Muir Woods and Bodega Bay: April 4

April 4

We had a late start this morning. I think we have adjusted to West Coast time on this trip.

We drove to Half Moon Bay and ate an early lunch at our favorite café there. We had Cobb Salads and thought of Carol in Atlanta. We have shared many a Cobb Salad lunch and good conversation with her and do miss that a great deal.

It is always interesting to see what construction is being done in that area. Past Half Moon Bay and south of Pacifica they have apparently given up attempts to prevent The One from falling into the sea. They have begun construction of a tunnel. From the present highway you can see the southern end of the tunnel beginning to lead into the mountain.

From Half Moon Bay we headed back toward San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and into the Golden Gate Recreation Area. We climbed a winding switch-back road (again) then back down the other side of the mountain to Muir Woods. This is another of our favorite places.

We walked the main loop of the trail through the redwoods. It was delightfully cool—a perfect day to revisit. There were more fallen trees than the last time we had walked through. These are not removed, but allowed to naturally decay and provide homes and places for growth for the animals and plants. If one falls across a pathway, either the path is moved or just the section of the tree obstructing the path is cut out, leaving the rest in place.

In Yosemite you cannot actually take pictures of granite peaks thousands of feet tall that do them justice, nor can you take pictures that truly show the size or majesty of the redwoods in Muir Woods. The size and scale just do not come through in photographs. These redwoods were a variety of Sequoia that grow taller, but not as large in diameter as the species found further north. There are many 200 year old trees, and some old growth much older.

The trail winds through the redwood forest next to Muir Creek. There are lush ferns and plants that do not require much sun, as the trees keep most of the sunlight from reaching the ground. The creek is a spawning place for salmon this time of year, but we did not spot any in the crystal clear water.

We saw some trees that had ferns growing from the trunks. We had seen new little trees growing from burls and fallen trees, but had never noticed the ferns before.
Although most of the trees are off-limits, a couple of them have been included within the path boundaries for picture taking.
Redwoods can reproduce in ways other than just by seeds. Burls, which are prized by woodworkers for the unique grain patterns, are essentially masses of germ cells, that develop on the trunks or roots. If the tree dies, new redwoods will grow from the burls, each tree genetically identical to the parent.

Burl on redwood trunk:

Natural fires are actually beneficial to the forests. They burn off the underbrush allowing more nutrients and water. Redwoods tend to survive fire because of their thick bark and size. You can find huge redwoods with what looks like extensive tire damage, the inside partly burned away, happily leafing our and growing well.

Redwood with hole through trunk from fire damage:

After our invigorating walk, we headed back up The One.

In many areas there were Eucalyptus trees bordering the route, sometimes on both sides. We could smell them even with the windows closed. I love them even though I know they are not native to the area (imported from Australia), the lumber is useless (it splits), their shed and fallen leaves kill the native plants, and they go up like kindling in a fire. They may be despised by naturalists, but they are pretty and they smell so great.

North of Stinson Beach The One follows the shore of Bolinas Lagoon. Part of it looks like salt marsh and part is open water. It must be a bird watchers’ paradise. Even from the car we could see several different kinds of birds, and noticed bird watchers all along the shore. I saw herons and flocks of several kinds of ducks.

The One had now become Shoreline Highway (further south it was called Coastal Highway) and turned inland a bit. We had a chance to see some huge cattle ranches, mostly dairy, on high rolling hills. There were also yogurt and cheese manufacturing companies, which seemed to make sense. You might as well build them were the cows are.

Factoid of the day: California has now surpassed Wisconsin in the amount of dairy it sells. Those happy cow ads must be working!

We arrived at our Bed and Breakfast at the top of the hill leading to the bay in Bodega Bay, to find a huge upstairs room with floor to ceiling windows, which would have been a better idea if they had not faced West, but there were heavy drapes to shut out the sun. We also had a balcony, the door of which furnished the air conditioning. There was a wonderful cool breeze from the bay, so that worked out fine. There were numerous wood carvings and paintings on the walls by local artists, with convenient informative cards stating prices and contact information. There were several small shops within walking distance.

I thought it odd that the management left at nine o’clock (and had still not returned at nine the next morning), leaving the guests alone with phones in the hallways and emergency phone numbers. Breakfast would have been nicer without sour milk for the cereal, but free meals are not always gourmet.

Bodega Bay and Bodega are where Alfred Hitchcock filmed “The Birds”. The schoolhouse in Bogega is still in existence, but is now a gift shop and gallery. The teacher's house next door where Suzanne Pleshette was pecked to death by the birds was merely the facade, and taken down after filming.

The dock area and store where the gas tanks blew up in the film (the explosion was done on a Hollywood lot, not locally) are still here, but have been remodeled and expanded and are not recogniazble as a locale in the movie. The owner at the time of filming insisted on three conditions for the use of his property: that the town in the movie be called Bodega Bay, that the lead character be called "Mitch" (his name), and that he have a speaking role, which he did, one line.

The village of Bodega Bay from where Mitch’s house would have stood (it really was elsewhere):

Tomorrow we are off to wine country on another detour away from the coast.