A Day in Northern California: Exploring Mendocino County

Exploring Mendocino County, northern California on a quest to find the elusive Lake Pillsbury.
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Music during the video:
"Whiskey on the Mississippi" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons...
Video created by Gabriel Morris, who is the owner of all video or photo content. Filmed using an ICONNTECHS IT Ultra HD 4K Sport Action Camera and a GoPro Hero Plus LCD.
Gabriel is a world traveler and travel writer who has been adventuring around the world off and on since his first trip to Europe in the summer of 1990 when he was 18 years old. He is author of "Following My Thumb", a collection of 26 exciting and hilarious autobiographical travel stories from his worldly wanderings during the 1990s; and has written several other books available on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
Thanks a lot for watching and safe journeys!
A Day in Northern California: Exploring Mendocino County

[@blakethomas1562]

i was born and grew up in this area and moved to new york very much mis it thank u fo-r making this makes me happy

[@loveme77527]

Puurrrrtttyy kitty kat tracks for sure! 🐅

[@roodborstkalf9664]

Nice, I didn't realize until I saw your videos that Northern California is so sparsely populated. Many counties with an area of around 10,000 square kilometers and only around 100,000 people.

[@shqipe718]

Been watching your channel for about 5 years now and my absolute favorite videos are the ones when you’re visiting back home in California. Nothing short of amazing.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Great, glad to hear it.

[@patrickhunt8438]

I too was born in Willits, moved to north Carolina in 80 !

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Cool. I was actually born in Vancouver, Canada, but was raised outside of Willits.

[@ropersix]

Nothing better than a warm sunny day, when the hills are still green from the rain. It doesn't last long!

[@lindadee6603]

Nice blue sky ;-) its funny the places we never visit that are practically on our doorstep. I live in Glasgow but I've never visited Edinburgh castle ha ha. i like your videos they are great to watch. :-)

[@Kevincrow420]

Man, I really liked this random ride along trip into the wilderness with you. I like how you just find a mud puddle and make it interesting. Not a care in the world and plenty of time to admire the flowers and scenery. Cool stuff! Big fan of the Vlogs, Thank you for sharing.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Awesome, glad to hear it.

[@Ruchita0207]

you are such a free spirit gab & California is beautiful. have never visited USA but look forward to visiting it some day.

[@mpower6004]

Love California road trips , Gabriel makes it so real.

[@cflo1386]

Mendocino county is beautiful.

[@gazriley624]

what a Beautiful place!

[@glambycheryl212]

love your camping videos

[@titaniumtiara4573]

That opening scene is potter valley

[@msmarinediesel1843]

Looks like a great place to get lost :)

[@tusharkhattar6]

I have so much respect for you . the way you travel , the way you make videos , the way you are so humble about all your travel journeys . I wish i could meet you in person someday . you know the true meaning of life . many of us just come on youtube using our iPhones to watch your videos because we use youtube in order to pass our time . But you decide to go out there , meet people ,create amazing experiences and actually live life to the fullest . hands down . Respect Gabriel . True idol . Keep it going and lots of love .

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks a lot, much appreciated.

[@JeimThai]

yeah there were major floods in northern ca and through out the coast. early Jan was bad. I remembered bc my daughter drove up to san Francisco. But thAnks to all the rain, California will be beautifully green this year. Your videos are always fun to watch!

[@Edgesofearth]

- Pretty creepy lookin' statue lol. Just wandering around aimlessly is sometimes my favorite thing. The lack of a schedule, rocks! :)

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Kind of a random spot for a statue too. Wonder what the story is behind it being there.

[@vominator]

Still got that CRV? I"ve got 295K on mine....As of 2021 Hoppers Corner is looking pretty ragged.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yep, I still have it. I was back in Ukiah a couple months ago.

[@nino714]

Gabe, you always look for an excuse to hike or jump in a body of water! That's why I/we watch your videos! 👍🏼

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Totally.

