The Lost Coast

Kelvin and I drove down to the Bay Area on Tuesday in order to attend a contraception (Nexplanon) training session in Berkeley (I will put a plug in here that this [formerly Implanon, now with an improved applicator and now radioopaque (locatable) on xray] is a fabulous method of long-term, reversible contraception). On the way, we decided to spend a few hours visiting Shelter Cove and the "Lost Coast," named such as it was a region of California's Humboldt County coastline deemed (in the 1920s) too rugged for a road.




While difficult to reach (to get to the coastal town and Lost Coast Gateway of Shelter Cove, you must drive about a hour west from the main north-south highway 101), the area is a remarkable display of natural beauty and well worth the added time to visit.

We spent some time wandering around Black Sands Beach, named for its unique grain color from the grey sandstone of King Peak (a 4,088-ft peak a mere three miles from the beach) and the other mountains of the King Range. The King Range Conservation area was the nation's first conservation area, protected since 1970.







Pepper enjoyed the beach, too! :)


In the pet sling :)




We then drove through the pretty seaside town of Shelter Cove, stopping at a few viewpoints to look for sea lions and other wildlife off the coast (sometimes you can see migrating whales). Kelvin swore that these bobbing brown things in the water were animals, but I couldn't be sure.







We took some photos and admired the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse, which was built in 1868 and used to live about 30 miles north of Shelter Cove on California's westernmost point. However, it suffered quite a bit of damage in 1971, became non-functional, and the Coast Guard deemed it property that could be restored by an organization willing to move the structure; it was reassembled in Shelter Cove in 1999.



There are miles and miles of hiking trails in the King Conservation Area, including the Lost Coast Trail which extends for about 25 miles out of the town of Shelter Cove and on which you could trek for days. We didn't have enough time to tackle this, but plan to... someday.

Tuesday evening before our training, we hung out at Wai Kiu and Hanh's house and got to visit with many of our residency friends who re-convened for a delicious sushi night. Sorry for the lack of pictures.

Here is the best (and unsuccessful) attempt at getting two dogs (Shabu, Pepper) and a child (Mason) to look at the camera :)

Brad (with Shabu), Kelvin (with Mason and Pepper)


We drove straight home after our Wednesday conference.
It was a quick, but still very productive trip to the Lost Coast, Bay area and back.