Northern California Family Adventures

Abandoned Train Tunnels Near Donner Lake

We're baaaaaack.   I've finally taken the time to post another adventure. This one is easily accessible and can be done in a day.  

During the day I often search online like everyone else looking for new and adventurous things to do with the family. Well, it all started when I searched for tunnels in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The one site that piqued my interest was one that had these amazing pictures of some graffiti covered abandoned train tunnels located near Donner Lake close to Tahoe.  This trip eluded us for months, every time we planned to go it would either be raining, had just snowed or kids sports.  The day finally came when the kids had no sports and the weather was favorable and we were off. 

Here's a little history behind the tunnels.  It began with a fellow named Theodore Judah who was obsessed with finding a way to construct a railine through the Sierra's even when everyone around him thought he was crazy.  The pass had many obstacles to overcome, the biggest was the granite in which the mountains were made of.  His big break came from a storekeeper from Dutch Flat named Doc Strong, Doc suggested Judah should consider looking at Donner Pass.  After surveying the pass, which took over a year, he finally found his route which started in Sacramento and continued over Donner Pass.  Construction began in 1862 after President Lincoln passed the Pacific Railroad Act, which gave approval to build the Transcontinental Railroad.  Back in the 1860's the Central Pacific Railroad used black powder and Chinese laborers using hand tools to contruct a portion of the rail line near Donner Summit.  As you walk through tunnel #6 and continue towards tunnel #7  you can see how their skills were put to use. Tunnel #6 is a little over a quarter of a mile long and took over fifteen months to construct.  As you walk out of tunnel #6 you can see the "China Wall" which is a series of retaining walls built to support the passage of trains.  Unfortunately Judah never saw his dream come to fruition, during a trip to Panama he contracted yellow fever and died soon after in October of 1863.  As you walk through the tunnels (there are several) you'll notice different types of construction, from old methods of black powder/picked tunnels to modern precast concrete slabs that were hauled up on flatcars and put into place by cranes to create snow sheds.  In 1993 track #1, the track on which the tunnels were built for, was decomissioned due to another route that was bored through Mt. Judah.

We started our hike from the old Norden railyard which is locate 1/4 of a mile past Sugar Bowl ski resort on the right. Most postings online suggest that you start near the Native American Petroglyphs which are just a little further down the road. We were just driving and saw a train tunnel with a group of people getting out of their cars and figured this was the place.  It wasn't the right place, but in my opinion if you're here to go through the tunnels and not to see the petroglyphs this is the place to start.  From here you don't have to climb up a hill to get to the railine, and if you choose to see the petroglyphs you can walk down to them after going through tunnel #6.  Go past the red gate and continue under Sugar Bowl Rd towards tunnel #6 to start your journey. 

  

Tunnel #6 is pretty cool I must say and the fact that it was dug by hand is truly amazing! As we were walking through the tunnel I mentioned to the kids that I should have thought ahead and brought my bluetooth speaker. Why you ask? The kid in me I quess.  If your close to my age you may remember the Scooby Doo episode called "The Miner 49er". In that episode Scooby and Shaggy scared the ghost miner by sounding like they were a train going through the tunnel. Lets just say a little steam locomotive sound coming through a tunnel that you thought was closed may be a little unnerving, right? He he. Next time. 

       

Next stop, the "China Wall". As you walk out of tunnel #6 you will see tunnel #7 ahead.  On the right, past the Old Donner Summit Rd crossing (it's the one lane road that goes under the rail line), is part of the retaining wall and to your left is the lower section.  Below the wall to the left you'll also find the petroglyphs and a plaque.  

 

When you walk through tunnel #7 and #8 you may smell urine and it can be quite strong in some places.  It's not from humans, but from bats.  It's usually strongest at the entrances where the tunnels are of precast construction. If you look at the ground you may see a dusting of poo going from one side of the tunnel to other.  For obvious reasons I suggest not to stand under or look directly above these particular areas. The bats roost in the gaps between the precast slabs. 

As you hike through tunnel #7 you'll see the iron ladder we took our J-Crew picture on. There's also a metal platform just past it you can get onto, but you need to be part monkey because the ladder there has either been removed or destroyed.

