Paul Bunyan Days, the oldest small town festival on the Mendocino Coast, includes some events that have been around for a very long time… the Belle of the Redwoods Competition is one of those events. Right now, for the 69th time, the Paul Bunyan Days Association is issuing a call for young ladies who’d like to be this year’s Belle. 

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.

There is probably no community friendlier to families than Fort Bragg, California, a small seaside town on the rugged Mendocino Coast.

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:

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Travelers post recommendations on TripAdvisor for places to stay or eat, and things to do on their trips… it seems to be a popular place as 22,786,082 travelers planned trips there this week!

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

The county’s coordinator for 4H, Arlene Fuller, has been busy organizing the Coast Water Festival, which takes place from 3:30-6:30 pm Friday, June 6, in front of City Hall in Fort Bragg on Franklin and Laurel Streets. Adults & youth of all ages are welcome. Join the festivities, including live music. It’s free. You’ll learn:

• 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 Tour de Skunk, a popular Fort Bragg event that ran from 1995 to 1999 lives again Sunday June 8, thanks to the efforts of Terry Vaughn, the organizer of the original outings.

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!

If you missed the local Audubon Society’s pelagic bird trip, consider joining internationally known Shearwater Journeys on one of their exciting trips to observe mega-rarity wildlife off Fort Bragg’s special coast.

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.

The 122-foot square topsail schooner Lynx, an interpretation of a privateer or naval schooner from the War of 1812, was at Point Cabrillo Light Station this week posing for publicity photos. Accompanied by a 47-foot motor life boat from the U.S. Coast Guard Noyo Station in Fort Bragg, the Lynx crew manuevered on calm seas back in forth behind the lighthouse May 28 for a half dozen photographers taking photos to be used to promote Point Cabrillo’s centennial planned for 2009. The Lynx is fitted with period ordnance and flies pennants and flags from the 1812 era making her one of the first ships to defend our freedom. Her crew wears period uniforms and operate the ship in keeping with the maritime traditions of early 19th Century America.

The Mendocino Coast Audubon Society’s pelagic birding trip from Noyo Harbor had great sea conditions - just a light wind and small swell, plus fog of course. Here’s their sighting report, with thanks to Kerry Ross and Ron LaValley for their Mendobirds report. Number of species: 22

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Late Thursday night (May 15), or early Friday morning (May 16), someone decided to destroy 7 new trees planted in downtown Fort Bragg. There’s a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. Please call the police department if you know anything that might help.

You can see pictures of two of the trees, and read a comment by Dan Gjerde, Fort Bragg City Council, on the Walking Fort Bragg blog.

Let’s see if we can’t catch the responsible party.

The California State Park and Recreation Commission today voted to approve “Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park” as the park’s new name. The vote was unanimous after the commission visited the light station and heard impassioned pleas from a wide range of supporters to keep “Light Station” in the name despite a park staff recommendation to leave it out. Mendocino County Supervisor Kendall Smith appeared in support as did representatives for Congressman Mike Thompson and State Senator Patricia Wiggins. Point Cabrillo Light Station draws nearly 100,000 visitors a year, many of whom stay and eat in Fort Bragg.