Navarro River Redwoods State Park

It was an exceptionally and unseasonably hot July day along the Mendocino Coast. when we veered from Highway One onto Highway 128 into the shade of the redwoods that line the banks of the Navarro River. Even the shade of those majestic trees high overhead didn’t offer adequate respite from the searing heat of that blazing hot day. As we drove further into the forest we noticed a pull off near a trail that led into the forest toward the river, so we parked and ventured into the woods, seeking relief from the heat. After a short walk we descended a bank of river sand and soon we were engulfed in the nirvana of the cooling waters of a miraculous swimming hole! A place like we enjoyed so many years ago in our youth and that we now shared with our children and grandchildren, splashing gleefully in the calm cooling waters of bliss. Nothing like a swimming in an unspoiled river setting to return to one’s youth and its simple pleasures.

This place is beautiful! And you can camp here. $ 25/​night. I loved falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of the crashing waves.
Hubby and I came here in late August and it was chilly, so remember to pack extra layers for the night.
Also, because you are about 50 yards from the water, everything will be damp when you wake up in the morning. Have extra towels to dry things off.
It gets super dark once the sun sets. Hubby and I were one of two occupants the one night we stayed, it gets kinda scary if you are by yourself. [ it’s probably all those scary movies I’ve seen talking tho… :D ]
There are about 10 stalls to camp, first come first serve. You pay your fees in a envelope and drop it in a locked box. No running water or flushing toilets, only two port-​a-​potties and a toilet in a building that’s wheelchair accessible. Park rangers come around 8 am to clean up.
Oh, and bring your pups :) mine enjoyed romping around the beach freely.

Okay sweet stuffs. Now it’s time to tell you all about the time I almost drowned. No, not really. I’m over-​exaggerating. It’s in my blood, you see.
After packing up and heading out, I convinced Duds to let me see a beach on our way up to Mendocino for lunch and shoppe browsing. He suggested we go here.
Navarro River dumps out to the Pacific Ocean at Navarro Point, which is where we went. The campsite is just lovely, and I’ll definitely be doing an over-​nighter here sometime. They have these neat little spots all divided out with driftwood, each complete with a little pit and a bear box to stash your food stuffs in during the night. Though, I like to believe bears are smarter than those little boxes; they didn’t look all that sturdy. Maybe they were raccoon boxes. Yeah, that must be it.
We only stopped for a little while. This was Oscar’s first time on a beach, so I hooked him up to the retractable and let him run crazy. He didn’t know what to make of the waves coming in, and it was quite humorous watching him attack the water. Here’s a clip of him trekking his way down to the surfline:
.
The very end of that clip is where my adventure begins. In the video, you heard me go «Whoa!». That’s because my foot sunk into the sand the further out we went. With the inlet of water and the surf coming in, the sands were getting oversaturated. Did that stop me? Nope! Didn’t even think about it.
So after filming my little guy, I stuck my phone in my pocket and went rock hunting. It’s one of my favourite pasttimes. That and bone hunting, which is much harder. Another story for another time.
Okay, so we’re walking along, getting closer and closer to the surfline, the waves are coming in, and my nose is to the ground picking up rocks that I find pretty and want to keep. Then, I see this really big rock (this very one, actually
) stuck in the sand right next to the inlet of water. At the end of the clip, you can actually see it if you look closely. I said to myself, that’s a fine chunk right there, and I’ve got to have it. So I walked over and bent down to grab it. As my hand touched the bit of stone, I suddenly realized that there was water over my shoes. I mean, OVER my shoes.
Suddenly, time slows down.
I slowly turned my head to look at the surf, and I ended up doing a complete 360. The waves had washed in at an angle and came in behind us to meet the inlet of water, so now we were trapped in this little spit of land while everything else around us was completely submerged in a foot of water!
Time speeds back up.
I shouted «Oh shit!», grabbed the rock (you know, I couldn’t just leave it behind), turned, took a step — and plunged down to my hips in quicksand! Well, perhaps it wasn’t actual quicksand, but as I said afore, it was oversaturated with water. Thank the gods I didn’t go down all the way. I was able to climb back out and ran back to the car and dry land. And with all of my rocks in hand!
It probably wouldn’t have been such a big deal had I not been fully dressed — sweater, shoes and all. Had I been in a bikini and flip flops, I wouldn’t have minded that much. But you see, I hate getting wet with clothes on. It’s one of my many pet peeves.
Now I have a souvenir commemorating my escape from quicksand. Said rock that got me in trouble now sits on my desk at work with a little plaque that denotes the date and location of said quicksand adventure. When I go back, I’ll be better prepared. I’ll be in a bikini and flip flops.
Oh, on a side note, the point has these really interesting teepee structures someone created out of driftwood that was found along the beach. Check it out sometime.