Desperately Seeking Sula

N'kwala

Geezelle
Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Messages
424
Location
west coast
Desperately Seeking Sula


Finally got out to try out the really nice Ranger II customisation that used to belong to the Ski3pins. I’m sure the camper feels it’s come down in the world—trip was pretty tame, but I enjoyed it, and was able to familiarise myself with its use. Just incredibly comfy and convenient! I’m promising it more adventuresome travel at a later date.

Camped three nights at Doran Park by Bodega Bay, and lucked out on weather. Even on the coast, it’s been unusually cold, but calm and clear. Bodega, as some may know, is also called “Blowdega,” and Doran Park, on a spit of land separating the harbour from the rest of the Bay, really does get the wind. But no, just chilly.


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I used to spend summer holidays at Bodega with my folks. Dad was an avid fisherman and we spent many days clambering around rock fishing and watching the tides and surf. Back then it was a quiet little fishing village. Today it’s condos, timeshares, golf courses and overpriced restaurants. Less crowded and hectic in winter than summer.

But the sea is still there, and this time of year the birding is simply amazing, which is what still draws me. The Headlands remain splendid coast,


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with fine views of Tomales Bay to the south.


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There had been a pair of blue-footed boobies (Sula Nebouxii) reported a bit south of Bodega – down by Mt. Tamalpais on Highway 1. I’d love to see blue-footed boobies – they seem to be moving north. So I drove south, past Pt. Reyes, and scrambled down cliffs investigating guano-coated rocks along the coast, where they’d been reported. To no avail, but I did meet a nice pair of ravens who studied me quizzically, then resumed their allopreening.


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and saw some good scenery, including views of San Francisco, about as close as I ever care to get to any big city.


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Locals around Pt. Reyes were lamenting the cold—frozen pipes don’t happen real often on the coast, it would seem.

Anyhow, a nice drive, along coast I’d not explored for some years.

Back to Bodega and a good dinner and comfy evening enjoying the warmth of the Flame 3 heater.

Next day just walked the two shores of Doran


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and took bird pictures.

I was really excited to get a good look at a Marbled Godwit. Took many photos. Walked around a point only to find about 80 more godwits.

Back to camp, a nice spaghetti dinner, and fell asleep to a serenade of surf, seals, and really noisy and weird-sounding brant geese. http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/135484


Bought fresh crab for rellies back inland the next morning and left, reluctantly. Camper passed its maiden (after three owners? Really…) voyage with flying colours.

Fresh crab was welcomed and absolutely beyond scrumptious.
 
Nice maiden voyage storyline, N'kwala. I too, want to see larger photos, especially of the birds, and the coastline, and well, everything. Consult the Support Gurus ;) or maybe check your pixel count on the jpegs.
 
Thanks for kind words. As they now stand, I think you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them, but there's stuff I need to learn about posting to this site. Hm. Yeh. Pixel count. I can do that. Support Gurus. Yeh. I can do that too...
 
Nice report, the CA coast in the late fall, winter, and early spring can be a great place to camp. I hope to have mine done for the early spring.


Go to your album and select large picture and not thumb nails. copy URL and presto changeo.
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Wow! We are so thrilled to see your trip report. :) Fun, fun, fun! Best wishes for continued adventures and we're so pleased our first camper is serving you well! Welcome to the WTW trip reporting family. We are looking forward to seeing many more!

Follow Bill's advise on the photos. When I edit photos at home, I do a copy with the larger dimension kept at 900 pixels. That seems to work well with web use.

Love the post title!
 
Same place we spent the first night in our FWC after picking it up at the factory. We drove up Hwy 1 to go home. Looked like a great place to fish and hang out. The bay and winds were calm when were there too. Good to know the winds blows a lot there...need to file that away in my head.

Congrats on the "new" camper and enjoy!
 
I'm happy to see that the 3pins' camper has a new home. I've camped beside it a time or two.

I enjoyed the pics from the CA coast; I haven't been to the Bodaga Bay area in a number of years. For some reason the birds in that area always seemed more aggresive that normal . . . :D
 
Enjoyed reading the inaugural trip report! The Bodega environs used to be a popular trip destination for my family when I was a youngster, too, so I got a little nostalgia hit. I'm glad you are enjoying your camper!
 
Thanks for the nice report and photos. The pictures work well, the Gurus even figured out how I could post them easily with a Mac. Can't wait to get back to the coast, has been many years.
 
Great trip report.

I miss Bodega.

Your pictures bring back good memories.

I grew up in Sebastopol and spent many days out there at the beach.

Have fun out there.

Your camper looks really good.
 
It looks like you are a perfect match for your camper. I am sure you will enjoy many more journeys in not such tame environs (though the water looks pretty rough to me.)
 

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