Day 1: The Big River and MacKerricher State Park

Alice and I followed each other up the 101 and west on the 128, stopping at a BBQ joint on the way to buy coffee and a mini bottle of champagne. Nena tailgated lots of people on the windy 128 with Alice close in tow. We stopped at the Paul M. Dimmick State Recreation Area to scout out a potential launch site on the Navarro River, but upon peering over the bank it was evident that we needed to go down river. There was very little water in the river at this point, and most of it was standing in small pools. Instead, we continued to the mouth of the Navarro River where we spent a half hour wandering around the beach. The lagoon was closed and filled with algae - a stark contrast to the flowing open lagoon that Lisa and I observed a couple months prior. We were able to access parts of the beach with natural arches that Lisa and I couldn't reach this spring:

We decided to continue on to the Big River in Mendocino and put in at the public beach just inland of the HWY 1 bridge.

We paddled up river with the incoming tide for over an hour, turning around when we realized we were not going to find a distinct landmark to map our route. We chatted about all the usual topics. The return felt long as we pushed against the wind and tide, but we played with kelp and watch a river otter munching on a snack. Alice found some curious bright blue giant barnacles. We stuck our noses into the pacific ocean for my last California coastal paddle.

After some rapid snacking on old tofu and veggies we continued up HWY 1 through Fort Bragg to get gas, ice, and water. When I asked the station attendant whether she sold oil, she asked me which grade and I said cooking grade.

At MacKerricher State Park we paid exorbitant camping fees ($43/night + $8 extra car fee!). We meandered along the beach boardwalk, attempting to take an attractive selfie and failing miserably. Alice: "that was really exceptionally bad."

We returned to camp, toasted our champagne, and cooked some veggies with pasta, making it to bed just after the planned bedtime... 

All in all, a very typical Nena-Alice kayaking/camping experience for our bon voyage adventure. I'm going to miss this girl!

Kayaking Stats
Date: 7/19/2014
Distance: 9 miles (guess)
Duration: 3 hrs