In August of 2017, I took a trip which included Safari West, the Skunk Train, Glass Beach and the Mendocino cliffs. This time I’ll share the Skunk Train. The good and the bad thing about keeping a blog is that I can compare my progress. This was taken not quite 2 years ago, but I can really tell that my eye has developed a lot since then. Not only that, but my technical skill is increasing as well. Makes me excited to see where I’ll be in the next couple of years!
The historic Skunk Train is in Mendocino County, California in Redwoods country. It’s a logging train, historically speaking, and this area is still active logging country. On this same trip, I went to Glass Beach right over the hill from the Skunk Train, and turned out it was Paul Bunyan Days – a local celebration of loggers. Totally unplanned!
While now the Skunk Train appears to be used primarily for touring passengers, it still takes you right through some stunning redwood forests!! For a very reasonable fee, I took half a day and rode the Wolf Tree route which departed from Willits. It took us over the Summit, the highest point on the track.
I have to admit, I was not expecting the Summit. They had signs along the track and then we get there to see a sign as if it’s going to be a little station or something and …. Yeah. Totally loved it, but wasn’t expecting it.
Some of the other sights we passed were marked by fun things, such as this carved bear at the Homer Hayward Whistle Stop.
Most of the old stops had these buildings sitting at them, though they are very much left to age and gather character. You can see the skids on the bottom of the building, where they were dragged and placed like a heavy sled. This is one of the only images which even came close to conveying how magnificent and awe inspiring these redwoods are!
After about an hour of slowing chugging uphill, we reached the lunch stop. Definitely remember to bring your own food!! The turn-around area also featured a really nice historic overview of the area, making sure to include the mistakes they made and the lessons learned. I always appreciate a well-rounded overview!
Though I suppose this totally fun BBQ is available for parties to rent. Maybe. There’s a man in our neighborhood who is totally train-crazy, and my own great-grandfather was a conductor. Working in and around trains abounds in my family tree, so if we were able to have a family reunion up here and use this … Perfect.
The ropes, like the Redwoods, are massive. I couldn’t resist this one, where the anchor ropes are tied around the tree but the tree just kept right on growing.
All in all, if you want a fun and leisurely way to tour the Redwood forests, I definitely recommend a ride on the Skunk Train!
Until next time, adventure on!