Last Car Out of Muir Woods
Last Car Out of Muir Woods
My friend Anh Tuyet and I made a spur of the moment afternoon decision to head across the Golden Gate Bridge and go up to Muir Woods. I have a National Parks Senior Card, and I can get myself and everyone in my car into any Natiional Park for free.
Muir Woods is a redwood forest that's part of the National Park Service. It's ringed with easy-to-negotiate paved and plank paths, and there are any number of mountain trails laid out to explore. Anh Tuyet was feeling adventurous, so we left the forest floor and took off on one of the winding mountain trails.
By the time we got back down to the main walkways, the sun was beginning to dim, and the redwoods were transitioning into evening. As we walked through the forest, fewer and fewer people were in the park. It was like we had the whole place to ourselves. We could stop in place and soak up the thick cathedral silence of the huge redwood trees.
While we were walking back towards the entrance, night got closer and it started to rain. I didn't mind the rain, because it enhanced the sounds and smells and ambiance of the night-time forest. Night birds came out.
We stopped on one of the wood bridges that crosses Redwood Creek, and let the sounds of the stream wash through our senses. I wanted to take it home, so I recorded a video. There's nothing to see, because of the darkness, but you can still hear the creek. If anyone wants the let the sounds of Redwood Creek in Muir Woods run through your body and mind and spirit, click the video link.
As we got back to the park entrance, the ranger shack was dark, and our car, which we'd parked way down the road, was the last one left. There are some twisty cliffside switchbacks on the way out, and they don't have any guard rail. Fall out the passenger door, and you'll plunge down a cliff. It got a bit hairy on the wet, night-time roads, and I spent a lot of time in first or second gear. But we made it across the bridge, and back into San Francisco. It was a day well spent.
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I've actually made it this far, so why not take advantage of whatever's available?
When I went up to Lake Tahoe last year, I got admission to the State Parks for a fraction of full price, too. All I had to do was ask!
Thank heavens the republicans are being kept from selling off our national, state, and local treasures to slash 'n' burn developers.
