“How long ‘till we get to the ocean?” asked Logan.
Natalie glanced at her watch. “It’s probably not far from here, that’s why it’s getting so much cooler. We’re feeling that marine air, that’s how I know that we’re getting close.”
Fifteen minutes elapsed and they were at the intersection of Hwy 1, the Coastal Highway. They turned north and headed towards Bodega Bay. The landscape along this part of the coast was forested with stretches of meadow in between. Annie and Logan spotted some deer grazing in the meadows.
They entered the town of Bodega Bay, with its quaint shops and Victorian era homes. Annie gazed at the many sail boats and yachts docked at the marina. The entire town smelled like the ocean. Fishy, salty air.
North of Bodega Bay, the road became a challenge to drive as it looped and curved with up and down grades that made it feel like a roller coaster. Natalie climbed up a very steep, curving grade with the sound of the motor humming loudly as it down-shifted to second. Now they were on a section of highway that ran along the tops of some steep cliffs.
“Look, there’s the ocean!” Annie yelled excitedly.
Natalie and Logan glanced to their left. The ocean glittered below them in all its magnificence. The sun had just broken through the low overcast sky and reflected off the breakers as they rolled in toward the rugged shoreline.
“Oh, it’s so beautiful!” Annie exclaimed in delight.
“Wow, it’s great!” Logan said, straining his neck to see it better. “What’s on the other side?”
Natalie glanced at the expanse of sparkling water below. “That’s the world’s largest ocean that you’re looking at!” She told them. “If you crossed it from here I think that you would be in Japan.”
The Coastal Highway cut through some extremely rugged terrain along this portion of Northern California’s coastal region. The farther north they traveled the more challenging it became, with the hairpin turns and steep climbs followed by sudden down grades. The constant motion may have caused car sickness for many a motorist, but Natalie and the kids were too excited to feel even the slightest pang of nausea.
The winding road had slowed them down considerably. They had left Bodega Bay over an hour ago. Natalie glanced at her watch. It was now 3:15 and they still hadn’t found a state park. Annie and Logan were both becoming restless to get to a campground.
Natalie saw the sign first. It read: Salt Fork State Park 1 mi. “We’re almost there!” she shouted happily. “Just one more mile to Salt Fork Campground.”
One mile farther down the road there was another Salt Fork sign that had an arrow pointing towards an access road that was off to the right. Natalie turned and drove down the park entrance road. There were towering fir trees on each side. Natalie approached the gate house and slowed the SUV to a crawl. Their hearts sank as they read the sign posted just in front of the gate house. It read in bold yellow letters: CAMPGROUND FULL.
“Oh, man!” Logan groaned. “We’re too late, the place is full. What are we going to do now, mom?”
Natalie turned the SUV around. “Well,” she said, “There’s other campgrounds up Highway 1.”
They drove back to the main road and searched for the next campground. The next state park, about ten miles farther, was also full. By this time, Annie and Logan were feeling irate.
Natalie noticed a park ranger inside the gate house. She drove up to the admissions window and waited to talk to the ranger, an older man, perhaps in his 60’s. He did not notice them for a long time. He finally saw Natalie and slowly slid open the window.
“I’m sorry, the park is full,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Are there any other campgrounds where we could stay?” Natalie asked.
“All of the state parks are usually full by this time of day,” the ranger explained. “But there are some private campgrounds around here that take campers on a first come first served basis. Here’s some pamphlets that show where they are and the rates. The Ocean Cove Campground is the closest one…it’s about four miles north on Highway 1.”
Natalie thanked the park ranger. She pulled the SUV off to the side of the road and studied the pamphlets. Annie and Logan started to play ‘I Spy’.
“Mom, let’s go, we’re never going to find a campground just sitting here!” Annie complained.
Natalie looked up from the pamphlet. “Looks like a private campground is the only chance we have now of finding somewhere to stay,” she said.
“Let me see the pamphlet!” Annie quipped.
“I want to see it, too!” Logan growled, grabbing it from Annie.