Tunnel #8 is the longest of the three that we toured that day.  It consists of tunnel and snow sheds. While we hiked through the tunnel we could smell paint, as we kept going farther into the tunnel we came across some artists painting over some graffiti.  They were preping the wall for some new artwork.  I asked them what they intended on painting on their new canvas. They responded with a smile and said, the "Simpsons".  We continued on walking and came to a break in the tunnel which is about half way through tunnel #8. I say halfway because at one time this 30' gap was still tunnel.  If you look down to your left you will see some of the bent anchor bolts that are in the concrete foundation. These were/are used to secure the precast slabs. You'll probably notice all the holes near the bottom of walls along the way.  If you look down the mountain you'll see the remanents of the snow shed that once covered this section.  Here's my theory that may or may not be true on how this gap in the snow shed came to be.  I believe a boulder or boulders fell from above and damaged the top of the snow shed.  Due to the location and the amount of damage there was no way to repair it,  so they simply pushed it down the mountain to make it safe for passage.  If anyone knows what really happened please share.

                 

At the gap we decided to go left on the outside of the snow shed to where you could easily access the top of the tunnel. The view from up there is breathtaking. From what we saw it's common for people to walk to the end of the tunnels and then walk back on the top. There were several groups of people doing just that. We took lunch at this point.  Originally we set up kitchen on top of the snow shed but had to relocate due to a plethora of yellow jackets. The gap between the snow shed was where the yellow jackets were gathering water that was weeping from the rocks. We eventually set up a little ways into the 2nd part of tunnel #8. For lunch we had Subway sandwiches and some fajitas.

   

After lunch we continued down #8 until we reached the end.

        
  The picture to the left was the end of tunnel 8.  From here we turned around and headed back.  Thanks for joining myself and the J-Crew on another one of our adventures. 

 

 

Suggested items to take along:

Hand Sanitizer

Flashlight/headlamp

Lite jacket to keep warm (some of the tunnels can get chilly).

Comfortable shoes

 Map

 Sources:

http://www.calexplornia.com/donner-summit-train-tunnels-historical-journey-abandoned-train-tunnels/

http://californiathroughmylens.com/donner-pass-summit-tunnel-hike

Castle Crags Multi Day Adventure

 Another one of our adventures was up in beautiful Siskiyou County. On this multi day trip we conquered crags, swam like polar bears in ice cold waterfalls, hiked to some hot spring/mud pits, journeyed through a lava tube and enjoyed many culinary delights.

Our first stop was Castle Crags State Park. Here is where our base camp was  located. Castle Crags State Park is located about an hour north of Redding off highway 5. Castle Crags is a breathtaking granite rock formation that has taken millions of years to create. The Crags are a result of granite being eroded by glaciers over thousands of years. The first chunk of land was a purchase of 925 acres back in 1933, and now the park consists of nearly 4000 acres. When you get off highway 5 and head west towards the campground you will pass on your left a gas station/convenience store that can be  easily hiked to from the campground; they even have ice cream! As you drive up past the rangers kiosk you are greeted by the majestic view of the Crags that lay just above the treeline. There are 64 campsites here as well as flush toilets and coin operated showers that have been well kept every time we've visited here. You can purchase firewood at the rangers station as well as get maps and information on the area. The park has two campgrounds, the three Loop campgrounds (by the ranger station) and the Riverside campgrounds that are next to the Sacramento River. We set up our campsite at #60, in the Upper Loop sites. At lunch time we enjoyed the Day-Use Area by the river. There's a neat little cable suspension bridge that goes over the river near the Day-Use Area. 

We came here during midweek in July and and were pleasantly surprised to be only one of four campers to utilize this campground. On one night there was only one other group. We have a suggestion, enjoy the stars. Camping Girl and I walked up behind the bathrooms where there is a large clearing in the trees. We lied down in the middle of road and enjoyed a star filled sky and a multitude of shooting stars that evening. 

 To get to the trail head to Castle Crags follow the road past the campsites until you reach the parking lot. From there you can walk to the Vista Point or take the trail up to the Crags. The Vista Point is a short walk from the parking lot. Here you have amazing views of both the Crags and Mt. Shasta. The hike to Castle Crags is 5.3 miles round trip and is considered an intermediate hike.  Bring plenty of water and a snack, you'll need it. The hike seems like a never ending 2.7 mile climb uphill. It does though have the occasional flat spot to catch your breath if needed. As tough as the hike is, the vistas are well worth it. 

