Summer Camping Week in Mendocino, August 4-8, 2014
This year, our summer campers went a little further afield to the glorious Mendocino Coast. We camped in the spectacular Russian Gulch campground, just one mile north of the quaint town of Mendocino.
On our first day, we hiked up into the back of the forest to the beautiful waterfall that fed the creek running right by our campsites, out into the estuary of the ocean.
The woods were very beautiful, and even though the weather out on the coast was somewhat damp and foggy, we were able to appreciate the forests, ferns and creeks that comprise the Mendocino woodlands.
In this photo below, you can see the beach and estuary where our PRINTS students were able to spend time. The campground is situated under the bridge and backs up to the creek.
On our second full day, we decided to ride the "Skunk Train" from Fort Bragg east inland to an old logging camp. Much of this part of the the coast's history and economy is associated with logging, so we were able to learn a lot about how the railroads were built. Much of the labor was from China, so that was of particular interest to our students!
Here, we are riding through the forest, looking out for old-growth redwood trees that escaped the loggers' axes...
At Northspur, the old logging camp, we enjoyed our picnic lunches and listened to fun "old timey" western songs sung by a wonderful musician who played the banjo!
After our day on the train, we visited the famous "Glass Beach" in Fort Bragg and spent well over an hour collecting beach glass. It was an amazing experience!
Each day, we made a bag lunch so that we could be flexible and have lunch anywhere.
On our last full day, we went canoeing and kayaking on the Big River, just south of Mendocino. We worked really hard to paddle outrigger canoes. The scenery was amazing.
On our last day, we had breakfast and then started to take down our tents and pack up.
Overall, we had a wonderful trip!! Can't wait till next year...I wonder where we will visit next time?
The intrepid PRINTS summer campers
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