Page 170 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2021 REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST

Wildlife Conservation Center in Point Arena, just the tallest on the Pacific Coast but we wanted to
a short ride from Gualala. We parked the bike and get back on the road. I don’t even think it had any-
hoped into an open Land Rover as Cathy Riehm, thing to do with the motorcycle. When you’re on a
the Center’s vet tech and hoof stock keeper, led us road trip, you really don’t know how long anything
to zebras. She explained that the purpose of zebra will take, so you want to keep moving.
stripes is so when threatened, the zebras can band The scenery north on the coast changes con-
together in a tight group which makes it impossi- stantly from golden fields of hay to forest groves
ble for prey to pick one off. and jagged cliffs. Along the route were rows of
We continued to the Rothchild’s giraffes, one of pink Belladonna lilies called Naked Ladies because
the most endangered species in the world with in the spring, the plant has only green leaves and
just 700 left in the wild. Cathy stopped the vehicle in summer, the leaves drop off and pink flowers
and five female giraffes lumbered shyly up to us. appear on the naked stem.
She handed us leafy branches to feed the 20-foot We arrived in Newport, just outside Fort Bragg,
tall girls. I leaned out of the vehicle and held out a a town that sprung up around lumber. A chute
branch as a giraffe put her face inches from my from the top of the headlands transported the logs
chin and scooped up the branch. I could see her down to a waiting ship. In 1885, lumber opera-
18-inch long blue tongue. tions were moved to Fort Bragg and Newport be-
From there, we motored to Point-Arena, a na- came a ghost town –- that is, until 1986 when
tional monument where cliffs drop dramatically Vermonter Will Jackson saw an ad in the Wall
into the Pacific and surf pounds against the rocks. Street Journal for 839 oceanfront acres in Men-
We took a short hike along the headlands, mes- docino. He flew out, fell in love with the land, built
merized by the powerful sound of the ocean. I’m the luxurious Inn at Newport Ranch, and now
usually one for long hikes, but when you’re en- owns over 2,000 acres of land.
cumbered in bulky motorcycle gear and heavy Every inch of the inn was meticulous and all in
boots, you don’t feel like a long walk. redwood: floors, tables, bar, even the bed head-
The small museum, formerly the light keeper’s' board. We changed out of our gear (of course I
house was built in 1896 and housed a gigantic couldn’t unbuckle my helmet so Jamie did it) and
Fresnel lens and objects recovered from a ship- sat on the wraparound porch, then walked to the
wreck. Visitors can climb the 115-foot Lighthouse, headlands to spot seals and whales. Owner Jack-

170 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2021