Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

(Read Part One here)

The house was lovely, with spectacular 180 degree views from the living area and deck. The deck wrapped almost completely around the house, and there was a doggie door for Eli, even though he wanted no parts of it.

The neatest feature of the house (besides the incredible views) was the hanging fireplace in the middle of the living room. In the evenings, we would open the doors to hear the ocean and smell the salt air, and light a fire in the fireplace to stay warm. It was like having a bonfire indoors.

Once unpacked, we opened the first bottle of wine (of many) and toasted each other and our stay at the beach.  France made some awesome music CDs and we got the stereo cranking almost immediately.  The views from the deck were breathtaking, and we found ourselves spending almost all of our time outside watching the tide change, and the sun move across the sky. France and I wandered around taking photographs. France is also an avid photographer and there was plenty to keep both of us clicking.

There were deer everywhere, and in the morning and late afternoon, they would come out and graze on the lush grasses everywhere. Eli alerted us to the first one, but after seeing a few more of them over the course of the day, he seemed to get used to them.

France prepared dinner for us the first night: savory chicken breasts, with a side of bowtie pasta topped with sun dried tomato alfredo sauce. It was so delicious! After dinner, we retired to the deck sipping wine (Scotch and a cigar for Steve), and watched the sky turn colors as the sun began it’s journey down to the horizon.

After dark, Steve started a fire in the firepit, and we retired to the warmer living room. Periodically, we’d go back out on the deck to gaze at the stars. I took some long-exposure photographs in the dark with the moon illuminating the ocean.

These two photos sum up our time on the coast pretty well:

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the clouds were painted orange:

DAY TWO:

I was up early (as usual), and worked a little bit on my photos until everyone else got up. After fortifying ourselves with coffee and delicious omelets (courtesy of Steve), we drove to the beach. It was a short drive, and necessary as our house was located high up on a bluff and it is too steep to have a path down.

The morning air was cool and I was glad for my fleece jacket. We walked quite a ways, going off in different directions at times. France and I were in search of photo ops, while Steve did some video-taping and Julie walked with Eli.

After our walk on the beach, we decided to drive to Point Arena Lighthouse for photographs. Here is information about the lighthouse from the Point Arena Lighthouse and Museum website:

The first Point Arena Lighthouse was constructed in 1870. Its brick and mortar tower featured ornate iron balcony supports and a large Keeper residence with enough space to house several families. In April of 1906, a devastating earthquake struck the tower. Damage from the trembler occurred all along the San Andreas Fault, which runs very close to Point Arena. In the town itself, many buildings were reduced to rubble, and at the Light Station, the Keeper’s residence and Lighthouse were damaged so severely that they were rendered condemned, and ultimately torn down… (Read more at the link above)

There’s an admission fee to visit the lighthouse and museum, but we were only interested in taking photos. Even though there’s a fence around the museum and lighthouse grounds, there are several overlooks outside the fence which are perfect for capturing images of this beautiful lighthouse.

The closest overlook point gave us an excellent view of the rock reef extending out from the bluff. Standing there, I was also taken in by the lush green of the grasses and plants growing on top of, and down the side of, the bluff.

Here is another view of just the lighthouse and the colorful plants:

We walked a little further away from the lighthouse and out onto the next observation point. From that vantage point, we couldn’t see much vegetation, but the view of the craggy cliffs was stunning!

More photos from the Point Arena Lighthouse area:

We continued down to Gualala to pick up a few things at the market, before heading back to the house. Along the way, we came upon a house with some creative tree clipping and shaping. This is one of the trees in the front yard, with silhouette sitting under it on another stump:

We had another lovely evening back at the beach house. Steve cooked dinner for us this time: filet mignon off the grill, baked potatoes, and salad. Several more bottles of wine were savored with dinner. The sunset wasn’t as spectacular as our first night in town, but we watched from the deck. Steve started another fire, and we ended the day sitting around the fire and talking for several hours.

DAY THREE:

Our plans for Tuesday included a slow drive north, all the way to Mendocino, before making our way back to Elk for dinner.  We had a lazy morning, enjoying the sunshine, sipping coffee, and relaxing.  So nice…

On our way to Mendocino later that afternoon, we stopped in Elk to look around the gorgeous gardens of the Greenwood Pier Inn. Julie and France stayed at the inn in the past, and were excited to show us all the beautiful flowers and garden art - as well as the incredible views.

The property is exquisite. There’s a cafe, an inn, guest cottages, a garden shop and a country store.  The flowers were blooming in a riot of colors: hot pink, purple, red, yellow, white.

