This weekend, some of the grad students and postdocs from the lab went kayaking down the Russian River. The river is located about 70 miles north of the San Francisco Bay area, and is arguably more famous for the awesome wineries in the eponymously named valley.

We started off in the little town of Guerneville (population: 2441), in Sonoma County. After scarfing down the Best Diner Breakfast Ever at the local greasy spoon, we rented some "pretty bitchin'" sit-on-top kayaks from King's Sporting Goods there and made our way to the river via Johnson's Beach.

Saturday, we managed about seven miles west until we hit Monte Rio, where we stopped and enjoyed some shade at a local beach to avoid the heat of the day. The high was 93°F. After catching some fairly nasty headwinds, we worked through that last mile to reach Casini Ranch. There the 15-or-so of us pitched some tents and enjoyed a nice dinner of baked potatoes, roasted corn, a little dry-rub country-style pork ribs and chicken, all cooked the way God intended (i.e. over an open fire). Like I said, roughin' it.

There's nothing better than breakfast when camping, and Sunday morning was no exception. The mushroom and green pepper scrambled eggs (cooked, naturally, in the bacon grease from the thick-sliced bacon), the sausage, and the percolated coffee all soothed our aching arms and backs, and prepared us for the next six miles.

It was worth every bit of sweat to reach the estuary; on the way there, some of us were approached by some curious harbor seals hunting for fish in the river, and upon reaching the foggy ocean mouth, we were greeted by a hundred or so seals sunbathing in the occasional bouts of intense sun.

The rugged Sonoma Coast State Beach, where the Russian River empties into the Pacific Ocean, was just breathtaking. Smooth grey sand dunes led up to the widest beach I had ever seen—my whole field of view was sand, sky, ocean, and rolling fog. We were just northwest of Goat Rock, which I could see in the distance on the left side of the beach. To our right, the strong Pacific waves were crashing against the colossal rocks at Fish Head Beach. It was just gorgeous.

After the two-hour drive home, Giao and I ordered some Thai takeout and watched Underworld: Evolution. It was the perfect end to the weekend. I'll post some photos as soon as others send them out!