  The town of Dunsmuir is just a 10 minute drive further north up Interstate 5. Dunsmuir and the surrounding towns are rich in history. In the late 1800's the Central Pacific Railroad completed a railroad switching yard,  turntable, roundhouse and a repair shop in Dunsmuir.  The town became the Southern Pacific Railroads home of the Shasta Division. Here is where extra engines were added to continue the journey further north. With that being said anyone who enjoys trains should at least visit Railroad Park Resort and possibly spend the night. We've never stayed but we did walk the grounds and checked out a couple of the cabooses that are used as rooms. We thought they were pretty cool.

Before our trip I did a little research on places to eat near the campgrounds. There were two standouts, one was Yaks and the other was Dunsmuir Brewery. One morning we stopped at Yaks and had some of their sticky buns. Wow, they were simply amazing. A definite must. They roast their own coffee here as well as making their own syrups. Dunsmuir Brewery was spectacular as well. Whatever you choose to order you can't go wrong.  You must go here. Their handcrafted beer and root beer are super tasty and their food compliments it superbly.

 

During our stay we made a day trip to McCloud Falls. Here you can enjoy three separate falls. Upper, Middle and Lower Falls. We spent most of our time jumping off the rocks and lounging in the river near the Lower Falls. Most of the crew (4 of 6) jumped off the rocks at the lower falls. The jump is about a 15'-20' from the rocks to the river. This spot is very popular, locals and tourist seem to flock her in droves. later in the afternoon we decided to head up to the Middle falls. You can either take the trail along the river or drive. We chose the later. The Middle falls is probably the most spectacular of the three falls. The hike from the parking lot to the falls will take 10-15 min. I know the distance between the Lower Falls and the Middle Falls is a short distance, but I tell you what. It could just be me but there seemed to be a 5-10 degree difference in the water temperature. Lower Falls(COLD), Upper Falls(PIN PRICKLY COLD). After you go numb it's not so bad. Camping Girl watched the crew and I swim over to the falls and back. She's not too fond of water that cold, no bueno. If you hang there long enough you may witness one or more daredevils that are crazy enough to jump from the ledges. See picture below. One of the ledges is probably 30'-40' from the water, and the other is at least another 30' higher than the first.  We saw a guy do a back flip off the top ledge. CRAZY. This is beyond dangerous, please do not attempt. 

 Lower Falls   Middle Falls   Upper Falls

  Some nut jumping from the top of middle falls.

After our day at McCloud we went back to camp to enjoy another meal by the campfire. During our meal we talked about the days events and looked at pictures we took. We slept like rocks that night.

The following morning we packed up camp and said our goodbyes to the Crags. This was the day we headed home, and by no way was the adventure over.

On our trip back home we took hwy 89 which took us past McArthur Burney Falls and through Mt Lassen National Park.  On our way to McArthur Burney Falls we split two forest fires which had started from lightning strikes the night before. Later that day they ended up closing part of Hwy 89 due to the fires.

This was our first time here at Burney-McArthur State Park and the falls are pretty amazing. They're 129' high and each day over 1 million gallons of water flow over them. The falls were named after a pioneer settler named  Samuel Burney who lived here in the 1850's and the McArthurs who were pioneers as well in the 1880's. They bought the property and later gifted it to the State in the 1920's.There is a new visitors center which was still under the final stages of construction when we were there. If your looking to stay here there are cabins as well as tent sites. It seems there is something to do for just about anyone visiting this park.  You can have a relaxing day hanging out at your camp or cabin or jaunt down to the lake where they have various water sport rentals available as well as miles of trails and even scavenger hunts for the kids. We couldn't stay this time but drove through the campground and snapped some photos of Burney Falls. Next on our itinerary was the lava tubes of Lassen. A.k.a., Subway Cave.

  

Subway Cave was formed 20,000 years ago by the Hat Creek lava flow. The hike through the tubes is  approximately 1/3 of a mile in length. The trail goes between two tube collapses. You should bring a coat and some form of light. In the tubes it's 46 degrees on average and pitch black. The tubes are accessed be two sets of concrete stairs, once inside the floor is pretty level for the most part. Non the less, watch your step and your head. Across Hwy 89 is the Hat Creek Resort and RV Park. We didn't stop here. But from what I've read there is a motel, yurts, RV and tent camping available. Both the tubes and the campground are closed Nov thru mid April, weather permitting.

