Adobes, zebras, rails and rhodies
Of all the places on the map that have imprinted themselves on my gypsy soul, only one calls to me with seasonal punctuality because of a plant.
I'm not known for my discriminating horticultural taste. As a matter of fact, my native plants-loving friends consider my affection for pampas grass and tolerance of genista a blemish on my ecological moral character. I'm also rhododendron crazy, but luckily this Pacific Coast beauty is not on the list of despised invaders so I can embrace it guilt-free.
I was smitten with rhodies from the first moment I set eyes on the voluptuous bold blossoms along the seductively wild North Coast about five springs ago. My husband, David and I have been drawn north by the May bloom every spring since. This year's Rhododendron pilgrimage treated us to a bonus of discoveries.
After years of wondering about the Highway 101 sign for a historic adobe, we finally took the exit to the Rancho Petaluma Adobe
State Historic Park in Sonoma County. The creek-side state park sits on 41 acres of General Vallejo's original 100 square-mile domain. The well-preserved two-story Vallejo adobe houses extensive displays of life on the historic property. A working cattle and agricultural ranch from 1836-1846, the largest privately owned adobe residence in Northern California was the centerpiece of General Vallejo's empire. David, an enthusiastic student of early California history was thrilled to learn about General Vallejo's sister's marriage to Captain Cooper and the familial link between the Vallejo and Cooper adobes. What the historic property lacked in rhododendrons, it made up for with an impressive 8-foot high wall of prickly pear cacti stretching 100 feet along the footpath.
Continuing northwest to Highway 1 at Jenner we drove 20 miles north to the Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve. Blooms were disappointingly scarce along the Rhododendron Loop Trail so we decided to keep pushing north into Mendocino County for a hike on Pelican Bluffs before satisfying our curiosity about the B. Bryan Preserve in Point Arena. A vintage Land Rover-guided tour of a 100-acre African Wildlife Conservation Center in a quaint coastal outpost sounded like an unusual experience we should not miss.
Dr. Frank Mello and his wife, Judy's mutual love of wildlife and Africa had developed into a mission to create awareness about how poaching, political unrest and loss of habitat were threatening the existence of certain species of African hoofstock. Mello founded the Conservation Center in 1998 on Judy's family ranch in Mississippi. In 2002 he jumped on an opportunity to relocate to his native California in Point Arena where they expanded the conservation project to breed and study endangered undulates.
Sara, an Animal Behavior Program intern from the University of New England, was our driver and knowledgeable guide. She described the Preserve as a “holding facility” for zoos working on genetic diversity and reintroduction programs with African reserves. I learned more about zebras, antelopes, and giraffes in two hours on the North Coast of California than I remembered from three weeks in Africa 35 years ago.
I had no idea how the confusing psychedelic effect of blurry zebra stripes in a herd protects them from predators' ability to focus on a single prey. I was surprised to hear that the Hartmann's zebra roams the rocky escarpment of Namibian mountains and uses its thick hooves to dig for water.
We also met Elvis, a Plains zebra, the only species with a striped belly. The Grevy's zebra, the largest of the species has huge fuzzy ears that help regulate its body temperature. Poachers can get up to $10,000 for their dazzling narrow striped coats.
The tour ended with handfeeding lettuce leaves to a graceful 15-foot-tall Nubian giraffe. I noticed one giraffe twisting its endless neck into an exaggerated back
ward head roll. Sara explained the giraffe expected dinner to be served promptly at 5 p.m. and she was frustrated that the giant barn door to her dinner table was not opened yet. I was sorry we weren't spending the night at the Preserve in the dog-friendly cottage, but Mendocino's Point Cabrillo Lighthouse's West Cottage was waiting an hour away.
We reveled in the lighthouse's isolation enjoying an evening headland stroll before settling into the cottage's nostalgic Victorian ambiance to watch “East of Eden,” one of several DVDs from the rental agency's collection of locally filmed movies and television series.
I was hopeful that the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens up the road would cap our pilgrimage with a rhododendron fest the next morning, but not before a quick detour to Fort Bragg's Model Railroad Barn Museum. A Skunk Train poster promoting new “railbike” excursions caught my eye as we walked past the train depot. The twohour Pudding Creek tour on two-person railbikes with battery-powered assist sounded too fun to pass. Luckily the dogfriendly railbike trailer was available for the morning tour.
Our husky, Gem hopped in the crate and we set off spinning through the redwoods behind Jordan, our enthusiastic young guide whose grandfather had been a logger in these parts. There are only 3.5 of the 40-mile span of steel rails currently open from Fort Bragg on the historic route to Willits since the collapse of Tunnel No. 1 a few years ago. Repairs are underway and there are plans to add overnight hikes and rail excursions between Fort Bragg and Willits when full operations resume. The hour layover at the newly constructed Glen Blair disembarkation picnic platform gave us time to hike while snacking on the complimentary bag of addictive caramel corn to energize our return pedal.
Back in Fort Bragg, we stretched our legs around the Historic District and just as our brains started craving real food fuel we stumbled on Los Gallitos (Spanish for little rooster). The family-operated restaurant's fresh Mexican cuisine in a lively décor hit the spot.
The journey's piece de resistance was the Botanical Gardens and we arrived just in time to catch the dappled lighting dancing on the explosion of red, pink and fuchsia rhododendron blooms. I was ecstatic to be hitting the peak of rhodie season! Just when we thought life couldn't get better, we spotted Rhody's Garden Café's ice cream menu. What better way to punctuate our pilgrimage than sitting in a coastal Eden with a scoop of fresh-made chocolate chunk and cherries ice cream.