[@cynthiacarlson4427]

So cool to learn you're from Willits, , Gabriel - one of my favorite places! I worked as an RN at Howard Hospital about a decade ago and my brother has lived for many years in Redwood Valley. I really enjoy your videos and am trying to keep up with you - I'm currently living in Panajachel at Lake Atitlan. See you some where on this planet some time!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

My parents worked at Howard Hospital, but that was way back in the '70s and '80s when I was a kid. My mom was an RN and my dad worked in the lab. Enjoy Lake Atitlan, nice spot.

[@Mannyrod11]

I used to take my kids on trips like that - just drive, over the hills and through the woods, til we got lost.

[@partinis]

awesome

[@joban7851]

Beautiful country home 👍🏼

[@ehmmmjay9907]

Another great video Gabe! I'd love to see more of Northern California, maybe some new videos of the bay area?

[@chrisbrown8748]

It was really fun watching you get lost at home and thinking about how you seem to navigate India perfectly fine.

[@jjuzo]

Nice vid. Reminds me of northern NSW in Australia a little.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Interesting. I'm curious to see Australia.

[@jjuzo]

Gabriel Traveler I am sure you would like it. It's a beautiful diverse country (people and landscapes) but quite expensive (but doable for sure).

[@TheGuittoMan]

So beautiful! I wish I lived in America

[@KarinLynnBates]

Really fun! I really like the outdoor exploration videos. I think it might've just been dog prints there in the creek bed because of the toenails. Mountain lion prints are HUGE and have big toe pad circles--- I found this image online to compare: www.fishingbuddy.com/comment/948309#comment-948309. Could've maybe been coyote, too. So nice to see wild flowers popping up! We should get more soon in Colorado as things warm up. We're cold & rainy today with a possibility of flurries on the weekend. April can still be snowy here. The leaves on trees are only just starting to bud. More of these while you're there, please! These videos are really nice to watch! 👍🏼✌🏼

[@flyingtheworld]

A real travel adventure video. Love it.

[@thecityguy2199]

You were on the right road, next time set your gps to soda creek and it’ll take you out to the lake

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Good to know, thanks.

[@Tunago1121]

Dude, your video quality is amazing!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks a lot, appreciate it.

[@AMAETV]

Whoa, definitely some mountain lion tracks there Gabe! Cool little exploration of wildlife and the countryside. We still have to decide on our next big California collaboration adventure!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Wow, that's so awesome if those were mountain lion tracks. I've never seen one in the wild. Yes I was thinking about what to do yesterday in fact, we'll be in touch soon. I'm getting a lot of stuff taken care of and will be freed up within the next week and ready to take off and do some things. Feel free to write if you have any ideas, or I'll get back to you pretty soon.

[@AMAETV]

Oh yes no rush.. I still need to brainstorm too :) Was just so inspired by your videos remembering how much there still is left to see in California! It would be amazing to find some mountain lions in the wild..but since they are cats I've heard they can be quite tricky to spot 😼

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Yeah mountain lions are super elusive. I've never seen one in the wild in all of my backpacking, hiking and various wilderness adventures.

[@marcel24ameno]

Lion for sure

[@francischin1332]

Cant even trust GPS on trips like that. Had experience where I ended up on a mountain top with GPS and no way to a road that I can see about a half mile away.

[@endoffate5475]

Is it just me or your videos got better?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

It's not just you! Ha ha. I'm not sure, I thought things wouldn't be as interesting after India. But maybe it's cool for people to get a total change of scene and some views of the real America as it were.

[@endoffate5475]

Im talking about lately..Your India videos included and these new ones! Keep up the good work my friend, i cant wait to follow your new advantures.

[@leedaomillz]

Could you give some advice on how to budget travel northern california? I know you live there but perhaps since you do you might know some tips to save some money.

[@RicardoRMedina]

Turkey Vultures are looking at you and drooling! Lol!

[@morganwright1535]

That's a dog track, and those aren't newts, they're tadpoles.

