Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. After over an hour up and down unpaved, steep mountain roads, it felt like we were headed nowhere. The sun was getting ready to set, turning around wasn’t much of an option now. We were headed to a seemingly hidden campsite write on the coast of Petrolia, California. While the drive was beautiful, we were too focused on the road that partially crumbled down the side of the mountain to pay much attention to the views. Suddenly the landscape opened up and the salty air came rushing in. The campsites were all full but we were taken in by an older traveler, Em, and spent the first night around the fire listening to the stories off his many adventures. The next morning we set out for a 6 mile hike on the beach along the Lost Coast Trail. We just so happened to be out there on one of the windiest days of the year. Outside of being pelted with sand it was magical. From the rocky cliffs, the secluded beach, the pack of elephant seals that came close to shore and the bear tracks on the beach. Much of what I’ll remember about this place is the journey there, the sunsets and the people. I took my favorite photo to date there, scroll down to see the portrait or Richard.
Em has lived on the road for years. Out of a backpack, off a motorcycle, in trailers and now in his current truck set up. He spends most of his time now making pipes out of driftwood he finds on the beach.
I hope you enjoyed a little taste of this place. I just updated my website a bit so take a look around. As always, I am so grateful for the support.
Much love,
Jara