Gualala River, dinosaurs, and art

The next morning we were served a pancake breakfast!


And Kai and Brennan took off to the Redwoods...

They played bocci ball...

And tried their skill at the horse shoe toss.

Joel found a cool feather for his hat.

While the boys ran off to the river to throw rocks...

... Marla and her parents started to pack camp.

And the boys threw more rock...

On the way home, we stopped at the Gualala art gallery.

And Kai came across this huge latrine?

Making our way into the gallery was a challenge...

... because we had difficulty finding the key to the front door!

Alas! We get to see the exhibit (one of my favorites).

Would you wear this necklace of former girlfriends around on a date? Or is he a stalker?

Beauty awaits outdoors...

... and even art can come to life!

Passing a nursery, these people obivously did not see the "Beware- NO tourists. Hungry dinosaurs!" sign.

Overcast and cold just off the ocean.

Here is where all the beef is! Waiting to be road kill!

And sunny and warm inland at Guerneville. We cross a pedestrian bridge over the Russian River. In Guerneville we stopped for a Mexican lunch.

On the way home, we had to pull off the highway. All that water made Kai demand for a pee-stop!

Fort Ross and Gualala

Just 2 hours north of where we live is Fort Ross State Historic Park. We had no idea something as grande as this attraction was nearby, which we drove by on the way to Gualala. Kai had awakened from his nap and was getting cranky to move. So we made this lunch stop.



On the grounds inside Fort Ross.

Kai peers out the window of the main building at the church across the way.

"Daddy, daddy! Let's blow something up!!!"

Just us sitting on a cannon.

Afterwards we drive for another hour plus to get to Gualala and find our campgrounds. Already camped there were the Greger family and the Parada grandparent family.

But we were aching to get off our butts from that long drive and got the kayak out and headed up river to the ocean. There were some very shallow parts that I had to maneuver the kayak over.

We even saw turkey vultures and a family of river otters along the way.

We docked the boat...

...and walked over the sand hill to see the Pacific Ocean!

Kai caught sight of something big!

Isn't that a huge jellyfish?

Now look how much bigger it is next to my "petite" foot! haha. While I was distracted with it, Greg laughed as he saw a big wave almost knock me over, leaving me half soaked.

Back at the campgrounds, Kai and Brennan play on the trees.

And swing away until dusk.

And then they swing a light stick around the campfire to make a really interesting light show.