This entry was posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 3:48 am and is filed under Animals, Bay Area Backroads, Holidays, Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
After visiting Natural Bridges State Park we went a few miles North on Highway 1 to Wilder Ranch. None of us had been before, and frankly if it hadn’t been recommended by the guide at Natural Bridges we probably wouldn’t have even tried to go. Fortunately for us, we did, and this brief trip off the beaten path was well worth the visit - on this day more than most.
Normally, Wilder Ranch would be just that. A working farm that offers a brief respite for people looking to “get away from it all” without going too far. Their claim to fame includes miles and miles of hiking trails, cool weather, and an overall atmosphere that seems to promote hiking and biking activities. What we saw was outstanding and I would definitely recommend to anyone to at least stop by. As a note, parking fees at either park allow you to park in the other park for no additional fee (can you believe how many times I got to use “park” in that sentence?)
On this special day they were having some sort of Christmas spectacular that included special activities for children (we were too late for most), people using the old farm instruments, and a beautiful black horse that was being ridden by one of the nicer people that I’ve met in the California Park system. Of course, what we did get to enjoy, in addition to saying hello to the animals, was a bunch of children’s games, including blowing bubbles, the sawhorse pony, and stilts. The girls had loads of fun. Before leaving we got some water from the farm faucet and played in one of the coolest trees that you could possibly imagine. If I had to guess, this tree was from the juniper family, but it was HUGE and created one of the best climbing trees you can ever hope to see.
After all this we took a trip into downtown Santa Cruz for dinner and a little shopping. The area was packed and if we weren’t starving I probably wouldn’t have stayed. In retrospect, though, it was wonderful and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Plus, as an added bonus, we got to see Santa!
Before leaving we visited a few stores (Mama got another pair of shoes) and even took a ride in a horse drawn carriage. We all enjoyed that immensely, and I am really thankful to the City of Santa Cruz for making an effort to bring the season to the city. The choir singing carols was wonderful, too. Best part for mama and papa? Both girls fell asleep for the night (after no nap) on the way home so we could relax. Whew.
Papa
