Summer 2018 Adventures

This spring and summer has been full of adventure and exploration!

In May I attended Lightning in a Bottle, a rather large music festival located at Lake San Antonio in California.  The event had 37,000 attendees.  I attended with my festival buddy who resides in Canada.  Our adventure started the Tuesday before the festival, where I picked her up from San Jose Airport around 10:30 pm.  We drove down the coast to Esalean Hot Springs to enjoy their night soak from 1am to 3am.   We had been wanting to go for several years and finally got to visit.

The springs were magical.  Situated on the cliffs over the Pacific Ocean, you can soak the stress away in a quiet space, enjoy the stars (if the fog bank does not block your view) and be soothed by the sounds of the crashing waves below.  The night soak only permits 30 people a night.  With 6 large tubs that can accommodate 5-8 people each and several single person tubs, there is plenty of space to relax and contemplate, meditate or even have a quiet conversation.


Limekiln State Park Waterfall

Post soak, we traveled south to Limekiln State park.  A beautiful park nestled on the coast with half of the camping in the redwoods and the other half located on the beach.  Several hiking trails if you are up for an adventure, that are not too long.  Some are easier to hike than others.  The beach is lovely and not a far walk from the redwood portion of the campground.

We departed Wednesday morning to head to the festival.  Tis part of the trip was my biggest worry as the road we were taking was an alternate route due to a landslide that took out part of route 1 last winter.  The road we took was called Nacimiento-Fergusson road.  Located just south of the campground, is a narrow mountain pass that winds up and over the hills on the coast.  It has stellar views of the ocean as you climb the hills.  Lots of blind turns and several turnouts to be able to stop and enjoy the view.  On the other side of the hill you pass through a military base.  The land there is beautiful.  Lots of fields, oak trees and nature.



Friday sunset at Lightning in a Bottle

Arrival at the festival was as expected.  The wait to get checked in did not take long as we had arrived on Wednesday.  The bulk of the attendees came on Thursday.  We situated ourselves with Med team and Zendo Camp as she was volunteering with the harm reduction group.  We were pretty close to the main festival grounds, which I was thankful for.  The attendees who arrived Thursday had a rather long hike to get to the grounds if they arrived late.  Some said 45 minutes of walking through the sprawling tent city just to make it to the closest stage.

The music groups were awesome.  I was, for obvious reasons, not able to attend everything (7 stages, several interactive spaces, yoga and other classes).  Highlights of the things I did do include Tippers set, Thrive Choir from Oakland, the blacksmithing class I participated in and the 5k run I volunteered to help set up.  I met many wonderful people, some whom I am still in contact with.

Two weeks later I took of for adventure number two.  This was a solo trip to Enchanted Forest Gathering, located at Black oak Ranch in Mendocino area.  The adventure started off on a Wednesday morning when I packed up and rolled out to visit Orr Hot Springs located near Ukiah California.  The trip there was longer than it normally is due to road construction.  I had to take an alternate route through Boonville and Navarro.  The drive was beautiful.  I stopped at Anderson Valley brewery and Navarro Vineyards to pick a few things up.

View from my tent at Orr Hot Springs

I arrived at the hot springs around 3pm and got situated.  The springs are geothermal heated mineral springs.  The site has yurts, cabins and camp spots you can rent.  I wanted to camp.  For $70/ night you get a spot on a wooden platform (spots 1-3) or a spot without a platform (spots 4-6).  The springs can be used 22 hours a day, with it closed from 7am to 9am for cleaning.  The facility has a communal kitchen to cook your meals.  Pantry, fridge and freezer space to store your food.  Bring what you need as there are no local stores to purchase food.  The night I was there, the springs had a live musician.  Billy Manzik, who plays acoustic music there a few times a year, was a joy to listen to while we ate dinner and socialized.  If you end up attending while he is there, don't miss this guy.

Thursday morning I packed up and departed on the alternate route due to construction.  Headed over to the coast and drove up route 1 through Fort Bragg.  Stopped into North Coast Brewing to pick up a hard to find sour that I adore as well as a stop at the famous Glass beach to enjoy the ocean.  The suggested route to get to the festival was up route 20 which would put me through Willits CA.  I decided I wanted more of an adventure and took Branscomb Rd.  Another twisty winding road that took me over the mountains to freeway 101.  The drive was lovely and peaceful.  Not a soul to be seen on this trek.

I arrived at the festival around 1pm for early entry.  I had no idea who I would meet or where I was going to camp.  I had a goal to camp near the river.



Light Show at Enchanted Forest Gathering

I found my home for the weekend with a group of folks from Colorado (some of whom were originally from Canada).  Got situated and toured the grounds.  The river was more of a stream, provided a place to cool down on the hot summer days at this festival.  Small fish would nibble at my toes when I went to soak.  Wild freshwater eels were also in the water.  Dragonflies, birds and lizards were everywhere.  At night I spotted bats flying around as well.

The event went from Thursday to Sunday.  Monday was pack up and haul out day.   Enjoyed music by Mark Farina, Beats Antique, Truth and many more.  Met many more amazing people and enjoyed the serenity and nature that this festival had to offer.  Participated in an early morning yoga class that was refreshing and nurturing.  I would attend this event again.

The trip home was easy.  No crazy roads.  Just a straight shot down 101 back to San Jose.

My next adventure will be taking me North of San Francisco to Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Lagunitas California where I will be teaching a class on Herbal Medicine.  The following week I will be at another small festival in Santa Cruz, followed a week later by a 2 week excursion with a festival in the middle.

I hope to post about those things while I travel, when I have reception.

Let me know what kinds of things you want to hear about!  I check out tourist spots, do hikes and always have something interesting planned to cook when I camp.

Till next time!

-Sarah