Our next stop was Bumpass Hell in Lassen Volcanic Park. Hell ya!  This is a miniature Yellowstone, with all the rotten egg smell and mud pits to boot.  This is the largest geothermal feature in Lassen National Park. It's named after Kendall Bumpass who lost his leg falling into one of the boiling pools back in 1864 while taking visiors on a guided tourt. From the parking lot across from Lake Helen the hike is a relatively easy 1.5 miles with an elevation gain of 300'. You can also reach it by a second trail. This trail is a tad longer and starts from Kings Creek picnic area and is 2.5 miles long. The scenery here is spectacular but make sure to stay on the trail. This was our last stop before heading home.

Final Thoughts: All of the places we visited are destinations in themselves. You could easily spend a week in Burney-McArthur and another in Lassen alone.  There is always an adventure waiting so get out there and explore!

 Links:

Castle Crags State Park

Castle Crags PDF

Railroad Park Resort

Dunsmuir Brewery Works

Yaks Koffee Shop

McCloud Falls

McCloud Falls

McAurtur-Burney Falls SP

Subway Cave

Subway Cave PDF

Lassen National Park

Bumpass Hell

 

Golden Gate Recreational Area Day Trip

   I've finnally found some time to share another adventure, our day trip to the Golden Gate Recreation Area on the San Francisco side. On this day trip we visited the Sutro Bath House Ruins at Lands End, Fort Winfield Scott, Battey Boutelle and Fort Point National Historic Site. 

    Our first stop for the day was the Sutro bath House ruins at Point Lobo. The ruins are located at the end of Point Lobos Avenue near the famous Cliff House. Both the Cliff House and Bathhouse were built by the former mayor of San Francisco, Adolf Sutro. The bathhouse was completed in 1896 and was built out of steel and glass and consisted of seven indoor swimming pools. Six of the pools were filled with sea water and one fresh water. Not only was this the worlds largest bath house it also included Sutro's large collection of personal artifacts he obtained during his travels across the globe. There was also a 6000 seat concert hall here and a skating rink in the 1960's .

     In April of 2012 the Park Service opened a new visitors center and expanded the parking area, with these improvements it has made this stop much more enjoyable. The kids and I took some time and toured the visitors center and then headed down the trail to the Bath House ruins. 

 

                                The Visitors Center.

  Looking towards the Cliff House.

                Bath House ruins.    

             Looking towards the Sutro Tunnel.

          Below the Cliff House looking toward Sutro Tunnel.   

                                          Sutro Tunnel.

 

    From the Bath House ruins we drove further north past China Beach, Baker Beach and continued up Lincoln Blvd. We drove north until we reached Fort Winfield Scott. Across from the fort we parked at Langdon Ct.  Whether you go on a week day or a weekend there's usually a spot to park here. From Langdon Ct. you can stroll up Dove Loop passing by Battery West and Battery Godfrey. Once you pass Battery Godfrey you can walk north through Battery Boutelle and eventually end up walking down the Coastal Trail which takes you beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Fort Point.

Once you go under the bridge the Coastal trail turns into the Battery East Trail. From the trail you can see Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. This was our next stop.

 Fort Point was constructed between 1859-61 during the height of the Gold Rush era. This fortification was the only one of it's stature west of the Mississippi River. The simple fact that this brick fort resides in an area known for earthquakes and is still a standing is amaing. It's a testimony to the contruction work done by the Amy Engineers of that time period. 

Walking through the fort is pretty darn cool I must say. As you walk through you can't help but imagine what it was like back in the day. I loved the architecture of this place with all of the brick arches long hallways. As we walked around I couldn't help myself from hiding from the kids in some of the nooks and crannies,  it's the little boy in me. There are plenty of exhibists regarding the contruction and the inhabitants over the years, theres also a nice little souveneer store where you can pick yourself up some chachkas. Ourselves, well, we collect patches. When you make it to the top be prepared for two things. Amazing vistas, and a stiff breeze. Bring a windbreaker and a hat if you get cold easily. With the bridge superstructure overhead the fort can be covered in shade making the wind blowing a bit colder than expected. On the northwest side, near the lighthouse we have spotted dolphins on several occasions swimming under the Golden Gate Bridge and down the coast. And of course, you have amazing views of the city of San Francisco, Acatraz and the bay to the northeast.

