Fort Bragg, California

Just west of Mendocino National Forest.

When last we spoke, I had left Yosemite and had taken a very long route to Fort Bragg, California by way of Mendocino National Forest and Anderson Valley. On this very long trip, I stayed at a little Inn in Anderson Valley appropriately named the Anderson Valley Inn. It was almost 11PM when I got to the place, but the owner was up and happy to check me in. We chatted a bit about the area and I told him I would be leaving early for Humboldt Redwood Forest. He mentioned that the wineries in Anderson Valley are famous for their pinot noir and suggested that I visit some before I leave. How could Jimerica!, I ask you dear reader, not visit some of the best pinot noir producers in the world? Point A to point B is never a straight line in Jimerica!

Something you’ll experience if you ever get a chance to travel like this (that is, with a lot of time and a no itinerary), is that you’ll get a lot of suggestions on where to go and what to see. I’ve found these suggestions to be manageable in most of the country, but not here. There’s just too much to see in California and everybody you bump into suggests some new and amazing sounding place. In any single day you end up with enough suggestions to keep you busy for a week.  

So the next morning I popped in here:

I bought a pinot here that I will share with somebody in either Oregon or Washington.

And then I headed for the coast where I found this:

59 degrees here. Yesterday, I was in Mendocino National Forest where it was 103 degrees

And a 180 degree turn from my previous shot shows the hill side that California Route 1 cuts through. It's there.

I drove for another 30 minutes to Fort Bragg where I found a campsite that could handle Jimerica! for 3 nights, though I had to move to a different tent site each day. Since I can easily pick my tent up and walk around with it, moving wasn’t a big deal. Still, I got some strange looks.

I did some riding here at Jackson State Forest and Mendocino State Forest. Fine riding, both places. These parks have a “land of the lost” feel to them. Here are some shots:

Russian Gulch Trail

Russian Gulch Trail

And some big tree stumps. See the Jimericycle?

But the best riding here was along the coast at Mackerricher State Park. It wasn’t challenging at all, just a beautiful trail along the ocean.  Here are a few shots:

Easy riding here.

Jimerica!

A couple of sea lions.

A lot of this.

See the Jimericycle?

My days are similar to the others on this trip; sleep late, find coffee, go for a short ride or hike, eat lunch, go for a longer ride, and then find food/beer/people. For food/beer/people, the absolute must-not-miss place here in Fort Bragg is Piaci (pea-AH-chi). They make great pizza and sandwiches and offer the best brews from local breweries on tap. To give you a feel for Piaci, Jimerica! will tell you this brief story:

On one of my visits to Piaci, a young couple came in and sat next to me at the bar. The girl (who was from Michigan) asked the bartender for a Miller Lite. A polite laugh-riot erupted among the rest of the patrons at the bar, which confused the girl. Somebody said, “you just ordered a corndog in a French restaurant”. We informed her that there was no Miller Lite here, or anything Lite for that matter. I, and the rest of the folks at the bar, then discussed the options that were available to the girl and came to the conclusion that she should try the hobo pilsner, which she did and enjoyed. Here’s some other folks I met at Piaci:

Piaci is owned by Stephen. He opened it 15 years ago. In my few visits, I noticed that it was packed with craft brew lovers as well as beach-tired families looking for adult beverages and good pizza. He sources most of the ingredients (and beer) locally. He knows beer, as well as everything you might want to know about all the breweries up and down the coast.

Not the best picture I ever took. But, this does capture the Stephen I met. At this particular moment, Stephen was thinking about the many breweries that are north of here and then settled on two he thought were right for my taste. He pulled out a local travel magazine, circled the breweries, and then wished me luck. Hopefully, I'll tell you about them in a future post.

Just a few of Stephens many available drafts today.

This is Jackie and Chris. Jackie is from Pittsburgh. Chris is from here. Jackie has lived here for 6 years, and has enjoyed it, but wants to go home. However, Chris isn’t so sure. They’re discussing it. Please appreciate the fact that Jackie had to wait so long for my camera to wake up that the beer she is pouring is overflowing:

Chris and Jackie. I have to also note that while every bartender at this establishment was quick with the samples, nobody was as quick as Chris.

This is Dave. He will soon be opening his own brewery with some other co-owners. I believe he said it was going to be called “Overtime Brewery”, but I’m not 100% on that. He was often very serious, but occasionally less so:

Dave Knows Beer.

And that is IT, Jimerica! I wanted to make this a double post, but I'm tired of looking at this computer. At the moment, I am sitting in a crazy little joint that I'll tell you all about next time. Thanks for reading!