean. And as you can see if you checkout the map of the area there is a very narrow cove at the mouth of the creek. This is about all of the beach frontage that we have found in the area.
There should be some interesting wildlife to checkout in the area as well. In the second trip to the beach we saw this starfish and these anemones in a tidal pool. We haven’t even started to crawl around and explore the rocky coast line yet. And we have learned that this area is very popular with abalone fishermen. If you don’t know what an abalone is then look it up. I barely know myself. All I know is that they are rare and people flock to this area to catch them.
Well that is all I have for now. I plan to get you all caught up with our trip to this point now that I have power and time to write. We don’t have internet here at the park, but we should be able to get online a few times a week with a bike ride into town. Until then here are some preview photos for you to see.
Until next time.
R.J.
We did extend our Yosemite month for an additional 2 weeks into August with a volunteer work trip in the high country of the park but the inevitable was soon to happen. We would soon have to leave the park. We would soon have to stop at stop lights. We would soon have to pay for gas. We would soon have to deal with traffic. Ah yes, this is all true, but as it would turn out, we wouldn’t have to deal with these things for long. Enter in to the picture the California State Parks System. They have a neat little thing called “Campground Hosts”. Well they are by no means the only ones to have campground hosts, actually most public camps have them. However, California is only one of three states that has the Pacific Ocean. And thus the have campground hosts that get to stay for no cost at their parks right next to the Pacific Ocean!!!
So we are starting this week as the Campground Hosts at Russian Gulch State Park in Northern California. The park is actually between Mendicino and Fort Bragg along Highway 1. We will be working 25 hours a week and maintenance helpers and information providers at the park. In return, we receive a campsite at the park with full RV hookups. This means power, water, sewer, and propane. However we will still have no phone, and since we are in a remote area of the coast we will have no TV and no internet at the park. We are currently scheduled to be here until early October when the camp closes for the winter.
Now be sure to look up Russian Gulch on the California State Parks website and on the left side there is a link to photos of the coast in the area. It is spectacular and they have photos from the air and they will out do my photos all day. Also Google the area, it is an interesting area to visit. Lots of old lumber and fishing areas that are being replaced by Bed and Breakfast’s and parks. And yes, Fort Bragg is named after Braxton Bragg the civil war general that I am related to somehow. (Any word yet Beth???)
Well here are some initial photos of the place. Here is the Ford at the new homestead. The campground is actually very small and off of the main road. There are only 30 campsites total. No RV’s over 24’ are allowed and no large trailers as well. The entrance road is a single lane and drops down about 100’ from the main highway to the bottom of the ravine as you can see the highway in the next photo.
The park is very narrow and deep. It follows the small creek up the ravine away from the ocean. And as you can see if you checkout the map of the area there is a very narrow cove at the mouth of the creek. This is about all of the beach frontage that we have found in the area.
There should be some interesting wildlife to checkout in the area as well. In the second trip to the beach we saw this starfish and these anemones in a tidal pool. We haven’t even started to crawl around and explore the rocky coast line yet. And we have learned that this area is very popular with abalone fishermen. If you don’t know what an abalone is then look it up. I barely know myself. All I know is that they are rare and people flock to this area to catch them.
Well that is all I have for now. I plan to get you all caught up with our trip to this point now that I have power and time to write. We don’t have internet here at the park, but we should be able to get online a few times a week with a bike ride into town. Until then here are some preview photos for you to see.
Until next time.
R.J.
posted by R.J. at 4:25 PM
8 Comments:
It's good to see that you
finally are doing the blog
again. I guess my only concern
is, if you have no phone, how
do you call 911? I know you
are both EMT's but you might
need an ambulance!
Mom
Mom,
Please consider who you are talking about... This is Paula and RJ... If they need an ambulance, the two of them will somehow build one out of twigs, pebbles, and pelts. Come to think of it, the ambulance won't have far to travel to reach the hospital that they are building from fallen trees... It's actually quite nice, I applied to work in their Log Cabin ER but was turned down..
GW
Mom,
Please consider who you are talking about... This is Paula and RJ... If they need an ambulance, the two of them will somehow build one out of twigs, pebbles, and pelts. Come to think of it, the ambulance won't have far to travel to reach the hospital that they are building from fallen trees... It's actually quite nice, I applied to work in their Log Cabin ER but was turned down..
GW
Echoing off the mountains...
GW
In my defense, I can tell you exactly how we are related to Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene and unlike Braxton he is a general we actually want to be related to (he was on the winning side & was a good leader). For your next volunteer assignment I suggest you visit a park near Greeneville (Tennessee) or Fort Greene (Brooklyn, NY).
Beth
Hmmm. No TV, phones or interweb? Fishing tidal creeks? A crack at fresh Abalone? Everything sounds perfect. And good to hear from ya!
RJ, Paula,
The new habitat looks great. I won't ask what's next.
Thanks for including the picture of the fire truck. I haven't seen enough recently.
FYI - we actually now own a unit from the area that you are presently in. Picture on the web site...
JT
Good to see all is well. Very interesting and exciting stuff. Thanks for the token Ward LaFrance photo in action. Always a plus in my book. No phone, no internet... but I bet a bio-phone would work in the park. It worked everywhere for Johnny and Roy.
Post a Comment
<< Home