They were born centuries ago, with roots deep into the grounds they soar high and aim for the stars. The winds can blow hard, the fires can burn and yet they continue to stand tall. They are the majestic Redwoods.
Trees – we take them for granted. We cut them, make paper, and then we spend millions to recycle paper so we don’t have to cut more trees. Something very wrong with that logic, but that’s where we are today and we cannot turn back. What we can do is learn from them, learn from the trees, learn from the Redwoods. Trees they teach us to stay grounded. They teach us to take in the worse and give out the best. They teach us not to loose our purpose. This summer has been about trees. I am not sure why, but the trees have been calling 🙂 every painting I make, every walk I take, I cannot but help look at the imperfectly perfect silhouettes of trees. So when I decided to search for a campsite, it was only natural that I find a state park with abundant trees.
My search took me to Hendy Woods State Park in Mendocino County approximately a 3 hour drive North of San Francisco. It is an absolutely amazing site for families camping with kids. We packed two SUVs with tents, food, mattresses, pillows, more food, water, and tons of ice. The weather folks said it’s going to be 100F – Ouch! Why does every camping trip I take have to be a scorcher, but a promise made is a promise made.. so off we started our trip. It’s an easy drive, a few twists and turns but nothing too strenuous. As we entered Philo, CA life slowed down. With a population of 347, there is no need to move fast. Lucky folks. What do you think?
A quick caveat, your GPS will take you on 128 and say you have reached Hendy Woods State Park, but there is no sign of it. Drive further about for 2 miles and you will see a sign, turn into Greenwood Road and voila – Hendy Woods State Park.
The ranger lady at the check in was super friendly and welcomed us with tips and ideas on things to do. The Navarro river flows in the park, but the drought has hit it bad, so there wasn’t much happening in the river, she said. We were bummed a little, but there was still plenty to do in the area. We drove into the park and onto our campsite. Beautiful isn’t it? The crew starts to set up right away 🙂
And before we knew it, team work had these two tents up.
Next stop, we need some Chai 🙂
The boys get busy and build a camp fire – the best part of camping.
There is something magical, romantic and yet fearful about fire.
It entices and yet pushes you away. It demands respect.
We put the fire to good use. It keeps us warm and cooks our food. Chicken for the carnivores 🙂
Veggie wraps for the herbivores 🙂
I woke up to this – the birds chirping and a tree canopy.
The air was crisp and cold, the sky was clear and bright and I felt blessed
and for once, there was no thought crossing my mind. My mind was empty.
This little guy is called ” A Banana Slug” – my mini me found him on a tree stump near our tent.
It was her treasure find.
We spent the day visiting the neighborhood. An hour from Hendy Woods are treasures galore, from Russian Gulch State Park (It’s full of poison ivy, so I do not recommend it) to The Point Arena Light House (below) to the Glass Beach there is plenty to do and keep you busy Or you can just chill out at one of the turnout beaches. A quick warning – Do not take the Mountain View Road to go back and forth between Camp and Pt Arena. CA 1 is a little longer but much easier – 16% grade for 7 miles is not fun 🙂
After being disappointed with poison ivy at Russian Gulch, we drove to Pt. Arena Lighthouse. We were here not too long ago, but the feeling was just as magical. It is absolutely breathtaking. 
On our way back, we stopped at “The Apple Farm.” This is right before the bridge that takes you to Hendy Woods and it is an ABSOLUTE MUST. Here’s a fun fact for you – I do not like apple juice, never have, never understood apple juice either. But this apple juice, it’s different. It is “THE BEST” apple juice on planet Earth. Best part – scroll down to read 🙂
Best part – Honor System. Who does that in today’s times? I guess only folks who know their product is so good, that anyone who tries to cheat them will feel guilty 🙂 It’s a pure honor system, take your pic from the assorted goodies,
put the cash in their cash box and walk away 🙂
The night was lots of fun with campfire songs, some sea shanty songs, good forest stories and had lots of fun – thanks to Park Ranger Steve. No camp is complete without Smores, so we made Smores 🙂
And so ended our second night at Hendy Woods State Park. Next morning was all about packing up – take the tents down, and load up the SUV’s and make our way back to the urban life.
As we drove back, I could not help but amuse myself with the thought that human beings despite all the hoo-ha on technology search low and high for a place that has not been touched by the human hand. A place that is not connected, just so we can connect back to our primal roots. A place where we can sit and stare and stare some more without the worry about a “to do list.”
What greeted me when I came back home helped continue the experience. This insane beautiful gorgeous CA sky. And so ended a short but very relaxed vacation. Hendy Woods we will come back.
