May 5, 2014 Manchester, CA

We left lovely Bodega Bay and headed north up California Highway 1. This road gives breathtaking views of the Pacific coastline that is unlike any other, but the drive itself is mean with many curves that include several horseshoe turns.IMG_0273 I think those crazy Mexican roads helped prepare Bill for driving an RV on CA 1, and I am thankful we are traveling north instead of south since the southern route is against the coastline with rugged cliffs and steep drop offs. An RV heading south passed us and I swear the driver had a look of sheer terror on his face!

We stopped at Fort Ross State Historic Park IMG_0238which is one of the oldest parks in the California State Park System. This 3,386 preserve was North America’s southern most Russian settlement. Members of the Russian-American Company founded the Fort Ross Colony in 1812. The nearby Metini natives have lived in this area for centuries and did not seem to mind the Russian building their fort. Earlier history shows that in 1784 the first permanent Russian settlement was built in what is now Alaska.

In 1812 twenty-five Russians and eighty Alaskan Alutiiq natives built houses and a stockade with the purposes of growing wheat and other crops for Russians living in Alaska, hunting marine animals and trading with the Spanish. The fort was dedicated in August 1812 and named Fort Ross in honor of Imperial Russia, also called Rossilia.  IMG_0242 IMG_0245 IMG_0249

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Ross also has a chapel with a beautiful redwood vaulted ceiling

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as well as a windmill that was the first windmill in California.IMG_0240 IMG_0241 The fort also has the first glass windows in California. The grounds also contain a Russian cemetery. In December 1841 Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter and then in 1873 to George Call who established the Call Ranch. In 1903 the California Historical Landmarks Committee purchased the Fort Ross area from the Call family and the State of California acquired it in 1906.

Bill and I found this area very interesting since we never knew there was a Russian settlement this far south. We enjoyed touring the Visitor Center, seeing a movie about the history of the fort, and walking around the grounds. We also learned that a special Cultural Heritage Day is held in July where they hold religious ceremonies in the chapel.

I have mentioned in other posts that this coastal region can be extremely windy.  We came across this tree while walking on the grounds. IMG_0254 It is not unusual to see this trees along the coast. Fort Ross is certainly located in a beautiful setting!  IMG_0244

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the parking lot Bill spotted an RV with Florida tags so we walked over to chat with them. We are always happy to meet fellow RVers and this couple are also full timers. They too find CA 1 very difficult to drive on which included their dog getting very carsick. We learned they are following the same route as us for several months so hopefully we will meet up with them again.

While we were at Fort Ross we kept hearing the barking of seal in the distance. We drove a little farther up the coast and stopped at one of the many turnouts. Bill always scares me when he gets too close to a cliff in his quest for that perfect picture. It is hard to tell from this picture I took from a safe distance away, but he was standing at the top of a huge cliff IMG_20140504_153851looking over the side at some seals and their babies resting on some rocks.

 

 

 

He got some great pictures of the seals and their babies using his 50X zoom.  IMG_0255 IMG_0259 IMG_0260 IMG_0261 IMG_0266 IMG_0267

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also came across some seals lying on the beach where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean

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and discovered a beautiful arch rock.

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The seventy-mile drive from Bodega Bay to Manchester took almost three hours of driving time not including stops which tells you something about the difficulty of driving an RV on this road with many 20 MPH curves. We did enjoy the ocean views on one side and pasture land with cattle on the other. At one point we saw a field of sheep with lambs running after their mamas. Thankfully we arrived safely at our next stop in Manchester where we will stay for three days.

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