Bodega Dunes

Camping in a lovely place with Dory is about as good as it gets. Adding long time good friends to the picture is even better.

This was our first time exploring Bodega Dunes State Park, though we’d stayed across the bay at Doran Beach before. We give this campground a thumbs up and would like to come back. There is good cell service in the vicinity of Bodega Bay and our site happened to have excellent solar (i.e. no trees). We left Friday afternoon and our tent camping friends arrived at the park ahead of us. They scoped things out and snagged two of the best sites in the place.

Richard had prepared a truly excellent chicken and rice dish in the Shuttle Chef and our buddies brought over their dinner so we could all eat together. Wine was shared and fun was had by all. It was on the cold side (for us), so we turned in and performed our nightly routine of GoT, shower, sleepytimes.

Saturday morning Richard headed out for a bike ride and our friends walked over to Bodega Bay to do some shopping. That gave me time to write a report and go on a short little ride around the campground to check out future sites. Then Rita and I went for a walk along the bay and got to talk and catch up. As we went by a little harbor, we saw a seal coming up out of the water with what looked like half a fish. He would sort of shake it and flip it around, just like a dog with a chew toy. Birds gathered all around to snag the bits left behind and every so often he would fling the fish way up in the air. Entertaining.

Richard meanwhile accidentally stumbled upon Levi Leipheimer’s Grand Fondo, which just happened to be set for this weekend in Bodega Bay. He was a happy camper because not only did he not have to worry as much about getting lost, since he was riding with hundreds of other bikies, but he also got to bum cookies. On the solar front, Dory’s battery had recharged all the way back up to 100% capacity by 3pm and we hadn’t been stingy on electricity use. Ice cubes stayed frozen on a fridge setting of “2” and I was even charging my laptop and phone during the day. That kind of site could keep us going rather indefinitely. And since there was strong cell service, Richard is already planning to move there and just work remotely. I have yet to figure out how to teach children remotely, so this plan may take a while before reaching fruition.

Saturday night we went out for dinner in the same Mexican place we’d gone to when we stayed at Doran Beach. We had crab enchiladas and fish tacos and that was perfect. We managed to get out just in time to race to a beach front view for the sunset. Back to the campground where it was just a bit too chilly to chat outside. No problem. We simply moved the chatting into Dory. Besides the fact that Mo nearly knocked himself out hitting his head on our door, it was a fantastic evening. We discovered that Rita cannot hit her head unless she stands on her tippy toes. We put up our “Hit Head Here” stickers to try to avert injuring people we like in the future. No guarantees, however, because Richard has already hit his head, post sticker.

Sunday morning we woke to the beautiful sound of rain tapping on the roof. Yes, it did occur to us that our tent camping compatriots might not be feeling as welcoming of that sound. Yes, we felt a little guilty. But then we scrunched under the warm puffy blankets and enjoyed our lattes and immediately felt better. They began to pack up and we continued to be cozy and indoors a while longer.

We eventually made it out around noon and started looking for a nice place to lunch. As it turns out, there is a road from the campground leading right to Salmon Beach. Spectacular that was. We grabbed some snacks and took a short walk over a boardwalk to the beach. There was hardly anybody around and this would be a great spot for beach day use. There is a trail from the campground to this beach that we’ll have to check out next time.

Reluctantly, we headed home to do our requisite adulting. We are extremely pleased with how well the winch system is working. I do believe this was our fastest un-camping to date. Nice job Randy!

Total miles: 89.4, 2 hours 58 min, 14.9 mpg (strong wind)

Site: 60 (awesome!) The campground does not accept site specific reservations so you have to choose what’s available when you get there. Future sites to try for: The south loop is only open during peak season, but our favorites there are 60, 61, 67, 68, and maybe 71 (there’s a water view and some solar, but it is next to the road so you’d hear cars). The more northern loop is open all year and we liked 27, 28, 36, 38, and 47. These sites would not be as full sun as the ones on the South side, but they’d be ok.