As I have mentioned before, this is one of our favorite RV parks. It is nestled in a redwood forest. The “old growth” giants were harvested over one hundred years ago, to build fancy Victorian homes in San Francisco; what’s left are the “volunteers” that sprung up from the downed trees and, at a growth rate of about 1 foot per year, are more than 100 feet high.
Across the river, within Henry Cowell State Park, there are lots of old growth trees which are up to 300′ high and 16′ in diameter. I used to hike with my brother in those woods when I was 12 years old.
Some of the trees cut 100 years ago were pretty old.
My sister Claudia and her boyfriend Ted visited this week. Here they are standing next to one of the old growth stumps in the RV park.
There were lots of families here…it’s the end of Summer. Kids were everywhere, doing the kinds of things that my brother Terry and I used to do here when we lived just up the street.
The San Lorenzo River is just over the cliff from that stump, and it is running pretty nicely this year. Lots of “beach time” for the kids.
The children liked our dogs. Here they are playing with them in the pen.
The dogs love this place. Lots of smells, stuff to investigate, and we were able to keep them off leash a lot of the time, hanging out with us. Here’s Charlie and Baby soaking up the clean air.
Charlie’s cousin Jim Duggan and his wife Barbara live a few miles away in Scott’s Valley. We visited a few times during the trip. They have a very homey residence; lots of photos and family memorabilia.
They also have a Bigfoot statue in their garden. I think Jim was impressed with the Bigfoot Museum in Felton, which we visited on our last trip here. It is owned by a guy who my brother and I went to school with over 50 years ago. He supposedly has SEEN a Bigfoot in the woods!
Not needing to know anything more about Yeti, Charlie and I spent a shopping day in Santa Cruz. First, we did the downtown walk, bought a few items, and then had lunch at El Palomar. Good food and drink.
The downtown area is populated by a number of bums, which is not surprising because it is a college town (UC Santa Cruz) and a big surf locale (Steamer Lane). And, it has the usual number of would-be musicians, panhandling for small change. But, no one was aggressive or annoying; they must have had a nice buzz on.
There’s actually a number of things to do around here. Santa Cruz has the oldest surviving boardwalk in California (circa 1907), complete with an amusement park. Located adjacent is Stagnaro’s Wharf (pier). Both of these sites were featured in the Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry movie, “Sudden Impact”. There’s also the Roaring Camp Railroad, which takes tourists through the old growth redwoods down to Santa Cruz and back. And, you’re only an hour’s drive from Monterey to the south or the Bay Area to the north.
And, of course, here in Felton is the Covered Bridge. It was built in 1892 and is the tallest covered bridge in the United States.
We didn’t get around to those things on this trip, however. We were busy with friends and work. The campfire was nice at night, however.
And, the weather was great…70’s in daytime, around 60 at night. Love it!
And, I didn’t contract any Poison Oak! Back in the day, I got a horrendous case when my bike and I fell into a bush. My Mom took me to the local doctor in Felton, where it was determined that I needed an antihistamine INJECTION. I ran out of this doctor’s office and up Highway 9, with my Mom and the doctor in pursuit.
BTW, our little puppy Baby is almost 9 months old now. She’s doing great. Here she is with her favorite friend…an antler bone.
We almost got out of Felton unscathed…but not quite. As we were pulling through our space on the way out, one of those great big Redwood stumps jumped out and scraped the right side of the rig, down by the storage bays. That’ll cost me another $Grand or so, I’m sure. Dammit!
