It was a beary good day at West Coast Game Park Safari

Last day of my road trip!  I drive home tomorrow.  Today, I left Crescent City, CA and drove north to West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, OR.  It's a small zoo dedicated to educating the public about wildlife and preserving species.  Most of the animals bred at the facility are provided for other zoos.  What I find most rewarding is the interaction between the animals and visitors, and the lasting memories people get from such experiences.

I got to the game park early enough to beat the crowds.  Right off the bat, there was a young black bear cub named Clyde available to pet.  Sweet!

In addition, there was also an 8-week-old African Serval kitten that was just a bundle of energy!  It was moving too much so I couldn't get a photo of it.  I tried taking video but believe it or not, there was too much movement to even get a still from that!  Oh, well.  A little later, the sister to Clyde...her name was Bonnie...was brought out and I got to pet her, too.  And, here I am petting her!

In the nursery area, smaller animals were featured for petting AND holding.  I didn't hesitate to cuddle an opossum.  Some people may think opossums are ugly, but I love them!  There were also a young red fox and an adult fox named Todd.  The keeper was feeding Todd apples, but she said his favorite treat was bell peppers!  Like dogs, foxes are omnivores...they eat fruits and vegetables, too.

After interacting with the animals, I walked around and looked at the other ones living at the game park.  I enjoy the Siberian tigers because they always seem to pose for the camera.

One of the coolest things I saw was a mother wallaby with a baby in her pouch.  The joey was already pretty big, but Mom was still able to hop around pretty good.  So cute!

And, so, my last day of road trip fun has come to an end.  Tomorrow, I make the (pretty) long drive home.  I'll be dealing with Memorial Day traffic so I'll try to get an early start.  I can't wait to see my cat!

Return to Ferngully...I mean Fern Canyon

As I drove north from Ukiah, CA this morning, I entered Redwood country.  After spending so much time in the dry, desert-like southern part of the state, it was refreshing to see everything so green.  In my past road trips, I had my trusty Chevy Blazer to take me everywhere.  And, while visiting the redwoods, I drove that Blazer through a few drive-thru trees.  Wanting to carry on that tradition with my new Outback, I went to the Chandler Drive-Thru Tree in Leggett.  With the Memorial Day holiday weekend, it was surprising busy.  I had to wait in line behind half a dozen cars ahead of me.  When it was my turn, I took pics of my car before I went through and after...no room to get out once you're in.  And, yes, my car fit...barely! 

I continued driving, and decided to stop for lunch when I reached Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  The trees are so majestic towering over you...almost a religious experience.

Continuing on, I arrived at my final destination of the day, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  As I turned off the highway, there was an elk viewing area adjacent to the road.  There were about 30 elk grazing and resting.  One of the last remaining herds of Roosevelt elk are located at Prairie Creek.  Most of the elk I saw were does and half-grown fawns...I only saw one buck with velvet antlers.

One of the biggest attractions in Prairie Creek is Fern Canyon, a narrow canyon with steep, damp walls covered with ferns and mosses.  The canyon was used as a location in the movie, Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World.  I had visited Fern Canyon in the past, but it didn't go so well.  At the time, there was quite a bit of water flowing through the canyon, so my boots got soaked.  In addition, I tripped over a log and bruised my shin pretty good.  Most disappointing, though, it was too early in the year for ferns.  This time around, everything went much better...for the most part anyway.  When I got to the canyon, everything was lush and green, and there was much less water.

I started at the far end of the canyon and slowly walked out, trying not to get my feet wet.  I was wearing a pair of good quality waterproof hiking shoes, so things went well.  I stepped on logs when I could, and picked the shallowest part of the creek to cross when I had to.  As I neared the end of the canyon, I was patting my own back that I avoided dunking my feet when I suddenly slipped on a log.  I tried to jump the rest of the way, but a little water got into the back of my shoes.  Rats!  I was walking back to the parking lot when I encountered a man and his daughter coming toward me in the opposite direction.  I moved to the far right and misjudged the edge of the trail.  My right foot dipped down and I nearly face planted on the trail.  How embarrassing!  With only my ego bruised, I brushed off my dusty clothes, and cursed my clumsiness. 

Well, tomorrow is the last day of activity on my road trip.  It will be a zoo day...and a lot of driving.  My vacation has been fun, but it's time to call it quits and head on home.  It seems like I've been gone so long because I have.  It will be nice to sleep in my own bed and hug my cat! 

Angel Island: Ellis Island of the West

It was only a 15 minute drive from my pit stop in Mill Valley to Tiburon...where I would be catching the ferry to Angel Island State Park.  I had picked up a sandwich from the grocery store for lunch since there really isn't much on the island.  I parked my car in a lot about a third of a mile away.  It was only $5 for the day, so it was worth the short walk.  When I arrived at the ferry dock, there was only one small group with kids waiting.  Within the hour, many bike riders showed up, as well as more kids and more people.  Because of the sheer number of ferry goers, it took awhile to load up.  While I was waiting, I spotted a California sea lion in the water eyeballing the activity.