[@x22steve]

Hi Gabriel, Can you recommend a town to stay in between SF and Mendocino? Good, accessible beaches and hiking trails? Thanks.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Hmm, do you mean on highway 1 on the coast or highway 101 inland? I think Ukiah is probably your best as far as partway. But it would be nicer just to stay in the town of Mendocino itself, if that's where you're heading for. Everything between the city and Santa Rosa still feels like suburbs of the city, and then after that the towns are too interesting until you get further north. You might check out Healdsburg. The nicest drive though if you have time is to turn onto highway 1 right after you go over the Golden Gate bridge. It will take longer because the road is super windy, but it's a prettier drive that way. There aren't many towns really until you get to Mendocino itself, but there are some hotels along the way. One tiny town on the coast that's worth checking out is Bolinas.

[@x22steve]

Thanks very very much for taking the time to respond. I just saw an interesting water tower-styled place BnB in Medocindo. From what you're saying, I think we'll go there. We're going to be in SF 2 days and then have four more. Is it worth driving to Big Sur for 2 days and then up to Mendocino or is it best just to go to Mendocino. Big Sur is so stunning, but sounds pretty loaded with tourists. I want to get away, but still enjoy the rugged coast.

[@x22steve]

BTW, my sister lived about 30 miles outside Willits from about 2004 until she died (early at age 44) in 2010. I visited her a couple of times.Her name was Stacy.

[@x22steve]

Also, if you haven't been to this area, you should come - north AL, east TN and western NC are beautiful - wooded green mountains, rivers, waterfalls. Google Cloudland Cayon state park. Beautiful place. :)

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Big Sur is a long ways south of the Bay Area, quite out of the way. Also highway 1 there is closed because of a landslide, so I'm not sure what's accessible right now. You might check out Point Reyes which is a nice area of the coast north of SF which would be along the way. But just booking something in Mendocino itself is a good idea, from there you have access to all sorts of places. You can do road trips up and down the coast, hiking, even go to some redwood groves, etc., and Mendocino and Fort Bragg are both interesting to explore. I've never been to your part of the country, will have to check it out one of these days. Sorry to hear about your sister, that's my age, I'm 45. I haven't lived in Willits since I was a teenager back in the '80s. I just visit my mom in Ukiah and some old friends in the area.

[@nautiboiscuba]

Have you even driven the Pacific coast highway?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

I've been on parts of it, but I don't think I've driven it all the way down the coast to L.A. I've never been to Santa Barbara and around there. That would be a fun trip.

[@nino714]

Gabriel Traveler I've been somewhere Gabe hasn't?! Woohoo! Santa Barbara is beautiful. Sulvang is near it and would make for an amazing video too. They have the best pancake house in California! 😉 Now that I think of it, a trip down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) would be epic! I know your other viewers would love to see some of the best scenery that the west coast of California has to offer!

[@maryb1686]

those aren't mountain lion tracks---mt lions retract their claws when they walk. Also, those weren't newts, they were polliwogs in transition to froggies.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

You're probably right about the tracks, but those definitely were not polliwogs. They were about eight inches long, dark brown on top and orange underneath. I got a good look at them, definitely newts.

[@jucatov64]

Gabriel, what camera are you using for this blog? The video quality is amazing and very stable.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Glad to hear it. This was all filmed with my Iconntechs camera (other than the underwater newt footage, filmed with my GoPro). It does a pretty awesome job. The full name is in the info section below the video.

[@raiderrichard7291]

Hey Gabe, that statue looked like you....

[@pankajmaliknewdelhi]

Cool Gogals ✌

[@bbkbhote7614]

Gabriel 1st

[@mindlinxx5022]

Wow, it looks so different before the wildfires that destroyed almost everything

[@simplejoys6052]

Looks a bit like Germany ;)

[@AMAETV]

That's interesting to hear!

[@ErichHiller44]

Weltenbummler before or after they let the immigrants in lol

[@LuisEduardoGalindo]

I agree, it reminded me a bit of Switzerland in the summer

[@simplejoys6052]

AMaeTV: Actually germany has many sides. In north it looks totally different than in south. But in this video, it looks more like in the middle of germany. North has beach and flat landscape and in south are the alps, mountains. If you want see a video of the south, then you can watch the video of Bavaria on my youtube channel :)

[@_____J______]

7:03 Puma track eh

[@flohunting]

dog track

[@bbkbhote7614]

Nice vlog ?