We moved from Truckee, Ca to the Bay area a little over a week ago. Although we are less than an hour from San Francisco, this area of California is rural, rolling ranch and farm land. We're actually staying at a cozy “farm house" that is over 100 years old and is situated on a ranch. The house has great wifi and cell service inside, but if I take five steps out the door all connectivity with the outside world is gone.......not necessarily a bad thing!
Other than visiting with Sarah and family, we're continuing our pandemic routine, including maintaining social distancing, which is made easy by our location. California currently has restrictions throughout much of the state on both indoor and outdoor dining as well as many businesses deemed "non-essential" are closed. Unfortunately many of these are small businesses that are struggling to survive. Sadly we even heard on the news tonight that the iconic Cliff House Restaurant which originally opened in the mid-1800's and has survived two fires (1894 & 1907), the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 and numerous other challenges through the years is closing it's doors permanently. Although large and world renown, it was still a family owned restaurant that has fallen victim to the current situation.
In spite of the restrictions, outdoor activities such as parks, beaches and trails remain open and we've taken full advantage. We've enjoyed revisiting some of our favorites including the Hamilton Wetlands Trail, Bodega Head and Sonoma Bike Path Trail. We also discovered the Shollenberger Park Loop Trail in Petaluma, which is a nice flat trail that I'm sure we'll enjoy many more times in the future.
Today was a sunny day, with a temperature in the mid-fifties, perfect for venturing out towards the coast to enjoy a trail we discovered on a previous visit, the Tomales Point Trail, a part of Point Reyes National Seashore. First of all, you don't just "happen upon" the Tomales Point Trail. The trailhead is located at the end of a winding, bumpy road past Point Reyes Station, Inverness and Tomales Point State Park. It takes a little effort to get there but you'll be rewarded with an amazing coastal trail.
Along the Tomales Point Trail
The maintained section of the trail is three miles in length. There is another 1.7 miles of unmaintained trail that goes all the way to the Tomales Bay Inlet. We've never hiked the unmaintained section of the trail but I'm sure the views along it and across to Dillon Beach are spectacular as well. A unique feature of this trail is that it passes through an elk preserve. The last time we were on the trail the elk were off in the distance. Today there was a large herd grazing right beside the trail and at one point we sat on a rock and watch five bull elk casually graze about 30-40 yards away. Elk grazing with waves crashing along the rocky shoreline of the Pacific Ocean makes for happy hikers.
On our way to the Tomales Point Trail we passed the Abbotts Lagoon Trailhead. It looked interesting and we made a mental note to stop there on the way back. It turned out to be a very pleasant 2.3 mile (each way) trail that passed by the Abbotts Lagoon and ended on a deserted stretch of sandy beach. There was a "high surf" warning and a "king tide" today which made for some exceptionally large waves for us to enjoy before heading back.
Our total distance covered today was around 8 miles. While it wasn't exceptionally long, we covered more ground than we've been covering lately. Our legs and feet were a little worn out, but the scenery and company along the journey made it well worth it.
