Tourist First: California: Russian River to Point Reyes

Saturday, September 24, 2022

California: Russian River to Point Reyes

A driftwood shelter on the spit of sand that separates the Russian River (background)
from the Pacific at Jenner. Our cabin at River's End is shrouded in fog.

Our late summer 2022 driving trip from Seattle to San Diego was disrupted when first I and then my wife, Jane, tested positive for covid. I woke up after our first night in Portland, Oregon, feeling miserable and used one of the at-home rapid tests that we had brought. I was positive; Jane was negative at first.

So, instead of wine tastings and dinner with longtime friends who now live in Portland, we settled for a brief reunion seated well apart on a porch at their home. After a few days basically confined to our hotel room, but with me feeling considerably better, we drove to Redding, California, which we had originally planned to use as a base for going to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Instead, our one full day there was spent at an emergency room where we both received monoclonal antibodies. The effect was almost immediate in terms of how we felt.

The next day we drove southwest, eventually along the Russian River in Sonoma County, to Jenner where our accommodations, River's End, had no-contact check in. Since we still had the virus and were possibly contagious, we skipped stopping at tasting rooms and avoided contact with others but were still able to enjoy this beautifuil stretch of river and seacoast. We even get out of the car for some walks if not real hikes.

After two nights at Jenner, we went further south to Marshall, a town on Tomales Bay, which is formed by the triangular peninsula that is Point Reyes National Seashore. From there we explored Point Reyes and the town of Point Reyes Station.

Here are some photos:

The Russian River wends its way beside Highway 116 in Sonoma Country
before reaching the sea at Jenner.

That's our rented Honda Civic beside our cabin
at River's End in Jenner. Even the parking spot
has a nice water view.

The sun descends into the Pacific as seen from
our deck at River's End. We experienced several kinds
of isolation here: self-isolation due to covid, isolation
from television and internet, and no cell service. We
had to drive inland to Duncans Mills for wifi. But the
view makes for a pretty glorious isolation.

Another view from River's End. The rocks in the distance are white with bird droppings.

Gleason Overlook on Highway 1 between Jenner and Bodega Bay.

Morning fog at Goat Rock Beach just south of the
mouth of the Russian River.

Shell Beach is another part of Sonoma Coast State Beach Park. It's between
Jenner and Bodega Bay.

Point Reyes Beach stretches uninterupted for about 11 miles. It has only
two access points with parking. Anyone for long walks on the beach?

The Point Reyes Lighthouse is not on a high point of land, as I had expected.
The only climbing you'll do here is after your visit to the lighthouse.
The sign below provides fair warning.

The trail to Chimny Rock is one of 30 designated trails
at Point Reyes. They range from one kilometer and
easy to 21 kilometers and "strenuous."

A sailboat motoring in Drakes Bay at the southern end of Point Reyes.

That's Arched Rock in the distance and Goat Rock at right, as seen
from Goat Rock Beach near Jenner.

Bodega Bay is the base of an active commercial fishery.
Bodega Bay is where Alfred Hitchcock filmed the outdoor
scenes in "The Birds."

We stayed here at Nick's Cove in Marshall, which is on Tomales Bay in Marin County.
At the left is the Nick's Cove restaurant, with several of its cabins to the right
built over the wter. Our cabin was inland, acrosss Highway 1, but we still
had a water view over the restaurant and cabin roofs.

The Sonoma and Marin coasts offer as much isolation
as most people would want, and isolation was the name of the
game for us after testing positive for covid. (That's not us
in the photo, by the way.)

Point Reyes Station is the gateway to Point Reyes Seashore. It seemed to be
very popular as a dining destination, though there are communities and
restaurants on Point Reyes itself.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.