We already knew while driving out of the ‘Muir Woods National Monuments’ in the late afternoon that we are almost out of gas, still after looking at the board of Stinson Beach, rather than looking for a gas station, we turned our wheels on the opposite side of CA1 route. Yes, it was one of those days. We were actually cracking jokes on our mistimed adventure with little worry. We even applauded our decision when we saw amazing views of sprawling Pacific Ocean in route. We stopped in an overlook area to take few moments to appreciate the beauty of nature right in front of us. Fully stretched Pacific ocean with a misty horizon, Mount Tamalpais view and California state highway (CA1) winding road - the scenery was epic.
While the scenery was fantastic our gas indicator did not show much interest in getting up and enjoy once we reached Stinson beach. We checked the predicted miles range to see how long we can go with low gas. ‘0 miles’ flashed over the dashboard. So we parked near one of the beach entrances and asked a local about any gas station nearby. "There are no gas stations in Stinson beach", he replied. However, he was kind enough, probably after looking at our sorry faces, to offer a gallon of gas he had in his store for the cost price. That was one offer we couldn't refuse.
In the foggy Stinson beach we jumped in the waves, clicked the pictures and cracked jokes till it started getting dark, and again we were reminded of gas by our car indicator. After asking a few more people along the way who could neither confirm or deny existence of a nearby gas station, we met a lady, who kindly shared a BIG secret with us. She told us about a gas station few miles away in Bolinas beach, but there are no sign board on the road giving directions to Bolinas beach. She told us to follow the (Bolinas) lagoon and then take a left turn at the end of it. We cautiously asked her reason for such secrecy. "People of Bolinas do not want other people to be there." Now that is something you mostly in those kind of scary movies. We checked Google it says the gas station is closed, but the lady told that the gas station is automated and takes credit cards too, so we can still go.
After filling that 'one' gallon in our 'SUV' we calculated how far we can go, and rather than looking for a gas station to fill gas and go home. We decided to get in the beach and spend some time with the waves at Stinson beach. There were no people around, and it looked like that the gas station and the restaurant next to it both were closed. We tried the card in one of the dispensers and it worked. The price,as you can see in the picture, was almost double the price in the city. But then we were glad just to get the gas. After the gas indicator showed a healthy status, we started back for SanJose. Driving the CA1 uphill in night proved to be tougher than driving down during day time. We were just hoping to not hit something in the dark. Finally after another 2 hrs drive we reached home. We thanked the lady for precious information and decided to to go farther away from home to Bolinas beach. We followed the lagoon for a long time. It was dark and it was definitely not just a few miles away. After we made the turn the some houses and street lights showed up. We found it, we thought!
BOLINAS BEACH story
After reaching home I checked about this beach. Bolinas is known for its hippie bohemian lifestyle and also infamous as It has no road signs and was surprised to know, that local was right. People of Bolinas cuts down road sign to keep tourist away, they really don’t want outsiders Rumor has it that years ago someone brought a tour bus to Bolinas; the people in town surrounded the bus and pelted it with tomatoes. The community here is known for its reclusive residents. But still many people find it adventurous as it has amazing hiking trail from Palomarin Trailhead to Alamere fall trail.
So that’s why you need pointers for road trip –old post reference link below
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