Sarah drove us down Highway 17 towards Santa Cruz to see Coast Redwood trees. We went to Roaring Camp, where they recreated a historical setting.
Sarah drove us down Highway 17 towards Santa Cruz to see Coast Redwood trees.
We went to Roaring Camp, where they recreated a historical setting.
Just for fun, school-marm Sarah rang the bell.
Replica covered bridge as an entryway to Roaring Camp.
We chose a train ride as a good way to experience the forest.
Adding water to the steam engine.
Conductor collecting tickets.
Switchbacks to get up the mountain.
They used to spiral upward on these trestles, but a forest fire put an end to that scheme
and the switchbacks were installed instead.
We're at the top of the ride. We got off briefly and
then chose to ride right back down rather than hike and
take the later train which we expected to be full.
Bits of scorched debris from the overhead branches landed in the open train cars.
Henry Cowell State Park is adjacent to Roaring Camp with a path connecting the two venues.
This is a slab of a giant sequoia (instead of a coast redwood).
The rings are so thin in sections.
We hiked the 0.8-mile annotated loop trail.
We spotted a deer!
Coast Redwoods, we learned, grow new trees from their spreading roots.
This creates clusters of multi-aged trees, as seen here.
Inside a hollowed-out tree. There were 6 people in here when I snapped the picture.
It was certainly spacious enough to permit Fremont to camp in here, as he is
rumored to have done.
Roger exiting the hollow tree.
An albino tree. It has no chlorophyll, so can't photosynthesize, but
it survives because the roots are interconnected.
Sarah got me these very special souvenir socks, and I picked out the Coast Redwood jacket.