Lincoln and his people live across the street from the Fort Bragg Dog Park - when they come to play people smile and tails wag. People and dogs of every shape, size, and attitude love Lincoln. He runs fast with the speedy guys, wrestles with the big boys, even just walks around, sniffing and hanging out if that’s what a little one prefers.

When I suggested we should make Lincoln Mayor of the Dog Park, Jim (Lincoln’s human) said Lincoln sees himself more as the Activities Director… he just wants to have fun and make certain other dogs do too. Good enough.

Meet Lincoln and the other well-behaved dogs at the Fort Bragg Dog Park. It’s easy to find, Maple St east from Main Street in Fort Bragg, until it dead-ends at the dog park parking lot - the cross street is South Lincoln - just like everybody’s favorite dog! Open daily, dawn to dusk, free to well-behaved dogs and their people.

Volunteers Needed

For the fireworks to happen, says Tom, about 40 volunteers are needed; a half dozen to help with setup on Friday the 4th, 20-30 to help with parking - which means 5-6 hours Saturday night, plus about an hour of training with the police earlier that week and another half dozen or more to tear down and cleanup. It’s a busy weekend for everyone but without volunteers, it’s not going to work. All volunteers will get a volunteers only Crew sweatshirt designed by Alan Ferguson of Braggadoon as a small thank you. It will be a blast!

If you have some civic spirit and want to join the effort, email fireworks@kozt.com or phone the Chamber office at 961-6300.

What’s The Plan?
Fireworks will be at Pomo Bluffs Park on Todd Point at dark (around 9:00PM) on Saturday, July 5th. All roads on Todd Point will be closed at 5:00PM for everyone except Todd Point residents and their guests. Limited parking will be available at the Carlson/Patton property (where the carnival was) and at College of The Redwoods until full.

Parking Charge Will Help Pay

To help with expenses, a five dollar parking donation is requested. The five dollar parking is to raise funds for seed money for next year, with the idea that, having done this successfully, one of our service clubs, non-profits or some organization will take over the fireworks and we’ll turn the funds over to that group. Vehicles with a valid disabled persons placard or license plate may park in the Pomo Bluffs Park parking, again on a first-come-first-served basis. An area of the park will be fenced for a fireworks safety buffer area. The rest of the park is pedestrian traffic only that night. Everyone is asked to be respectful of private property; please do not trespass or enter the safety buffer area. Fort Bragg Police Department has a zero tolerance policy on trespassing and on personal fireworks. Any questions about parking, contact Sgt. Charles Gilchrist of the Fort Bragg Police Department at 961-2800 ext. 112.

“Says Tom: “This should be a fun event, continuing the longest running fireworks on the coast. Pyro Spectaculars has a great record and have worked hard to put together an exceptional show. Fireworks can be viewed from the park, the parking lots, College of The Redwoods, Noyo Beach, the Noyo Bridge pedestrian walkways and many other public spots. Again, please stay off private property.”

The Belle of the Redwoods Competition is not a beauty contest. Rather, it’s a way for young women between the ages of 16 and 20, who live anywhere on the Mendocino Coast, to have fun and make money. Contestants compete by selling raffle tickets, and the girl with the highest sales is crowned the Belle of the Redwoods during the Paul Bunyan Days Labor Day Weekend festival.

All contestants keep 10% of their ticket sales, and the winning Belle keeps 20%. What’s more, the winning Belle receives an additional $300, second place gets $150, and third $50.

If know someone who’d like to participate in this time honored tradition, they can download an application from the festival web site.

Whether you ride the Skunk Train through the redwoods or horses on the beach, there is plenty to keep both kids and parents moving at a full gallop for a weekend or a week. Because the city of 6,000 is compact, it’s easy to get around with everything within minutes of a motel, inn or campground.

Seventeen family-friendly activities:

1. Beachcomb at Glass Beach - ocean-smoothed colored glass among the rocks and in the sand create the opportunity for a family treasure hunt.

2. Explore a lighthouse – the restored 1909 Point Cabrillo Light Station (two museums and gift shop) offers a tide pool exhibit for families and a surrounding 300-acre nature preserve for hiking and viewing wildlife. Look for seals, sea lions, whales, birds, and deer.

3. Visit a rare pygmy forest – Jug Handle State Reserve is one of few places in the world where you find miniature trees whose growth is stunted by nutrient poor, acidic soil. Mostly a level walk through giant redwoods to a boardwalks that leads you safely through the delicate pygmies. The small sandy beach at Jug Handle is one of the safest for children. Still, it’s a good idea to be watchful and keep hold of kids near the water at all times.

4. Ride the train – the historic Skunk Train will carry you through the redwoods, stopping for a barbecue at the turnaround. Details at www.SkunkTrain.com.

5. Ride horses on Ten-Mile Beach or in Jackson State Forest from Lari Shea’s Ricochet Ranch, a couple of miles north of downtown.

6. Play mini-golf at the Emerald Dolphin Mini Golf Course on Highway 1 near Highway 20.

7. Picnic in the small sandy coves at Ten-Mile Beach, the shores of Cleone Lake at MacKerricher State Park and or on the bluffs at Pomo Bluffs Park (with its paved walkway or wheelchairs or strollers). All provide a perfect setting for an outdoor lunch.

