Day 9: HIGHBALL!
TRAIN!
....
To tell it in a short way... today we went to see trees and go on a train.
We went to Roaring Camp, which is only about half an hour away from Santa Cruz.. A living museum if you will.
Of course, we decide to go right before Memorial Day weekend, which means that we were surrounded on all sides by school kids on tours, and of course reenactors in full dress.
There were cannons! They were loud!
We walked past most of the 'exhibits', mostly because they were mobbed by the chillin's, and bought our tickets for the Steam Train
There was only a short wait until they let us on. We sat in the first car, right behind the engine.
The conductor was also our MC. He impressed Clara with his ability to talk throughout the entire trip.
Interesting stuff too! On the trip there were lots of big trees...
This was the old track up the mountain. The train would circle around and then go up the trestles. The cars themselves were actually wider than the track, so the conductor said it was like floating when you went up there. All we could think of was how much of a panic attack Sam would have. XD The trestles burnt only a couple years ago, and you could see the evidence of the fire on the trees around them.
Since the trestles were destroyed, they had to find a different way up the mountain... They figured the easiest way, until the trestles were fixed, would be to zigzag up the hill. Basically, this means the train would chug up to a certain point... they'd flip a switch and then the train would back up the hill a ways...they'd flip a switch... and the train would move forward again. I thought it was all quite neat.
At the top of the mountain, we all got off for a bathroom break and a leg stretch.
Most of us went back down the track a little ways to what's known as a Cathedral of Redwoods.
Basically, this is where an old redwood has died, and seedlings grow around it's remains in a circle. All of the trees in the circle are clones of the original tree. It was impossible for me to get a picture of the entire circle (the trees are HUGE guys...) but there are a few pictures of us in there. :D
We also got a few good pictures of the train itself.
After the train, we went down one of the big paths into the park to get closer to the trees.
Right at the entrance to the trails, there was this big slice of log. It had a timeline on it, just to give us perspective of how old the tree was. (the rectangular plaques above Clara's head, there...)
It's pretty damn old.
and there were really big trees.
I call this one number 7 in my head... just because there was a self-guided tour sign reading '7' right in front of it. Apparently it's almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. (this is the same tree as the previous picture that Clara is sitting in front of...)
There were a couple trees that you could pretty much stand right inside, too.
I'm just going to leave you with a picture of this one guy... The way he talked... he could only be described as 'One of Carmen's NPCs.' I hope at least a few of you understand. ^_-
AND SHE SAID...mumble mumble mumble...
....
To tell it in a short way... today we went to see trees and go on a train.
We went to Roaring Camp, which is only about half an hour away from Santa Cruz.. A living museum if you will.
Of course, we decide to go right before Memorial Day weekend, which means that we were surrounded on all sides by school kids on tours, and of course reenactors in full dress.
There were cannons! They were loud!
We walked past most of the 'exhibits', mostly because they were mobbed by the chillin's, and bought our tickets for the Steam Train
There was only a short wait until they let us on. We sat in the first car, right behind the engine.
The conductor was also our MC. He impressed Clara with his ability to talk throughout the entire trip.
Interesting stuff too! On the trip there were lots of big trees...
This was the old track up the mountain. The train would circle around and then go up the trestles. The cars themselves were actually wider than the track, so the conductor said it was like floating when you went up there. All we could think of was how much of a panic attack Sam would have. XD The trestles burnt only a couple years ago, and you could see the evidence of the fire on the trees around them.
Since the trestles were destroyed, they had to find a different way up the mountain... They figured the easiest way, until the trestles were fixed, would be to zigzag up the hill. Basically, this means the train would chug up to a certain point... they'd flip a switch and then the train would back up the hill a ways...they'd flip a switch... and the train would move forward again. I thought it was all quite neat.
At the top of the mountain, we all got off for a bathroom break and a leg stretch.
Most of us went back down the track a little ways to what's known as a Cathedral of Redwoods.
Basically, this is where an old redwood has died, and seedlings grow around it's remains in a circle. All of the trees in the circle are clones of the original tree. It was impossible for me to get a picture of the entire circle (the trees are HUGE guys...) but there are a few pictures of us in there. :D
We also got a few good pictures of the train itself.
After the train, we went down one of the big paths into the park to get closer to the trees.
Right at the entrance to the trails, there was this big slice of log. It had a timeline on it, just to give us perspective of how old the tree was. (the rectangular plaques above Clara's head, there...)
It's pretty damn old.
and there were really big trees.
I call this one number 7 in my head... just because there was a self-guided tour sign reading '7' right in front of it. Apparently it's almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. (this is the same tree as the previous picture that Clara is sitting in front of...)
There were a couple trees that you could pretty much stand right inside, too.
I'm just going to leave you with a picture of this one guy... The way he talked... he could only be described as 'One of Carmen's NPCs.' I hope at least a few of you understand. ^_-
AND SHE SAID...mumble mumble mumble...