“Now you both be nice and look at it together, or we’re just going home!” Natalie warned. They were all feeling a little edgy by now.
This worked. Logan and Annie settled down, and they shared the pamphlet.
“It says here that the campground is located on the rugged, scenic Pacific Ocean,” Annie read as Natalie drove back to the main road. “It also says that there are hiking trails, a nature study area, and pristine beaches nearby.”
“Pristine?” Logan said. “What the bejebers does pristine mean?”
“I think that it means there are beautiful beaches,” Annie explained, rolling her eyes at her brother.
“Hey, that sounds great to me!” Logan replied. “I can’t wait for the beautiful beaches!”
“Okay, we’re going to give this campground a try. It seems to be our only choice right now,” Natalie said.
Once back on the main road they continued northwards, searching for the private campground, hoping that there would be available campsites there.
It was almost 4:30 in the afternoon by the time they pulled into the Ocean Cove Campground. Natalie stopped the SUV at the entrance station. Much of the campground was visible from here. There were RV’s as far as the eye could see in all directions.
The attendant came to the window. She was a friendly older woman. “Can I help you dear?” She said, leaning forward out the window.
“Yes, we are looking for a campsite,” Natalie replied.
“Well, all of our fully equipped RV sites are taken, but we do have some tent sites available.”
“Oh, that’s good, because we have a tent.”
“Okay, dear…. We can get you set up right now with a developed campsite with picnic table, fire ring, and leveled ground. All or our tent sites are farther down than the RV sites, but they are up higher on the bluffs, so you will have a better view of the ocean.
Natalie seemed a little relieved. “Well, what do you kids think?”
“Let’s take it!” Logan shouted in excitement. “We don’t want to be looking for a campground all night!”
Annie agreed. “It’s right on the ocean, mom, let’s camp here!”
Natalie paid the attendant for three nights. The attendant handed Natalie a sticker for the windshield, then she explained how to get to the site. Natalie thanked the attendant.
“I’m sure that you and the kids will have a wonderful time here! If there’s any way that I can help out just come back to the booth. We have information about beaches, shopping and service stations in the area.”
“Thanks again, we will.”
Natalie gave her a little wave and a smile as they drove off towards their campsite. They drove almost a quarter of a mile past several RV’s and trailers. A sign with an arrow indicated the direction to the tent camping. The park road went up a steep hill. At the top there were tents everywhere, and below them was a wonderful view of the ocean.
Natalie parked the SUV on a rough dirt lane that had a post displaying the campsite number. Logan and Annie jumped out of the SUV and raced each other to the picnic table. They eagerly looked around the area that would become their home for the next three days.
The ocean was shining through the branches of some red oak trees. The branches were jagged and fanned out in every direction. Annie and Logan could see and hear the waves roll in and crash against the rocky cliffs below.
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sp; “What do you guys think?” Natalie asked, walking over to the picnic table.
“It’s nice, mom!” Logan exclaimed.
“The ocean is so close!” Annie added. “It’s beautiful, but it’s so cold here.”
It was indeed a very breezy place. The tree branches swayed from side to side as the winds blew in from the ocean. Annie was now shivering.
Natalie laughed, saying, “It’s always cooler by the ocean. It’s nature’s air conditioner. Too hot at home, and too cold here.” After a pause, she said, “Let’s put up the tent and then we can change into some warm clothes.”
She went and opened the rear door of the SUV. She pulled the tent out of the back and brought it over to the table and set it down. Natalie studied the sides of the tent box. There was a picture that showed what the tent should look like once it was pitched. The picture also showed a family smiling and enjoying themselves in front of it.
“Oh, this is a dome tent,” Natalie said thoughtfully “Hmm…. are there directions in the box that tells how to put it up, I wonder?”
“It shows how to put it up on the side of the box, mom,” Logan observed.
Natalie opened the long box and pulled out the rolled-up tent and another clasped nylon bag that contained the poles and stakes. She studied the “four easy steps” of pitching the tent from the side of the box.
