More Mendocino: Big River

Mist in the Big River valley, from the Mendocino headlands

I swear this is the last--okay, the penultimate--batch of holiday snaps (from my weekend in Mendocino) that I'll inflict on y'all. Pictures below the fold...

This is the aptly (if unimaginatively) named Big River, which empties into the sea just south of the village of Mendocino. The California State Parks system recently (2002) acquired 7,000+ acres of Big River watershed; it's a cool acquisition in its own right, but it also links up adjacent parklands (scroll down for map) into a single contiguous unit.

The lower end of Big River (looking west here) is the longest undeveloped estuary on the California coast. It's a prime wetland (and not in the water hazard sense of the term), home to 100+ different bird species.

The foliage is just incredibly lush, by California standards-. Mendocino (or thereabouts) is where the Mediterranean gives way to the Pacific Northwest. The stuff that looks like Spanish moss (but is actually a lace lichen called Ramalina menziesii) reminds me of Mississippi.

It's a popular place for kayaks and canoes; the scenery is pretty, the water is calm, and there's lots of exploring to do. The tiny speck near the center of this picture is two kayaks fastened together with some kind of sail-like contraption in the middle.

[That's all, folks]