During this trip we found out that there are candlelight tours November thru Febuary. They are only on Saturday nights and require reservations. (415)-556-1693

After eating packed food all day it was time to go to a sit down resturant. Uncle Leo's choices were Giorgio's Pizzaria and Humphry Slocombe for desert. Giorgio's  pizza was pretty darn good if I say so for myself. But to be honest desert was the best. Humphry Slocombe has some the most interesting ice cream flavors. We found this place by watching the Food Network. If your in S.F. you must stop here! From the outside you would never guess that inside there are ice cream magicians. Making magic happen, that's what they do.   

Here are the links.            

 Cliff House and Sutro Baths 

Battery Boutelle

Fort Point

Giorgios Pizza

Humphry Slocombe 

Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you on a trail.

Uncle Leo

Confluence to Cool

Doggies first hike!
Our newest member to the family has been officially initiated to the camping/hiking lifestyle. His first hike was the Western State Trail from the confluence to Cool. Our little Muddy-Poo aka (Malti-Poo) will most definitely sleep well tonight. This hike is a little over 3 miles one way! A lot of hiking for a little dog that's for sure.
Now we're sitting at American River Pizza enjoying some down time with a burger and sweet potato fries. Toby is crashed out on my lap as I do a little data entry and Camping Girl updates her FB.

Uncle Leo, Camping Girl & Toby

Happy Holidays

From our family to yours, we wish you Holiday Cheer and Blessings in Abundance!
Wow has time flown by. It's been a while since we've posted. We've been super busy with new careers and normal every day life. We will make an effort during the break here to share a camping trip we took many, many months ago.
2013 is going to be a great year for everyone! Camping Girl and I plan on doing some hike in camping this coming year. This will be our first time doing so together. Hopefully we're on the good list and Santa brings us a few item we still need to complete our gear. The J-crew are hoping to get some new gear as well. Also in 2013 we are looking to try out some new places. A few of the places were considering are Yosemite, Burney Falls, Lassen and possibly Big Basin.
Until next time, take care, take lots of pictures and give plenty of Love to others.

Happy Holidays,
The J-Crew

CA State Parks Closure Mini Documentary-The Fight for Parks

When you get a break in your day check this out, I came across this today.

Ca State Parks Closure Mini Documentary

 

 

Pantoll Campgrounds, Marin County

    Well hello fellow Adventurers. I want to share another one of our family adventures. On this trip we re-visited Mt Tamalpais, Stinson Beach  and took some time to enjoy Muir Woods as a family. We also took some time to cruise around some bunkers in the Marin Headlands and take in another beautiful sunset. So come along as we go off on another trip to Marin County.

     Pantoll Campground is located between Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods. This campground is definately a must see! There are 16 first-come-first-serve campsites are all within 100yds of the parking area. There are no showers here but there's drinking water, firewood and flush toilets readily available. From your campsite you have access to over nine different trails taking you through some of Marin County's most scenic parks. From the campground you can hike to either Muir Woods or Stinson Beach, and Mt. Tam is just a short drive up the mountian. If you are a fan of the theater (outdoors of course), you can take in musicals and plays  during the summer months at the Mountain Theater, which is located between Pantoll and the summit of Mt Tam.

     Depending on the time of the year you visit you can either camp in pea soup thick fog or a warm sunny environment.  The first time we scoped out Pantoll it was during a day trip in September, we encountered fog that was so thick you could barely see 20' in front of you. We hopped out of our rig and vanished into the fog searching for sites. It was just like an Easter Egg hunt, so cool! Wet and excited we headed back down to the Ranger Station to check out the amnendities. On our way back to our rig Camping Girl and I decided we were going to have to come back with the crew a.s.a.p.. 

    We returned with "the crew" in January. The sun was out, visibility was for miles upon miles and there were plenty of available campsites to choose from. Ahhhh the joy of it all. This was our first time camping here and definately not our last.

