Cruising the Sonoma Coast...

Wanting to give our family a break from us, we headed out for a short road trip.

More than 55 miles of dramatic Pacific coast create Sonoma County’s western border. The coastline is rugged, dramatic, and scenic – yet approachable. We spent the day meandering along it slowly.

Our first stop was brought to us by atlas obscura- the Mammoth Rubbing Rocks at Goat Beach. If the rocks could speak, oh the history we could learn. They would tell us about the hypothesis that the Columbian Mammoths, 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, rested in the cool wallows to bathe nearby then came over for a good rubbing on the rocks that formed a smooth glossy finish.

Breck Parkman, Retired Senior State Archeologist California State Parks, who discovered and presented the theory of the Rancholabrean rubbing rocks in 2001, sums up his feelings, “the rocks remind me of an ancient cathedral, fallen into disrepair, but not easily forgotten. The spires all but touch the sky and we are drawn to them, like the ancient mammoth was drawn to them long before us. The rocks are a seductive landmark and they will remain alluring for all who follow. We discover them each in our own way”.

Discoveries were made everywhere we meandered.

Our next stop was at the tiny town of Jenner provided us with coffee and entertainment at Café Aquatica.

Nick Foxer provided endorphin producing tunes while we absorbed the sunshine. It was an idyllic interlude.

Our home for the night is Stillwater Cove Regional Park which features a picturesque crescent of beach, a small campground, and 3 miles of hiking trails through redwood forest and along ocean bluffs.

After setting up camp, we hit the 1.6-mile Canyon Trail Loop which follows Stockhoff Creek through a canyon of towering redwoods filled with ferns. WOW.

Do you see Steve hidden amongst the ferns?

We agreed that we had never seen such a diverse variety of mushrooms, all in one place. I only photographed a fraction of them. Wild.

Warning us about foraging wasn't necessary. Mushrooms in the wild scare the heck out of us. The California Department of Health issued a warning in 2009 regarding the safety of wild mushrooms as an edible. The department cited numerous illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths caused by improper identification and ingestion of wild mushrooms.

The fungi were fun to 'hunt' if only to ogle.

Armed with an informational trail guide, we learned about the lumbering that occurred here in the 1850s. The cuts in the side of the trees held springboards that loggers stood on.

When gold was discovered in north-western California in 1850, thousands crowded the remote redwood region in search of riches and new lives. Failing in efforts to strike it rich in gold, these men turned toward harvesting the giant trees for booming development in San Francisco and other places on the West Coast. These trees are the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. The size of the huge trees made them prized timber, as redwood became known for its durability and workability. At that time, redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres of the California coast (remaining old-growth forest: 110,000 acres, 5% of original).