Navarro State Beach and Butano SP via Highways 101 & 1 (CA)

We departed Albee Creek Campground at 11 a.m. on 24 Sep 2019 and traveled south on Highway 101 to Highway 1 in Mendocino County. We drove several hours along the coast through Ft. Bragg and a multitude of tiny towns and coastal landmarks. 

The Roadtrek at an overlook in Westport, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The Pacific Ocean; Westport, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The Pacific Ocean; Westport, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The Pacific Ocean; Westport, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The Pacific Ocean; Ft. Bragg, CA. Photo by Virginia.

We arrived at Navarro River Redwoods State Park at 4:00 and were fortunate to get campsite #2 for the night. The nightly rate was a reasonable $17.50 with Margaret's state park pass. The sunset was phenomenal and the evening skies were dark and starry. It was a peaceful night with just the sound of the waves to see us to a much needed night's sleep. 

Sunset at Navarro Beach Campground, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The Pacific Ocean in Elk, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The View in Point Arena Area, CA. Photo by Virginia.

We continued driving south on Highway 1 (Shoreline Hwy) where highway and erosion construction were going on, but there were also thousands of bunches of lovely pink day lilies! We needed to get back inland to Highway 101, which had Margaret mapping the shortest route. That turned out to be a very long (about 25 miles), little-used, rough, curvy, and hilly road with hairpin turns and portions that were washed away to steep drop-offs. Whew, that was one treacherous drive, but it got us to the small town of Boonsville in the shortest time. We gassed up, and I got an iced coffee. During that drive we went from coastal temperatures in the low 70s to 103° F! We made a detour so we could drive through the beautiful and crowded town of Mill Valley before heading back through the Robin Williams Tunnel to the Golden Gate Bridge. We continued through the Richmond District before connecting with Highway 101 south again.

San Francisco & The Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito. Photo by Virginia.

Richmond District; San Francisco, CA. Photo by Virginia.

We attempted to camp overnight at Half Moon Bay State Park right on the beach, but it was full. Margaret then decided to try for a night at Ben Ries Campground at Butano State Park. We set up in campsite #11 next to the restrooms ($17.50 discount state park pass rate) at 7:50 p.m. It was dark, quite sloped, warm, and buggy but we were glad to find a site. Margaret had driven about 9-1/2 hours on that treacherous Mountain View Road and then in San Francisco traffic. She did extremely well and deserved a rest! 

Ben Ries Campground; Butano State Park, CA. Photo by Virginia.

The next morning we prepared for our drive into the city for a busy day of errands. 

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Note: Clicking on the photos in the post will open them in a larger view (recommended!). If you want to see more photos of the beautiful places we've shared, we have them in this Flickr Collection: Over the Hill Sisters Photo Collection.