         Since there were very few campers this weekend we were able to procure two sites that were adjacent to one another on the point. And as soon as camp was set up we climbed in the Leo Mobile and headed to the Mt Tam summit. Simply Amazing!! We hiked up to the old Fire Lookout Tower to take in our surroundings. The views on this day went as far as the eye could see. The kids had never been here before and were taken back by the expansive views of the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco and even as far as the windmills of the East Bay. We put to a vote, go back to camp and start dinner or head down to Stinson Beach to watch the sunset and eat in the dark. Well as you can guess watching the sunset at the beach was the obvious choice. 

 We suggest that you call the ranger station before heading out to see if there are any sites available. (415-388-2070) they are normally answer the phone until 5pm.

 

 Google map link: Pantoll Campground

Download Map of Marin Headlands

Download Mt Tamalpais SP pdf

Download Muir Woods Trail Map pdf

Download Stinson Beach pdf

Download Fort Cronkhite History Walk pdf

 

New Brighton Beach State Park, Capitola

    Hello fellow Adventurers! It's been a while since we posted a new adventure and it feels good to be back in the swing of things. We've been sitting on this trip since the middle of October. On this trip Camping Girl and I hit the coast around Santa Cruz, just because we could. So here we go!

    It all started when Camping Girl had a couple of days free from work during the middle of the week. We packed up the Forester with Camping Girls new 4 season tent and our normal gear and headed towards Santa Cruz. We normally go to to Sunset Beach Campground, but Camping Girl has camped at New Brighton Beach many times and I'm always one to go to new places. As I always say "getting here is easy".  From Sacramento the drive is around 150 miles, for us it it's around 170. Take Hwy 80 west towards San Francisco then take the Hwy 680 South exit towards Benicia. Follow 680 south toward San Jose. As you come down the grade into Silicon Valley you will stay on 680, as you come into San Jose 680 turns into Hwy 280. Continue on Hwy 280 until you reach Hwy 880 south (which is actually Hwy 17). Once on Hwy 17  south continue through the twisty Hwy for approximately 23 miles until you come to California Hwy 1 south exit towards Monterey/Watsonville. Once on Hwy 1 south go almost 5 miles and then exit onto Park Avenue. Make a right onto Park drive and then take your first left onto McGregor Drive. Go around the bend and you will see the entrance for New Brighton State Park on your right.

Google map of our New Brighton SB adventure

    Normally we drive up to the park entrance and let the ranger know we will be staying the night and then they let us drive though the campgrounds to pick our site. After we scope the place out and pick our site we come back and pay for our stay. Not here not on this day, and as we found out this is now longer an option at this campground. Apparently they have changed their protocol and we were told we would have to park our car and walk in a 1/4 mile to pick our site. In all of Camping Girls stays here at this campground this was abnormal and from what we encountered this will now be the norm.

    Because we arrived in the middle of the week and off-season there were plenty of sites to choose from. We chose site 23. Due to the removal of trees the only sites that were available were sites 1-34. We liked our site because it was close to the beach so we could hear the waves crashing instead of the highway traffic. And as we found out later, our site was also the racoon on-ramp to the campground. We set up C.G's new tent for the first time in the outdoors. It was pretty easy and next time it will go up in a flash.  After our site was situated we jumped in the Subie and went to get a snack and some refreshments at Safeway. Camping Girl as usual knew where to find good eats. She took me to this pizza place called Showtime Pizza located at 98 Rancho Del Mar, Aptos.  I must say the pizza was awesome! It was just like the pizza in NYC. thin crust and all. After our bellies were happy and our shopping done we headed back to the campground. We introduced ourselves to our neighbor Pavel who was staying for the night just like us. 

    I preped the firepit for later that night while C.G. finished setting up our gear in the tent. Afterwards we headed off towards Capitola. The walk to Capitola is only a 20+minute walk from the campgound and "getting there is easy". From the campground walk down the stairs to the beach. At the beach there's a bathroom and a day use area that has firepits. From the beach head towards the right up to the day use parking lot. When you get to the parking lot look for the trail that goes up towards the train tracks. Once at the train tracks follow them to the left all the way to Monterey Avenue,  where you  go left down the hill into downtown Capitola. There are many boutique shops and restaurants to enjoy as you stroll through town.