This is the stained glass window of the church across the street from the Inn:

We stopped to look at some wood carvings that were on display all over the grounds of a local gallery.  The artist was there, and we chatted with him about his work. So many gorgeous pieces, with such detail work. Quite the talented man he is. I wish now that I would have gotten his name. I don’t even know if he has a website.

Here is France sitting in an angel chair. An angel on an angel. *grin*:

Bob Marley in Wood:

Carved and colorful egret or heron(?):

A little further up the road, we came to Cuffey’s Cove - or rather, what is left of Cuffey’s Cove. (I found some information about Cuffey’s Cove here.)  There’s nothing left of Cuffey’s Cove except for the cemetery. And I love cemeteries. Apparently, so do Julie and France. Steve walked with us, but I don’t think he was comfortable among the headstones.

The deceased sure had an awesome view from their final resting place perched high on the bluffs overlooking the ocean.

Here is the view from the cemetery, looking south and toward the road:

When we arrived in Mendocino, I was pleasantly surprised to see that so much looked just as I remembered it from our trip in 2003. Steve has no recollection of passing through Mendocino (and even stopping for lunch and a walk through town), but I do. I suppose he was too preoccupied with getting us to AK safely.  I remember a house with a crazy garden. I also remember stopping at a fudge shop for sweets.

We parked the car and took off on foot, making our way along Main Street.  If you’re a “Murder, She Wrote” fan, you might find it interesting to know that many episodes were filmed in Mendocino. We wandered into a few shops, and picked up some goodies along the way (fudge!). We continued our walk one street over, because I was in search of the “crazy garden” I remembered from 2003.

I don’t recall the garden being totally contained and inaccessible to the usual wanderer, but it is now. The only way to enjoy the quirkiness and beauty is to traipse across private property. Luckily for us, one of the shops adjacent to the yard was for rent, so we were able to get a closer look.

There are so many things to see in the garden. I know I missed a lot. But I also managed to capture some interesting photos too.

Looks like an interesting garden to explore, doesn’t it? It IS a private residence:

More photos from Mendocino:

We stayed in Mendocino long enough to have a beer at the local bar (dogs allowed!), and then made our way back toward the beach house, with a stop for dinner at the Albion River Inn. We had reservations for 5:30pm and were a few minutes early.

We had an excellent view of the ocean from the best seat in the house. Our food was delicious, the wine was tasty, and the dessert was pure decadence. I don’t know how I walked out of there. I could barely breathe with my full belly!

We were back to the beach house in time for sunset (our goal). It was another beautiful display of color as day became night.

The deer came back to visit:

The sky turned more pink as the sun set:

And then blue as the light disappeared:

As the sky grew darker, and the light of the moon seemed brighter, the landscape became a cool deep gray. Long exposures resulted in photos like this:

We ended our last night at the beach, sitting around the fire, enjoying wine and spirits, and having interesting discussions. We were all bummed out that our time at the beach was already over.

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The next morning, we slept in a little, rushed to pack and load the vehicles, and took care of the requirements of the rental owner - some of which we thought was asking too much.  Have you ever been asked to launder your own towels before checking out? There was a washer/dryer in the unit, but doing the towels delayed our departure by an hour or more. We also had to strip the beds and leave the linens in the bedrooms on the floor for the ‘cleaning team’ to deal with. Why can’t the cleaning team do the towels too?  Very odd, and the only negative about the property. Other than that, we really enjoyed our stay.

The drive back to Sacramento was under mostly cloudy skies, with intermittent rain.  We were all exhausted and were looking forward to getting home.

After unloading both vehicles, we all changed into comfy clothes, and relaxed for a little while before dinner. France had prepared a delicious lasagna before we arrived and had it in the freezer for our last dinner in CA. Bread with melted cheese balanced out the meal. It was fantastic.

We toasted our time together with a delicious bottle of wine, visited with each other for a little while longer, and then went to bed. I know I was exhausted. I’m sure everyone was.

We left for the airport at 11am the next morning. Saying goodbye was hard. I feel like we really got to know each other well during our short time together, and I’m thrilled to have Julie and France in my life.

I know how important this was to Steve, and he had a wonderful time reconnecting with his sister. We won’t let so many years slip by in between visits.

Thank you Julie and France for your hospitality. Your home is beautiful and comfortable, and we felt right at home while visiting. We are so happy that we were able to have this time with you both.  Making plans to spend time at the beach was absolutely perfect. I wish time would have passed more slowly. We miss you both!