A Talented Group!

Seen at the County Fair and Appleshow at Boonville yesterday - were awards for Johnny, Gay and John L (I've only shown 3 of his many awards).  There could have been more from our group - so apologies if I missed you.  Click the thumbnails to see a larger image.

Don't forget, tomorrow's walk is at Van Damme

Big River Logging Road

Photos by John Loomis

This morning we met at Big River. Kind of a weird morning, for the coast at least. It was a balmy 57 degrees, very dry and what seemed like a warm, light breeze blowing. I guess that points south and east of us are having dry thunderstorms and we're just getting the nice dry air. Anyway, it was a nice morning and a happy group of walkers. Only one runner today, John. Also present were: Fran, Dorothy, Cindy, Jim, Orah, Steve, Suzi, Peter, Nancy T., Roger, Toni, Nancy and Tom (14).


Six of us had a very good breakfast at David's Restaurant after the walk.

NEXT SUNDAY, SEPT. 18TH @ 8:00 A.M.: VAN DAMME STATE PARK, (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.

TEN MILE RIVER LOGGING ROAD

It was a dark and dreary morning,................... ducking now as I hear the moans! We were at Ten Mile River and it was 52 with a heavy overcast and light drizzle, actually the perfect weather for running and walking. Labor Day weekend, I think, made our group small, but really good!

Present were:
John (thank you John for these photos taken yesterday at this same location, remember everyone, these photos are "clickable", give it a try)
Gay, Mark, Toni, Randy F., Cindy, Jim, Johnny, Fran, Nancy and Tom (11). We picked blackberries along the road and had a good time.

Four of us were joined by Brad at David's Restaurant for breakfast.

NEXT SUNDAY, SEPT. 11TH @ 8:00 A.M.: BIG RIVER LOGGING ROAD (the Ron Jahelka Trail), 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.

NAVARRO RIDGE ROAD

This morning, we were running and walking Navarro Ridge. It was really foggy at the beginning and 51 degrees, good for running! About 3 miles in, or a mile or so from our start, we broke into the sun and it was beautiful. Present today were: Suzi, Larry, Pat, Fran, Gay, Mark, Nancy B. (welcome back from Peru!), Rick, Nancy T., Roger, Tanya, Bob, John, Johnny, Laurie, Charlene, Nancy and Tom (18). Brent joined 16 of us for the reliable and good Grange Pancake Breakfast.

John Loomis photos





Back on July 31st we were at Ten Mile River. The blackberries at that time were still very green. A couple of weeks ago, I was told that there were still lots of green berries. So, I think that by next Sunday, the blackberries growing, in a bit from the coast, should be at their prime. Next week, bring along a plastic bag (easiest to carry) or coffee can or bucket and plan on not walking or running quite as far as you normally would and enjoy picking a few blackberries, if you'd like to. Ten Mile Logging Road is a very good berry road, no dust and lots of blackberries.

NEXT SUNDAY, SEPT. 4TH @ 8:00 A.M.: TEN MILE RIVER LOGGING ROAD, (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.

JSF Rd. 500 (Caspar Logging Road)

I can probably say this more often here in Mendocino than I could anywhere else, "It was another perfect morning for running or walking." John Loomis snapped this photo today. Thank you, John.

We were on the Caspar Logging Road or the trails off of and around it. It was 55 degrees and heavy overcast with no breeze. A large group of happy people awaited the 8:00 start. Nice to meet a new member today, Teresa R. Also present were: Fran, Pat, Neil, Jan, Marc, Rick, Bobby L., Roger, John, Johnny, Charlene, Ron, Bob, Gay, Mark, Peter, Randy, Nancy and Tom (20, I think!).

Afterwards, 10 of us, including Brad, had a great (IMHO) breakfast at David's Restaurant. Good job, Kira!

NEXT SUNDAY, AUGUST 28TH @ 8:00 A.M.: NAVARRO RIDGE ROAD, (see "Our Routes" above). Be sure to allow enough driving time, about 10 minutes more than Van Damme. It's worth the few extra miles.

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.

Big River Logging Road

We ran and walked the Big River Logging Road, aka The Ron Jahelka Trail, this morning and it was another perfect morning. Well, almost perfect, I guess there were a few mosquitoes out, right Geri? It was 49 degrees, a slight breeze and a thin "valley fog" or in this case I guess it's a "canyon fog". It was beautiful and sunny along the coast but a lite fog still hung in Big River.

Lots of new people today, I hope I remember the names right. Welcome to Jennifer, Marc, Bodie, Chris, Larry and Bobby L. Also present: John, Bob, Patti, Rick, Randy, Peter, Suzi, Elaine, Geri, Orah, Steve, Marc W., Cheryl, Neil, Gay, Mark, Cindy, Jim, Nancy and Tom (26).

Our Gay, baker extraordinaire, recently entered 5 items at The Redwood Empire Fair. She won 3 First Place, 1 Second Place and 1 Third Place!! She's amazing! When I heard of the results, I told her that I thought her Third Place, Chocolate Shortbread, needed another judging. I was really just joking but she took the hint and brought samples enough for all 26 of us today. 24 voted that it should have won Gay another Blue Ribbon and two had to take their samples home to savor later after breakfast. Thank you so much, Gay!

After our run/walk, 14 of us had breakfast at The Bayview Cafe. They did a really great job and we all enjoyed it.

NEXT SUNDAY, AUGUST 21ST @ 8:00 A.M.: CASPAR LOGGING ROAD (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's Fern Canyon

This morning we ran and walked Van Damme State Park's Fern Canyon. We were a small group: Patti, Cindy, Elaine, Charlene, Ron, Bob, Kathy, Steve, Nancy and Tom (10). The weather was perfect for running and walking, 55 degrees with a heavy overcast.

Van Damme's trail is in good shape right now. Each of the log blockages has been cleared and the mud holes have mostly dried. We'll check out Russian Gulch again this Tuesday but as of two weeks ago, it was a real mess with mud and stinging nettles.

Afterwards, six of us had a really nice breakfast at the Little River Inn.

NEXT SUNDAY, AUG. 14TH @ 8:00 A.M.: RON JAHELKA TRAIL, along Big River (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.