8. Watch whales, catch crabs, fish or view sea birds from a Noyo Harbor charter boat.

9. Walk or ride bikes across the new Pudding Creek Trestle Bridge along the paved Haul Road for a few minutes or a few hours, watching wildlife and wild waves along the way.

10. See ice cream being made at Cowlick’s Ice Cream Cafe on Main Street (call 962-9271 for schedule).

11. Explore the gardens and have lunch and or Cowlick’s ice cream at the 47-acre Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Trail to the ocean. Signs to help you spot birds. GardenByThe <http://www.GardenByThe> Sea.org.

12. Watch the dogs playing inside the new fenced, off-leash dog park.

13. Let the kids play at Wiggly Piggly Playground (free), on Laurel Street, across from the Fort Bragg Library, 499 Laurel, at Whipple.

14. Attend the bilingual children’s storytime on Thursdays, 11:30 – 12, at the Fort Bragg Library. Or participate in the summer reading program each Thursday at 11.

15. Bowl at Noyo Bowl a few blocks north of downtown Fort Bragg.

16. Play video games in the old bank vault at Figueirdo’s Video Movies on Franklin Street.

17. Kayak with Liquid Fusion Kayaking on Noyo River or along the coast (children must be at least 50 pounds to participate); 684-9459.

Fort Bragg also offers a wide range of family-style restaurants whether the kids are hungry for pizza, burgers or sandwiches. The local six-screen cinema regularly shows family-rated movies and, of course, serves popcorn.

I use them when I’m going somewhere, and I’ve had great results. So the other day I looked to see what people are saying about Fort Bragg… 

Most Popular Hotel: Surf n’ Sand “I am a leary traveler as you can see by my screen name and I could not have been any more PLEASED with this hotel!! It is beautiful! …the view was EXCELLENT!!!! The beach is only yards away on a short walk through a meadow…”  Leary Traveler, Oroville CA, April 13, 2008

 Most Popular B&B: The Atrium “Wife and I spent two nights here… Quiet, spacious room with wonderful bed, nice gas fireplace and overall a very soothing feel to it. What really stands out here are the innkeepers themselves, very down to earth and friendly, more than willing to help or assist but never intrusive…” Bleeker, Sacramento, CA, May 12, 2009 

Most Popular Restaurant: Mendo Bistro “Mendo Bistro is the place to dine in Ft. Bragg. The atmosphere is quaint and romantic, the prices are reasonable, and the food is MAGNIFICO…” PattyCathy, San Jose, CA, May 27, 2008  

Most Popular Thing to Do: Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens “… worth the $10 admission fee for the cliff-side ocean views alone. After a short hike off the main trail, we are greeted with some of the best ocean views I think we saw all trip.  We visited in May so it was mostly the rhododendrons that were in bloom. They were lovely and the garden itself is impressive. There is an ice cream shop there as well that serves up some yummy treats…”  SW-travelers, Sacramento, CA, May 6, 2008

 Other popular attractions: MacKerricher State Park, Glass Beach and Ricochet Ridge Ranch

• Learn interesting facts about water!
• Learn how to protect & conserve our water resources!
• Water Harvesting information!
• Learn from Master Gardeners- tips about soil, water and your garden.
• Information on Grey Water collection systems.
• Stormwater runoff pollution solutions!
• Make an edible Groundwater Model you can eat!

For more information please contact Arlene at 961-2508.

The train and mountain bike adventure starts when you load your bike aboard the historic Skunk Train for a steam train excursion along the Noyo River. The train stops at Camp Mendocino so you can unload your bike - this is where you replace steam power with pedal power. The mountain bike ride begins with a five mile climb to Indian Springs, where you get your first well-earned refreshment break. After a short rest, it’s off to enjoy a long, 10 mile descent to the river, a ride across a redwood log bridge, and an amazing lunch of BBQ Chicken or Vegeterian meal, Organic Salad and Bread. After lunch, you ride the last 11 miles beside the river - a gentle two mile climb of 300 feet - arriving back in Fort Bragg. The only hard work left is deciding how to reward yourself… maybe a massage, a handmade ice cream cone, a locally brewed beer? Or, you could decide to just hang onto your hunger so you really enjoy diner at one of Fort Bragg’s great restaurants.

The $85 entry fee is a deal, including the bike tour, train ticket, bike transport, and lunch. Only 300 seats available, so register early!

Debbie Shearwater recently had this to say about birding out of Fort Bragg’s Noyo Harbor…

“Fort Bragg trips have one of the highest potentials for finding rare North American seabirds, indeed, we were able to follow a HAWAIIAN PETREL for a record 17 minutes on an August trip! The birding along Highway 1 between these two places is just fantastic during fall migration. The scenery is pretty spectacular, too!”

Her Fort Bragg trips are scheduled for AUGUST 8 & 10, with the day in between trips as a day for birding on land, always exciting in this region. Fort Bragg trips depart from Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg about 6:30 am and return about 4-6 pm.