Bishop: Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site; things to do

High Sierra: Highway 395

Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site  

Off Hwy. 6, 4.5 mi. N of Bishop, (760) 873-5950.  Daily 10am-4pm.  $5; train rides additional.  No dogs.

visitor center at Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site in Bishop, California

antique train at Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site in Bishop, California

A replication of the 1883 frontier community of Laws that developed here as a railroad depot for Bishop, the 11-acre Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site  features 30 original 19th-century buildings.  Some were here from the past, and others were brought in to recreate the town.  You can visit a newspaper office, a beauty parlor with a scary-looking permanent wave machine,

permanent wave machine at Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site
in Bishop, California

a post office, a medical building, a replica mine shaft and headframe, and way more.  When the town sprang up, nearby Keeler was the largest producer of silver in California and Laws had as many residents as Bishop.  Vintage locomotives and railroad equipment as well as mining equipment are sometimes operated.  A restored Death Valley tourist railroad car is restored and often available for rides on summer weekends.

restored Death Valley tourist railroad car
at Laws Railroad Museum and Historic Site in Bishop, California

This railroad shut down in 1959, hurt by the popularity of trucking.  “Nevada Smith” starring Steve McQueen was filmed here in 1965.  Visitors can wander through on their own, but sometimes docents are available for a tour.  Pack along a picnic.

These videos are tons of fun:


This handcar was built from a kit.














More things to do along Highway 395.

More things to do in nearby Yosemite.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images and videos ©2018 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
docent in videos is Jay Smart

Fort Bragg and Willits: Skunk Train; things to do

1 North and 101 North

Skunk Train   

Fort Bragg

Foot of Laurel St., (707) 964-6371.  Daily; schedule varies.  $25, 3-11 $15, infants and dogs $10/$10.  Reservations advised.  

The Skunk Train was founded in Fort Bragg in 1885 as a division of the Union Lumber Company.  The tracks are standard gauge, 4’ 8½”.  The line was extended east to harvest trees for milling and arrived in Willits in 1911.  The railroad took 26 years to build and was once used to deliver mail along the way.  The train gets its name from the fact that the original logging trains emitted unpleasant odors from their gasoline engines.  Loggers said they “could smell ‘em before they could see ‘em.”  It is an interesting factoid that the nickname and logo character was created in 1925, 3 years before Mickey Mouse arrived on the scene.  Today, a few vintage motorcars are still used in winter, but most trains are pulled by steam or diesel engines as they travel through dense redwood forest, through deep mountain tunnels, and over many bridges and trestles.  The Pudding Creek Express is a 1-hour, 7 mile round-trip excursion, turning at Glen Blair Junction. 
 

family gets ready to board Skunk Train in Fort Bragg, California

Willits

299 E. Commercial St., (707) 964-6371.  Year-round.  $84/$109, 2-12 $42/$67, infants & dogs $10/$10.  Reservations advised.  

The Northspur Flyer makes a 40-mile, 4-hour round-trip from Willits to Northspur.  The journey includes plenty of switchbacks, and you’ll go through a tunnel and see ancient groves of magnificent redwoods.  A BBQ Dinner Excursion chugs along the same route, and traveling to remote Camp Noyo to spend the night camping is also an option.  

Skunk Train depot in Willits, California

passenger boards Skunk Train in Willits, California

riding through the redwoods on Skunk Train in Willits, California

More things to do in Fort Bragg.

More things to do in Willits. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 
 
images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Pt. Richmond: Golden State Model Railroad Museum; things to do

80 North

Golden State Model Railroad Museum  

900 Dornan Dr./Garrard Blvd., (510) 234-4884.  Apr-Dec; closed Jan-Mar.  View layouts only, W 11-3 & Sat 12-5; free.  Trains operate only on Sun 12-5; $4, 63+ & 4-11 $2, families $10. 

The immense layout of the Golden State Model Railroad Museum is operated by the East Bay Model Engineers Society, which started in 1933 and is one of the oldest continually operating model railroad clubs in the country.  Club members are seen popping up here and there like meerkats amid the 10,000 square-foot layout, which is the largest in Northern California and which incorporates three scales of toy trains--O, HO, and N--traveling through a miniature California.  My grandkids quickly found the wrecked trains in a gully and injured play animals--one had lost its head.  Oddities abound.  When you arrive, ask for a scavenger hunt worksheet so you can try to find items in the display such as a haunted house and an occupied outhouse.  Theme days occur on the fourth Sunday, and an exciting annual Wreck Day in November finds trains derailing and havoc reigning.

exterior of Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

entrance to Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

interior of Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

interior of Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

child points out wrecked train at Golden State Model Railroad Museum
in Pt. Richmond, California

club member at Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

layout detail at Golden State Model Railroad Museum in Pt. Richmond, California

More things to do in Pt. Richmond.

