I’m pretty sure the last time I stopped at Greenwood Beach in Mendocino County was July 2024. I was with the Big Guy, and we were staying in Point Arena for a few days. On that particular day, we decided to drive north on Highway 1 toward Fort Bragg but had only got as far as the small town of Elk when we noticed a problem with one of our rental car’s tires. We pulled into the local garage so they could assess the problem; and while waiting, we walked across the road to the Greenwood Beach parking area and part of the way down the long trail to the sandy shoreline.

This time I was here with Gus, and I was looking forward to introducing the place to my new companion and seeing his reaction to the surf washing the beach. He seemed confused at all this undrinkable water, but he liked running on the wet sand. But it was when he spotted a couple of Canada geese far out on the rocks that he really got excited. We were there during a low tide, and when I briefly dropped his leash (I was trying to pour some fresh water into his bowl) Gus decided he simply had to scramble over the slippery rocks and through the tide pools to get to the geese. It took quite a lot of coaxing and bribery to get him to come back to me. No more off-leash escapades at the ocean for Gus!