The town of Shelter Cove is right on the cliffs. We spent a lot of time playing in a field with rattlesnake grass. North and I made rattles and played hide and seek.
Black Sands Beach was fun, but the creek that runs next to the beach was more interesting. North and I laid out a blanket between a wash of gravel and the slow moving, 2 inch deep creek water. We were out of the wind and loving all the sunshine. North splashed in the water while I read a book on the blanket. The only bummer was that I spilled our drinking water, so we had to go back to town a little earlier then we both wanted.
Looking down at Black Sands Beach from the parking lot. Someday soon I would like to hike from the mouth of the Mattole River to Black Sands Beach. The trail follows the cliff line on the beach and is breathtakingly beautiful.