Driving in the driving rain; the sign says “Narrow Bridge”

We knew we were in for some rain when we left home on Monday and headed for the Mendocino coast; but we didn’t realize we had an “atmospheric river” bearing down on us. Earlier storms had already left the coastal areas saturated, and our first clue was the detour on the Valley Ford Road west of Petaluma due to flooding of Americano Creek. By the time we reached Mendocino County, things looked pretty soggy. We didn’t realize how lucky we were; slipping through the town of Point Arena and north up to Manchester, we arrived at our accommodation only to later find that flooding at the Garcia River bridge behind us had shut down Highway 1.

Notice the “creek” along the right side of the road

All day Tuesday we stayed inside, nursing a fire in the wood stove and watching the wind blowing the rain sideways. But on Wednesday morning, there was a break in the clouds, and the sun came out. It was our first chance to get outside… and we weren’t the only ones enjoying the weather change.

Soggy trail

I knew there was a fallen tree blocking this trail but wasn’t quite sure where it was. As it turned out, I saw more than one huge tree that had come down recently. When I came across the tree in the image below, I thought I might have to crawl over it somehow — not a pleasant thought. Then I realized I could walk around it and continue down the path toward Manchester Beach.

Impressive, but not a problem

Now that’s a problem

This was the tree I’d been looking for. It was lying across the trail, completely covering it with dripping, heavy limbs. There was no going through or over it, so instead I picked my way around it, trying not to get lost in a bog.

I did find a way around although it was not much fun. In the image above, I’m looking back up the trail toward the fallen tree. I’m happy to say that on my way back I found a much easier way around. Still, a machete might have come in handy.

Yet another fallen giant