Ward Avenue

"Act like a horse. Be dumb.  Just run." --  Jumbo Elliot

It was a very pretty morning.  Driving over the bridge, there was a beautiful rainbow due west, very stormy looking ocean and a heavy shower offshore.  Didn't know for sure which way the shower was headed, hopefully not our way.  By the time we got to Ward Avenue, the shower had gone south of us, it was a nice 49 degrees with just a light breeze.

J. Loomis

John was out early and got a couple of beautiful pictures, accurately depicting  the morning.  Thank you  John!

J. Loomis photo

It was nice to have Janis return.  She last ran with us maybe a year ago.  Thanks too, Melissa, for bringing your daughter, Sonia.  My, how fast they grow up!  Also present this morning: Nancy T., Roger, John, Toni, Joe, Geri, Nichole, Katie, Donna, Greg, Gay, Mark, Nancy and Tom (17).  Some cars arrived with just 10 seconds to go so if I missed someone, that's my alibi.  If I missed you and you were plenty early, my humblest apology.

Along the beach, below the last high tide line, were thousands of jellyfish or sea jellies.  Not the small "Purple Sailors" which are common but the larger kind that we normally associate with the term.  I guess the stormy weather and ocean weren't going the right direction for them.  The ever present sand dollars were along the high tide line before the most recent.  Confused?

The ocean, the clouds and the rising sun, were all beautiful.   There were six lines of surf breaking.  The rising sun really lit up the surf and foam.  The hills had dark shadows and our shadows, going out into the water, made us look about a hundred feet tall.


NEXT SUNDAY,  NOV. 2ND @ 8:00 A.M. STD. TIME:  BIG RIVER, see "Our Routes" above.  Also, remember your mosquito repellant if it is a 50 degree or so morning.

EVERY TUESDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK, beginning on Point Cabrillo Drive, 1/10 of a mile north of its south end.

EVERY THURSDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: VAN DAMME STATE PARK, beginning at the beach.

Caspar Logging Roads

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance, run, yours is the earth and everything that's in it, and -- which is more --you'll be a man, my son." 

                                                                                           Rudyard Kipling

We walked and ran this morning on the Caspar Logging Roads.  John's pictures, though not on the Logging Roads, were all taken nearby.   Thank you, John!

I've been off for the past 5 weeks and in those 5 weeks, I seem to have forgotten how to do most everything I used to master easily.  Trouble opening and closing programs, using the tv remote, turning off my alarm clock, and I forgot to check the temperature upon arriving at our meeting place.  I think it was about 62 degrees and the air was thick and warm, much like Iowa a couple of weeks back.

It was nice to have a good turnout:  Sarah, Michael, Cheryl N., Neil, Nancy B., Rick, Nancy T., Roger, Cheryl, John, Bob, Laura, Melissa, Nichole, Katie, Zelda, Fay, Charlene, Cindy, Jim, Geri, Toni, Joe, Shari, Peter, Nancy and Tom (27).

Those of us that started out this morning on the downhill road (600) found a lot of loose rock on the surface from the recent culvert replacement work.  Hopefully, a little rain and some traffic will pack it down.  I'm not sure how the uphill road (500) was but this remains a good venue because of the options it offers.

 

Next week's run/walk location also offers many options.  It is a beautiful walk or run along the beach or the logging road.  There's Laguna Point and Ten Mile Dunes, your choice, it's all very pretty!  The tide will be about 2.5 feet, which leaves enough firm sand exposed, for those that choose to beach run or walk.


NEXT SUNDAY, OCT. 26TH @ 8:00 A.M.:  WARD AVENUE, see "Our Routes" above.

EVERY TUESDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK, beginning on Point Cabrillo Drive, 1/10 of a mile north of its south end.

EVERY THURSDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: VAN DAMME STATE PARK, beginning at the beach.

Van Damme State Park

                                               Van Damme's Finest Hour

                                      "Walking is fun, running is more fun" BC

Although I wasn't there let me deduce with some certainty it is unlikely there could be a better morning for absorbing sunlight and breathing cool clean air while walking the trail in fern Canyon.

Our "leader of the band" Nancy B. was walking to the beat of a distant drum in a far away land with guitar Rick and couldn't attend. Tom and Nancy, after combing much of the western United States from Yellow Stone to the four Corners region, are now in New Mexico and will soon be galloping from Gallup to return home and take back the helm of the Fog Dodgers. Perhaps next year they will travel even further south into the depths of the Copper Canyon to drink corn beer and run free with the Tarahumara. No doubt with them will be Mendocino's very own Caballo Blanco Rod J. Tom and Nancy we wish you a safe return home.

All of the details and photographs from today's outing were provided courtesy of Fog Dodger stalwart and much talented John Loomis. John reports the Seagulls were out flapping their morning wings and drenching themselves in the nearby stream. A wafting blue Heron and a white Egret nestling in the branches of a bay side tree. And Steve and Ora held an open house showing off their nice new camping van.

Fortunately there was no mention of encounters with bees or wasps. Not long ago on a return run in Van Damme I was the recipient of an unprovoked strafing by a squadron of angry bees in a tight flying formation with only one mission in mind. Their stinging stabs propelled me to run faster. For a brief moment in a burst of get away speed I was moving as fast as the all time great Johnny Rocket. We miss you Johnny....really we do, and Bill H. and Al and Penny too.

Present were Cheryl, Laura, Gerri, Ora, Steve, Michael, Sarah, Fran, and John.

Looking forward to seeing you all and even more next week. Let's have a big turn out to welcome back Tom and Nancy.

NEXT SUNDAY, October 19,2004 @ 8:00 A.M.: Caspar Logging Road
EVERY TUESDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK, beginning on Point Cabrillo Drive, 1/10 of a mile north of its south end.
EVERY THURSDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: VAN DAMME STATE PARK, beginning at the beach.

Jackson Demonstration State Forest, Road 450

Winter is coming! It was a brisk low fifties this morning when eleven two-legged and one  four-legged hikers/runners gathered at 8AM today on Road 450. Lots of changes taking place there. Two-lane logging road sections, straw, chipped rocks and soft dirt. Clearly the logging is in full form. We're missing quite a few of our regulars who are out of town for one reason or another and hope that they are all having a great time.

Our runners and walkers this morning included John L., Bob C., Charlene, Neil, Michael & Sarah, Tom and his faithful companion Beny (sorry for the misspelling of your name last week, Beny), Gay and Mark T., and Rick and Nancy. No one went out to breakfast today but I'm sure we've all eaten either before or after the walk.

Here are a few photos from John. Enjoy!

Great mailbox. I imagine it's on Simpson Lane or nearby.


Crab buoys or, as John would say, "crab boys," arrayed outside to dry on a property near Simpson Lane.


A beautiful shot of Noyo Harbor.
 

NEXT SUNDAY, DATE @ 8:00 A.M.: Van Damme State Park
EVERY TUESDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK, beginning on Point Cabrillo Drive, 1/10 of a mile north of its south end.
EVERY THURSDAY @ 7:00 A.M.: VAN DAMME STATE PARK, beginning at the beach.