 

    When we got back from Capitola I put my backpack that had a bag of Flaming Hot Cheeto's in it  on the table while we pulled the cooking gear and cooler from the car. When I came back to the picnic table my backpack was now open and the Cheetoh's were in the paws of a few clever racoons. Dam racoons!  We were looking forward to snacking on those bad boys after dinner. After the theives left I put on the Sharks Hockey game on our little battery powered speakers while we cooked up some dogs & beans on our Coleman Stove. I lit the fire and minutes later we were eating fireside. After dinner we envited Pavel over to listen to the game and hang out with us to share an evening of racoon meyhem. Low and behold after just a few minutes a hoard of racoons came up from the gully that was between us and the beach. Holly mackerel were there a lot, there must have been over 20 of them and they showed no fear. They came right up to the picnic table and fire like it was just another day at the office. And at once point in time there was also a skunk but he seemed more interested in Pavel's campsite. Hee, hee. We eventually gave up the fight trying to scare them off and went to bed.

    The following morning we were pleasantly awoken by the subtle sounds of chainsaws. Apparently they start at 7am.  Since sleeping was no longer an option I climbed out of the tent and made myself a cup of espresso/Swiss Miss and watched the crews fell trees from a distance. We decided after breakfast we would walk down to the park entrance and pay for our site for another night. On our way there the tree crew had blocked the parking area near the dump station so that they could fall a pretty big tree. I decided to take some pictures so I positioned myself to the right of the tractor blocking the road and the dump station. Not the best idea I found out. Apparently the tree crew thought that the tree was going to fall short of the powerlines I was standing under. Not so much. If you look at the last couple of pictures I took of the tree falling you will see the powerline starting to whip after being yanked from the transformer that was behind me. Luckily when I heard the whipping sound I moved to the right and as I did the power line whipped past me and landed on the ground approximately 40' in front of me catching the grass on fire. All you could hear was loud buzzing of the live line and the crew shouting profanities. Needless to say we quickly turned around and found another way out to the park entrance.

    When we made it to the park kiosk to pay for another night the Ranger on duty had no idea that there was any problem in the park. But she did point across the parking lot over to where just a few minutes before a car had driven off the road.If it weren't for a small tree the car would have fallen over the concrete retaining wall and blocked the road just before you go under the railroad tracks.

 

    When we got back to our campsite we loaded up our backpacks and headed down to the beach, made a left and continued south down New Brighton Beach towards Seacliff. On our way down the beach we passed the Seacliff RV Campground. There we saw several emergency vehicles by the restrooms. We found out later when we got home that a surfer had been attacked by a shark a few beaches down and that a Great White was spotted a 1/4 mile off the beach here at Seacliffe while we were there. 

 

      Past the fire trucks and the Seacliff RV campground we came to the Concrete Ship "Palo Alto". The Palo Alto was built in Oakland in 1919. She was built using concrete due to steel shortages created by WW1. After the Palo Alto was constructed she remained in Oakland until 1929 when she was purchased by the Seacliff Amusement Company with the idea of making her into an amusement and fishing ship. After she arrived at her current location they opened her seacocks and she settled to the ocean floor. After months of construction the pier was finished, the ship revamped and was ready by the summer of 1930. Only after two seasons financial difficulties forced the Seacliff Amusement Company to close the Palo Alto. Her decks were stripped and since then she was only used for fishing. The ship cracked and came apart just a year after she was closed due to heavy winter storms and she continues to slowly give a little of herself back to the ocean every day.

 

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 Following the sand a little furter south we came to Rio Del Mar. We didn't go down to the beach here because our stomachs we're steering us inland towards the Pixie Deli. Our stomachs ROCK! This little seaside deli should definately should be on your list of places visit. If you check the deli out through Yelp you will only see great reviews. The food and service are awesome! Our food was delish and I should tell you what we had, but I won't because anything you order I'm sure you'll love. We sat on the patio enjoying our food and soaked up the sun. After enjoying our luch we hiked back up the beach to our campsite, packed our day packs and drove accross Hwy 1 to Nisene Marks SP.  Download Pixie Deli Menu

 

