A Detour to Fort Bragg – Glass Beach

When life gives you garbage, make a glass beach

When Kenny and I pulled away from the Inn at the Lost Coast a piece of me stayed behind. Spending the night, watching the sunset over the Pacific will forever be in my heart as one of the most perfect, romantic, moments of my life.

Glass Beach Drive Sign Fort Bragg

As our wheels climbed up the steep narrow road leaving Shelter Cove. Though I knew it was impossible, I wished we could just stay one more night to relive the perfection.

Our trip was taking us south back to San Francisco. This was to be our last full day of motorcycle riding in California. The day would have to have something great in store for me to keep my wheels moving.

And it did.

Fort Bragg Glass Beach

File Under: Everything I Ever Needed to Know, I Learned on the Internet

Weeks before we left for California, I happened to read a tidbit of information that stayed with me. Along the coast in Fort Bragg is a place known as a Glass Beach.

Sounds dangerous, right? But, rather than sharp shards of glass, the seaside is speckled with ocean-worn glass.

Glass Beach is a unique beach, not because nature made it that way, but because time and the pounding surf have corrected one of man’s mistakes.

Beginning in 1949, the area around Glass Beach became a public dump. It is hard to imagine this happening today, but back then people dumped all kinds of refuse straight into the ocean, including old cars, and their household garbage, which of course included lots of glass.
-FortBragg.com 

Along the shore, sparkling pieces of sea glass.

Glass Beach Fort Bragg

It’s pretty spectacular to think that the ocean turned what was once a dumping ground into a shining jewel. All it took was time and persistence.

Glass Beach Fort Bragg

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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11 Responses

  1. FuzzyGalore, making her visitors jealous for over ten years.

    I just turned a little Kawi green with envy. These posts are killing me lol, way to go R.

  2. Anthony says:

    Awesome stuff Fuzzy.
    There are days when I may spend time searching for cool stuff on the internet and don’t really find anything

    ….and then there are days when super-cool-awesome-amazing stuff finds me, and it was one of those days that I came across your blog.

    Just can’t get enough of the words, the images, and the motorcycle inspired life of Fuzzy. Thanks for sharing your world with us!

  3. ShellV says:

    Wow, I have never seen such a thing. Beautiful. Putting that on the to-do list!

  4. ToadMama says:

    Oh my gosh, that’s awesome. I would be on that beach for HOURS. I’m a sucker for cool little rocks. But colorful, water-worn shards of sea glass? Oh, wow. Did you at least bring a cool piece home?

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      They ask that visitors please not take the glass. So, I personally did not take any, but I did see a few other people sifting through and picking out some gems.

      When you take your California road trip one day – definitely put it on your to-do!

  5. George says:

    Beautiful post. I loved the Northern California coast, it was one of the best places for riding on my cross country trip, it stays with you forever, it’s so beautiful.

  6. Maiden America says:

    that is amazing!

  7. sue says:

    the website ‘pashnit’ has many CA road trips on sheltered biways if you happen over this way again. Love your blog and pix.

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