“We need to put the poles together first”, she said with a rather confused look. Annie and Logan helped her to assemble the tent poles, fastening all the sections together. Once the poles were ready to insert, Logan unfurled the tent. Immediately the wind took it, whipping it around like a sail. It became airborne with each gust. Logan and Annie raced towards either side and tried to hold the tent down.
“Mom!” Logan yelled. “Get one of the poles and see if you can thread it into the side sleeves.”
Natalie came over with a pole and raised up a corner of the tent and attempted to insert the pole into the sleeve. She had to raise the tent slightly to do this, and just as she started to insert the pole a strong blast of wind tore the tent from her hands. Logan and Annie also lost their grip on it, and it flew up in the air about ten feet, and then it blew away towards the adjoining campsite. They all jumped and ran after the tent, but each time they almost caught up with it, another wind gust would blow it further away.
“It’s going to blow into the ocean!” Annie yelled in panic as she tried to grab ahold of the tent, only to have a wind gust yank it from her once again. “Grab it Logan! I can’t hold it!”
Logan finally caught up with the tent just as it was about to blow over the bluff. Another camper ran over and helped Logan to hold on. He was a sturdy looking man with curly brown hair. He helped Logan carry the tent back to the campsite.
“We’re having trouble pitching our tent,” Natalie laughed. “We’ve never done it before. We must look really green at this….”
The man looked sympathetic. “Oh, no. You’re doing just fine,” he encouraged. “It’s not easy to get a tent up with this kind of wind blowing.”
He and Logan attempted to hold the tent down, but this was not easy to do…. the wind was unrelenting. The fabric of the tent shook violently in the wind, which by now felt like a hurricane. It looked like a flag waving vigorously atop a tall post.
Once the tent was back in place, the man unzipped the door and told Logan to go inside. “With you inside the tent, your weight will help to hold it while I get the poles threaded,” he said.
Logan went into the tent and stood in the middle while the man pushed the poles into the sleeves. Natalie and Annie held the poles as the man arched them upwards and inserted them into the corners. It was now beginning to look more like a dome tent rather than a kite.
“Now we have to drive the stakes,” he said with some urgency.
“Here’s the stakes! Annie said.
“Do you have a hammer?”
Natalie thought for a minute. “I don’t think that we packed a hammer,” she replied with an embarrassed giggle. “We really are very green at this camping business, you know.”
He laughed. “Hey, that’s no problem, no problem at all. By the way, my name is Will…. Will Bates.”
“My name is Natalie. I really appreciate your help!”
“Glad to meet you, Natalie. I’m going to run over to my truck and grab my hammer. Be sure that…. uh, Logan stays inside the tent so that it won’t blow away. I’ll be back in a jiff….”
“Logan, stay in the tent!” Natalie yelled. “Annie, you can go inside the tent too if you want.”
“Would I ever!” Annie cried, unzipping the door and climbing in. By now she was shivering all over from the chill of the wind and damp ocean air.
Will Bates returned with his hammer, and he drove in the tent stakes one at a time, pounding into the hard ground with all his strength.
“Well, that ought to hold it! That tent should stand up to those winds now!”
Natalie looked relieved. “Thanks so much for helping us, Will. That must have been comical watching us chase that tent all over the place! I don’t think that we would have ever got that tent up by ourselves.”
Mr. Bates smiled warmly. “I was glad to help out. It’s always windy around here, especially in the evenings…. the ocean breezes usually kick in around five, but they are stronger today for some reason. It’s always best to pitch a tent early around here.”
He paused. “I’m from Fresno. Where are you from, Natalie?”
“We’re from Woodland. My kids wanted to go on a camping trip, so here we are! But we weren’t expecting it to be so cold here. We will have to get our warm clothes on as soon as possible.”
“If you need anything at all, just let me know. We’re just over in the next campsite.”
Chapter Six
Ghost Ships
Natalie and the kids unpacked the SUV and set about organizing their camp. Once their suitcases were in the tent they took turns changing into warmer clothes.