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     Nisene Marks SP is one of my favorite stops whenever we camp down here. From most of the beach campgrounds we stay at this redwood forest is only a 20minute drive away. Like most redwood forests in california we can enjoy them today due to the foresight and gifts of many people. I want to thank the many families and individuals who have either granted land or given their time so that we Californian's can hop in our cars and drive only a few hours no matter where we live in the state and stand beneath these wonders of nature. I'm smitten with them, can you tell? Here you can hike for miles enjoying ferns, old redwood growth,  89' Loma Prieta Earthquake Epicenter, if you look close enough you willt see many redwood stumps that are remnants of the logging days. These stumps will have slots cut out for the boards the loggers used to stand on while sawing the tree's down by hand. Our goal was the find the earthquake epicenter.We kept on hiking thinking it was just right around the next corner, but we came up empty. We found out later that to take Aptos Creek Trail to the epicenter you must cross the little creek. We ended up hiking much further up the main trail, almost 1.5 miles past where we should have crossed the creek. By the time we decided to turn around it was about 15 minutes until sunset so we didn't continue exploring. I must say we did have an enjoyable stroll through the forest.

  Download Forest of Nisene Marks pdf

 

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     We woke up the next morning, made coffee, packed up camp and headed up towards Santa Cruz to see the sights. We passed the Boardwalk and continued up Cliff Drive to try our luck with butterflies.  Natural Bridges SB is just a short ways past Lighthouse Field SB. Here at Natural Bridges you can see Monarch Butterflies in their winter habitat. They normally arrive in October and can be seen as late as March. The Monarchs have chosen this spot because the Eucalyptus Tree flowers in winter and is a good food source. The canyon also provides shelter from the elements. If you get here early enough you can see the butterflies in large groups  among the eucalyptus trees, they do this to stay warm until the temperature rises above 60 deg. By the visitors center you can also enjoy a demonstration milkweed patch where you can see Monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalides. There is also a nice beach area with tidepools to view if your feeling so inclined. The parks hours are from 8am-Sunset.

 

 

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    We left the Monarchs and drove back down to Lighthouse Field State Beach. On our way to the butterflies we saw that there was a surfing contest going on here and I had never watched one in person, pretty cool I must say. Apparently it was even being telecasted. We didn't get to see many surfers due to the waves not co-operating but that didn't seem to put a damper on the mood of the crowd. While strolling around the lighthouse we came accross this guy at the lighthouse point making and selling some really neat seaglass sculptures. They had succulents and hand made copper wire trees that were imbedded in the beach rocks holes. Next time we're here we'll bring some extra $$ so that we may aquire one of his sculptures.

 

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  We left the Subie parked at the lighthouse and walked along the cliff down to the wharf to grab a bite to eat.  We walked almost to the end of the warf.  The restaurant we ate at was Stagnaro's which is the last two story building as you walk to the end of the wharf. We liked the fact that Stagnaro's has an outdoor eating area upstairs where you could enjoy unobstructed views of the ocean. On the north side there are many table to sit at, but at the time they were all taken. I was hoping to be able to watch the surfing contest as we ate. Fortunately, someone else have better plans for us. We ended up being seated at the only table on the south side of the deck. We ordered some calamari and clam chowder. The sun was shinning and it sure felt good. While we waited for our food to arrive we noticed a lot of kayakers and sea lions cruising around the end of the pier. Camping Girl all of a sudden got real excited, she spotted a couple of whales just off the wharf about 100 yards away from where we sat. Our quiet side of the deck became a frenzy of whale watchers. At one point we must of had 20 people standing almost on top of us trying to get a good view. While we ate the whales breached the water a few times. We had our binoculars with us which came in handy. We sat and enjoyed the whales, dolphins, sea lions, kayakers and warm sun for a couple hours. What a way to finish our three day adventure.

 

 

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     We toured five State Parks and witnessed some pretty amazing stuff. We now have some great memories that will last a lifetime. Camping Girl and I hope you enjoyed our adventure and hope to cross paths with you and your family.

Uncle Leo & Camping Girl

 

 

 Here are the links to the parks we visited on this trip:

 New Brighton State Beach

 Natural Bridges State Beach

 Seacliff State Beach 

Lighthouse Field State Beach

The Forest of Nisene Marks SP

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy the holidays with family and friends, share the love and make some great memories. Take as many pictures as possible and whatever you do leave Santa some cookies and milk. 

Merry X-Mas,

Uncle Leo, Camping Girl and the crew