May 19 – 27

After paying the entrance fee, we parked near the Visitor Center and proceeded to spend an hour or so walking around the one-mile Redwood Loop Trail through the 40-acre old growth forest, which was the first coast redwood grove to be saved from logging.  It is the largest old-growth grove south of Big Basin and is an intriguing glimpse into what the extensive redwood forests around Santa Cruz might have once looked like.

In many ways the grove has a typical old-growth feel; it’s remarkably cool and lush, with a groundcover of ferns and redwood sorrel, and there’s a characteristic hush from all the sound-dampening foliage. However, typically for southern groves near the ocean, there aren’t a lot of big redwoods here, and an unusual number of the trees are oddly misshapen.  Also, mixed in with the redwoods is a thick understory of tanoak and bay trees that obscures the redwoods and makes the grove look like a dense deciduous forest.  

Henry Cowell is a good place to appreciate an old-growth forest, especially since the grove acts as a gateway to the San Lorenzo River and second-growth forest hikes.  Although some of the second-growth areas of the park are quite pleasant, passing through the big redwoods makes you appreciate the grandeur and the special beauty of old growth forests.  Being surrounded by these giants always humbles me, makes me feel the power of nature and provides me with some hope that regardless of what we humans do to the environment, perhaps we can outgrow our mistakes and continue to survive with these magnificent trees. 

We finished our hike of the loop trail and since we were now on the southern side of the park, took Graham Hill Road, past the Roaring Camp Railroad, which we would take the next day straight back into town to land back at the Seaside Inn for a little bit of happy hour before we set out for dinner at Ristorante Italiano, another place within an easy walk from the motel on Soquel. 

Seated in a booth, we were glad to discover that we’d arrived during happy hour, allowing us to enjoy glasses of house wine at discounted prices while we munched on complimentary sourdough slices that we dipped in a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  We moved on to a large plate of calamari and powered through it as best we could, being quite hungry but honestly, it was more than enough for a couple more people. 

Wisely, we decided to split the Pasta Tutto Buono (Shrimp, chicken, Italian sausage, a meatball, bell peppers, and mushrooms in marinara sauce over linguine).  An odd sounding combination, the name means “All that is Good”, it was actually quite good, the pasta cooked perfectly as were all of the various forms of protein.  I finished with a third glass of wine, and we departed full but not stuffed and happy after a very full day, with more planned for the next. 

With a short drive back to Oakland and time to kill, we made plans to drive back up to Henry Cowell and spend the morning riding on the Roaring Camp Railroad, a 3 ft narrow-gauge tourist railroad that runs up steep grades through redwood forests to the top of nearby Bear Mountain, a distance of 3.25 miles.  But, left for Roaring Camp, we returned to the Buttery for yet another delicious pastry and cup of coffee, just the thing to get us fired up for train ride.

Upon arriving at the train depot, one parks in a dirt lot and enters the property via a small, covered bridge and then walks into a little community of buildings that support the operations of the train; a depot, general store, cookhouse, and event space (Bret Harte Hall).  We’d purchased our tickets online for the Redwood Forest Steam Train at $39.95 apiece and while I waited in the boarding line, Joanna went to gather our actual printed tickets for the ride. 

We were seated in an open-air car with wood benches for seating, thankful that the length of the round trip was relatively short.  An employee acting as the conductor provides a running narrative throughout the length of the journey and it is informative and entertaining. 

Whenever it can, the railroad uses steam locomotives, several of which date from the 1890s and they are some of the oldest narrow-gauge steam locomotives still providing regular passenger service in the United States.  The American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated three of the railroad’s locomotives as Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark #134 in 1988.

As the train ascends a steep grade it hits a section at Spring Canyon where originally, two large trestles formed a “corkscrew” loop, but these were destroyed by a 1976 fire (alleged to have been arson), the smoke from which could be seen from San Francisco.  Within six months, a switchback was constructed to bypass the severed loop and the line was returned to service.  The switchback has an estimated 9.5% grade.

It was a fine day to be out in the forest, gliding slowly through allowing one to spend time in their own thoughts, enjoying the grandeur that we so often forget exists at home, surrounded as we are by concrete and steel.  When we finished up the trip, we returned to the car and made our way to Oakland to join Jessica, Kris and Gemma for a meal at one of our favorite downtown brewpubs, Drakes Dealership.

As always, we were seated in the large outdoor dining area, in what had likely been the repair shop for the Dodge dealer that operated here in the past.  Of course, we started with a round of beers and finished off a curry style appetizer along with the A’Lotta Burrata (arugula, burrata, spicy pesto, goat horn pepper compote, smoked maldon salt, and miche bread) while Gemma ate from a snack box we had brought along with us. 

We then moved on to the Papa J Pizza (red sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, mushroom, pasilla pepper, and marinated red onion) also demolishing it in quick order before we moved to the coup de grâce, the S’Mores Bread Pudding (s’mores bread pudding with graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, and whipped cream).  We finished up and made our way back to the house for a quiet evening.  The rest of the weekend would pass quickly, with Joanna and I venturing to Richmond to finally visit the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.  We’ll cover that and the rest of our stay in the next and final post for this trip. 

Links

Ristorante Italiano: https://www.ristoranteitalianosc.com/

Roaring Camp Railroad: https://roaringcamp.com/

Drakes Dealership: https://drinkdrakes.com/places/dealership/