Trip through Utah

*The Fourth of July!*
One of the things Carol and I wanted to do was to celebrate the 4th in some small town along the way. Maybe an old fashioned 4th with real American spirit and patriotism. We arranged to be in a small town, Fort Bragg, CA, with the whole day dedicated to watching parades, picnics, games, etc. Alas, when we asked, we found out that Fort Bragg celebrated the 4th on the 2nd, a Saturday. Phooey! Foiled again. Fort Bragg is the western end of the world(?) famous Skunk Train. The eastern end is in Willits, CA. Each day, a train starts out at each end and runs toward the middle. Once there, both trains turn around and head back to where they began. A passenger has the choice of either changing trains to complete the journey or getting back on the same train and returning. The midpoint has a nice picnic area and a gift shop. The Fort Bragg train currently runs each day, the Willits train only a couple times a week. We got ourselves ready all bright and early and rode the Skunk train. It was great. Very relaxing, beautiful scenery. After the train, we visited the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. They have acres and acres of native and exotic plants extending from Highway-1 to a bluff overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful day as you can see in the photos below. There area large areas dedicated to specific formal plantings. The dahlias were just starting to bloom. They were gorgeous. Mostly, the grounds and gardens are maintained by a large crew of volunteers.
The train has 3 closed cars, 2 open cars, and a diner car where you can purchase snacks		At the turn-around spot, we had a nice burger and some fries.
After lunch, we explored the small river that runs along the tracks.
People live all along the railroad. Scout camps and relatives come an go via the train.

Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens
Everywhere we looked was beautiful.
	The gardens extend all the way to the ocean
We stopped in a little restaurant in Noyo Harbor.		The view are spectacular.