We spent the first week of our West Coast adventure in (very) rural Mendocino County, California, at the fog-shrouded heart of that vast state’s “lost coast” region. It was hauntingly beautiful: verdant, wild, misty, and mysterious. We had some great meals (all the fish, get in my belly) at small regional eateries where rustic settings and high quality cuisine were not mutually exclusive, and we hiked memorable trails along cliff tops, through redwood groves, up fern gullies, and across wind-swept headland meadows. We’d visited the very Southern end of Mendo some 30 years ago, briefly, and it stuck in my memory as a place deserving a return trip. We finally got that done, and it was worth it. Yesterday, we headed north to Mount Shasta, awesome and amazing in its own right, though very different from the coastal region. We’ll be heading northward again tomorrow, eventually ending up in far Northern Washington, with a few stops for a few days along the way. If interested in what this first leg of the trip looked and felt like, I offer 10 snaps below. I’d suggest you listen to this song while you look at them. Onward!
J. ERIC SMITH 
Pingback: Kelp – Tacky Raccoons
Since nobody asked, what’s up with that giant copper haploid?
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It’s kelp . . . roots at the far end, float bulb and (shredded) leaves closer to camera. Creepy stuff, in the water and on the shore!!
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I still think it’s a giant copper sperm.
Mind if I steal it and repost (with credit)? I promise I won’t call it a sperm.
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Steal away! (And you can go ahead and tell people it is a giant sperm. Beffudlement is fun).
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Muchisimas grassyass.
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Beautiful.
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Pingback: What’s Up in the Neighborhood, August 7, 2021 – Chuck The Writer
Nice photos. Kudos to you for remembering a place to return to and explore; no surprise that you found it worthwhile. I hope the rest of the trip is also a pleasure, because there certainly is quite a difference between the Lost Coast and Mt. Shasta!
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Yeah, very different indeed. We liked Mt Shasta area a lot too . . . Did a great walk around Lake Siskiyou with fab views of the mountain. The glaciers on the south and west sides are all but gone, alas, but it still does look properly alpine from the north and east sides . . .
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