Respite at Russian Gulch

Day 13: August 7, Russian Gulch Respite

We were safe in the arms of the Bus and in Russian Gulch, one of my favorite Nor Cal parks, and we woke to rare morning sun, and I walked to the beach to sit on my beach rock and meditate, look for seal, but there were no harbor seal this trip, although I did find a great abalone fragment for the Bus, and then Robert woke up and made an epic breakfast, and then yet another Bus man showed up. I do not mean to belittle the folks (almost always men) who want to talk Bus, and I am sorry I don’t always remember their names, but I remember them. This guy was a regular old camper, a bit older than us, with twinkly eyes, and he loved the Bus, told us all about camping the North Coast, told us to check out Wright’s Beach on the Sonoma coast, “You’ll be camping with a little curtain of trees and the beach at your back,” he said, and we also talked records, vinyl, and jazz, and we had a good time talking to him, feeling that always familiar and also always new way of connecting via the Bus.

The Bus in Mendo

Then we were off to Mendocino, my favorite beach town, to buy postcards at the Gallery Bookstore and books, to mail things at the Mendocino post office I know so well, to shop at Corners of the Mouth, a still existing Co-op founded by a commune. I have written about the village of Mendo many times, and it was another great visit, although we were sad to see that Moody’s coffeehouse now looked different.

So, off to Fort Bragg

Jenny in Fort Bragg

for necessary capitalism, laundry, and groceries.

We visited our old favorite True Value Hardware store on the main drag, then headed to Pippi Long stockings, purveyors of socks, bought trip gifts, stopped in at Racine’s the always awesome art and everything place for pens and what not, then headed to the laundromat we knew so well, near the Harvest market.

I got the laundry started at the old Boatland laundry, and Robert was making some minor Bus fixes, when we met Joe. Joe was also doing laundry, but Joe also had a lot to say, but he gave us a towel and a tiny, percussive egg, and it was all good. We did the Harvest shopping—my favorite grocery—and we folded the laundry, and the minor Bus repairs were completed, so we headed back to camp to relax.

Robert had a mini-freakout then about the Bus, and we connected with our neighbor in camp, Landis, a man who was from Florida sort of but was now heading North and taking this trip for the second time, becoming a rubber tramp, and Landis was not just another Bus guy wanting to talk about engines or old Bus stories. He was another adventurer, and also, I think, a writer, and I wish him well wherever he is.

Then it was dinner and fire and sleep, and we slept, knowing in the morning we had a fairly easy ride, but lots of miles to cover.