We left Tiburon a bit late, but it was only a short 10 minute ride to Angel Island.  I'm not much of a boat person due to my propensity for motion sickness.  Thankfully, it was smooth sailing and I enjoyed the ride.

After disembarking, I was waiting for the shuttle to take me to the United States Immigration Station (USIS) when I noticed a female Canada goose proudly strutting around with her brood of eleven goslings! 

It was only about five minutes to the USIS, which from 1910 to 1940 served as the equivalent to Ellis Island on the East Coast.  The station processed immigrants from the Far East, and imprisoned World War II POWs from Germany, Japan and Italy.  By far, the greatest number of foreigners staying at the USIS were from China, due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  This legislation prohibited immigration by certain nationalities, and the station barracks housed such people until they were either granted admission or deported.  Newcomers to the island arrived at the wharf and after processing were assigned a bunk at the barracks.

Of much interest in the barracks are the Chinese characters...which are actually poetic verses...carved into the walls.  At the time, attempts were made to fill in and paint over the poems, but the detainees just kept replacing what was erased.  Another interesting thing was the paint itself...it's the original stuff!  Visitors are asked to refrain from touching any of the painted walls to help preserve them.  Oh, and that's the original leaded paint, too. 

While I was waiting for the shuttle for the return trip to the dock, I noticed some grass with pretty seed heads.  Always looking for a photo opportunity!

During the shuttle ride, I saw the ferry approaching from Tiberon.  It had been overcast all day and while admiring the view from the ferry, saw the Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in misty clouds.

Tomorrow, I'm going to spend the day among the redwoods.  I love big trees...sequoias, redwoods and my own backyard red cedars.  Only two more days of road trip fun...

San Francisco: The REAL crookedest street and the Disney story

So, I spent the night in San Bruno...it's cheaper than San Francisco.  After negotiating a little rush hour traffic, I found myself in the quiet Potero Hill district of the big city.  You won't find many tourists in this area, but if you do, they're probably there to see the REAL crookedest street.  Yes, Lombard Street may be more famous and has more curves.  But, Vermont Street is steeper, and its five curves are...more curvy.  When I got there, I carefully drove down the street, then doubled back to take a few pics.  From my vantage point in McKinley Square Park, I also got a great view of the city.

After coming down from the hill, I drove to The Presidio to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum.  I had been there once before, but didn't spend a lot of time there.  This time, I wanted to leisurely take it all in.  This museum tells the story of the great Walt Disney.  From his childhood and family life, his early beginnings as an illustrator, then cartoonist, his animated and live action movies, and finally Disneyland.  Disney was a creative genius and an immense talent in almost everything that he did.

I was fascinated by Walt's actual early sketches of Mickey Mouse.  Conceptual art by other artists working under him were also cool to see...Ferdinand the Bull, Jiminy Cricket, World War II nose art for planes.

Walt enjoyed collecting miniatures, including tiny tools, guns and household items.  I thought the display about him liking Jello and canned chili was amusing.  Actually, Walt may not literally like canned chili, but he DID have his favorite recipe.  I ate lunch at the museum cafe and they supposedly had his favorite chili on the menu.  It was delicious!

Of course, no museum about Walt Disney would be complete without including the Disney parks.  There was a nice diorama of the original Disneyland, complete with the now non-existent Frontierland.  I had some fun operating the animatronic parrot, which is similar to what you would find in the Tiki Room.

After exiting the museum building, I heard a bird singing and looked up to see a white-crowned sparrow sitting on the edge of the roof.  He seemed to be very happy about something, chirping away!  Tomorrow, I'm planning to take a little boat ride.  It will be my last fling in the Bay area before I continue my drive north.

Pinnacles and seals...yes, seals again

I had a fun, but tiring day.  I did a lot of walking, but is was with purpose.  I spent the morning at Pinnacles National Park hiking to the Balconies Cave.  I visited Pinnacles in the past to hike, doing a very strenuous five miles to High Peaks.  Today was easier...just two miles...and I had a lot of photo opportunities while I was walking.  With Machete Peak overhead, I had Balconies Cave to myself...there were very few people around.

Hiking to the cave and back, there were wildflowers, butterflies and lizards that attracted my attention.  Naturally, my camera was pretty busy.  The red admiral and common buckeye butterflies were beautiful!

After eating my picnic lunch, I drove north on Hwy 1 to Año Nuevo State Park. The main attraction are the elephant seals which are present year round at this marine conservation area.  It was a long walk to the beach...over a mile...but it was worth it!  There were about 300 seals lounging on the sand.  Females, juveniles, calves and young males were going through their yearly molt.  It was all pretty impressive.  One female was actually looking at me as I snapped photos.

Offshore from the park is Año Nuevo Island with an interesting sight...an abandoned lighthouse station.  Currently, the only residents are seabirds...a lot of them!  

Tomorrow, I'll be spending most of the day in San Francisco.  It might rain a little, but that's OK.  I'm not really planning on doing much outdoors.  Four more full days of my road trip left!  Slowly making my way back home!