Natalie came out of the tent dressed in a sweat shirt and jeans. Annie and Logan were sitting at the picnic table, also wearing their jeans and long-sleeved shirts. They were thankful that they had at least remembered to pack some warm clothes. The challenge now was to find a way to keep warm in this cold ocean climate.
Logan was reading the front of the camp stove box. He pulled the camp stove out and studied it. “Hmm…. I wonder how this works?” He looked puzzled.
“If we can get the camp stove set up, we can cook some dinner,” Natalie said as she examined the box for instructions.
It was a propane gas stove. They had not thought about buying propane at the store, so they were now facing the likelihood that they would be eating cold food out of cans for the next three days. Logan and Annie were looking very upset about this prospect. Logan attempted to make the situation seem less gloomy by suggesting that cold beans and beef stew would be preferable over no food at all.
“What about the hamburger and eggs?” Annie complained. “We can’t eat that stuff raw!”
“We could build a fire over there in the fire ring and cook over it!” Logan suggested. “They sell firewood at the concession stand over at the park entrance. I saw it when we pulled in.”
Natalie’s face suddenly brightened up. “That’s an excellent idea, Logan! There was a little store over by the park entrance, I remember that now. We can buy firewood there and they may even have some propane.”
They drove to the tiny park store, getting there just as it was closing. The girl at the counter allowed them to buy firewood, ice and a bottle of propane, saying that if they had gotten there one minute later, the doors would have been locked for the night.
They pulled into their campsite tired and hungry. The next challenge was to get the stove hooked up to the propane bottle. Natalie looked at the instructions on the inside of the stove cover. She connected the valve of the propane bottle to the stove. Then she turned the knob to the “on” position and lit a match, holding it to the burne
r. Nothing happened….no flame, not even the hiss of gas from the burner. Natalie took everything apart and reassembled it, and tried again. It still would not light.
“The stove doesn’t work,” Natalie sighed. “I guess that we’re going to have to cook in the fire pit after all.”
Logan studied the stove connection. He noticed a small black knob on the valve. “I wonder what this is for?” he said. He turned the knob counter-clockwise. The stove immediately began to make a hissing sound. The smell of propane gas began to blanket the air around them.
“Logan, turn it off!” Annie yelled. “Gas is escaping!”
Logan was about to reach for the matches to attempt to light the stove, but Natalie stopped him just in time. “Don’t light it now, Logan! It may cause an explosion with all this gas everywhere!”
They waited a minute for the gas to clear, and then Natalie lit a match and held it to the burner as she turned the propane on. A blue flame leaped upwards; the stove was now lit.
“Oh, that’s why it wouldn’t work!” Natalie chuckled. “We forgot to turn on the propane….”
Natalie cooked hamburgers and pork n’ beans. The hot food tasted so good that they ate like there was no tomorrow.
Annie became agitated when some dust blew into her food. Then a leaf blew into Logan’s drink.
“This is yucky!” Annie yelled.
“Hey, we’re camping, a little bit of dirt won’t hurt you!” Logan joked.
They had to hold onto their paper plates and cups as they ate. Even the tablecloth almost blew away. Now this was roughing it.
The wind began to calm somewhat as the sun was setting in the west over the ocean. When the sun disappeared behind some dark clouds near the horizon, the air became even colder.
Natalie heated some water to make some instant hot chocolate. When the water had boiled she poured it into Styrofoam cups and stirred in the powdered mix. Annie and Logan grabbed the hot beverage eagerly and began to sip it down.
Logan’s hands shook as he sipped his drink. It was so cold that he was shivering all over and his teeth rattled. He shivered so much that the hot chocolate spilled out of the cup and burned his arm. He yelped in pain and threw the cup up into the air. The hot chocolate flew out of the cup, and Annie screamed as it came in her direction. She tried to dodge the airborne drink but wasn’t fast enough. The scalding hot liquid landed in her hair and on the front of her blue plaid shirt! Annie screamed again.
Ghost of Ocean Cove Page 5