More things to do in nearby Richmond.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images and video ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Jamestown: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park; things to do

Highway 49--Gold Rush Country

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park  

Fifth St./Reservoir St., (209) 984-3953.  Park:  Daily 9:30-4:30, Apr-Oct; 10-3 Nov-Mar; free.  Train:  Sat-Sun 11-4, on the hr.; Apr-Sept only; $12, 6-17 $6; first class $20/$15. 

Be sure to arrive at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park early enough to watch the hubbub that surrounds preparing the train for departure.  The depot is full of excitement as the steam train rolls in and out, sounding its screaming whistle and belching a mix of fire, smoke, and steam.  The Sierra No. 3 steam engine pulls passengers at 5 m.p.h. on a 40-minute, 6-mile round trip.  Listen for the “toooot-toooot-toot-toooot” at railroad crossings, which I learned dates back to when this Morse code for “Q” was used in England to announce that the Queen was coming.  Special trips are sometimes scheduled.

interior of train at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California

interior of train at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California

A free tour is available of the six-stall roundhouse turntable and machine shop, where the trains are still serviced.  (This is one of only two remaining fully-operational original short-line roundhouse complexes in the U.S.)  Here you’ll see the Sierra Railway car, which was built in San Francisco and has probably been robbed more times in the movies than any other railcar in the world.

exterior of roundhouse at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
in Jamestown, California

roundhouse tour at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California

roundhouse tour at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California

If it all looks familiar that could be because more than 200 TV shows and movies have been filmed here, including Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, The Virginian, High Noon, and Pale Rider.  Hollywood use kept this railroad alive during the 1930s, and is credited in an exhibit displaying Hollywood-related memorabilia.  Note that most of the people who work at this park are not employees but instead enthusiastic volunteers who usually dress in period costume and are excited to educate you about the equipment.  

Hollywood exhibit at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, California

Ginger Dingus wears her engineer's hat with pins from prior train trips,
at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

More things to do in Jamestown.
   
More things to do in Gold Rush Country.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.
 
images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

San Mateo: Central Park; things to do

101 South 

Central Park  

El Camino Real/5th Ave., downtown, (650) 522-7434.  Free. Japanese Garden: M-F 10am-4pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm; free.  Mini train: Sat-Sun 11am-3pm, daily in summer; $2.

Dating from 1922, this is the oldest municipal park in the county.  Facilities in Central Park include a The Bianchi Railroad mini train--a miniature version of the long-gone Southern Pacific Coast Daylight—plus a rose garden, tennis courts, and a large, colorful playground. In summer free weekly concerts are presented in the park, and in winter the baseball diamond is converted into an ice-skating rink.

playground in Central Park in San Mateo, California

The park’s tidy Japanese Garden was designed by Nagao Sakurai, a former landscape architect at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.  Features include a teahouse (no tea service), a central pond divided by a narrow bridge (in spring and summer, koi are usually fed at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.), two waterfalls, a bamboo forest, a pagoda, and a shrine.  Narrow pathways are designed to make visitors slow down and really look.  Rare and unusual plants include a weeping beech and an umbrella pine.  No dogs are permitted. 

overview of Japanese Garden in Central Park in San Mateo, California

koi pond in Japanese Garden in Central Park in San Mateo, California

buddah in Japanese Garden in Central Park in San Mateo, California

More things to do in San Mateo.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.  

images ©2016 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated 1-22-19

San Francisco: "Walt's Trains" exhibit at The Walt Disney Family Museum

San Francisco

The Walt Disney Family Museum

A special exhibition, “Walt’s Trains,” is currently running at The Walt Disney Family Museum.  Using, vintage photographs, video, and artifacts, it explores the maestro’s interest in trains.  Several model trains chug through the exhibit as well.  The show is located in a separate building behind the main museum, which is a bit closer to the spectacular view here of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Walt Disney with Santa

You can purchase this in the gift shop.

view of Golden Gate Bridge from restroom at The Walt Disney Museum
in San Francisco

In fact, I was surprised and pleased to be able to enjoy a loo with a view—I could see the two orange towers from the women's restroom!  The train show runs through February 9, 2015. Admission is included with museum ticket.

 
More things to do in San Francisco

Way more things to do in San Francisco.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.  

two top images courtesy of venue; 

third image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers 

Fort Bragg: Laurel Deli & Desserts + Headlands Coffeehouse; restaurant review

1 North

Laurel Deli in Fort Bragg, California

Laurel Deli & Desserts  

401 N. Main St., (707) 964-7812.  Daily 7-4:30; $.

Located in an indoor mini-mall adjacent to the Skunk Train depot, the informal Laurel Deli & Desserts dishes up freshly made soups and sandwiches as well as gigantic blackberry muffins and delicious housemade pies.  Favorite items include a great clam chowder, burger, hot dog, and coleslaw.  A full-size antique locomotive adds atmosphere as part of the decor, and a coin-operated kiddie train ride joggles the kids. 

Headlands Coffeehouse in Fort Bragg, California

Headlands Coffeehouse  

120 E. Laurel St., (707) 964-1987.  M-Sat 7am-10pm, Sun 7am-7pm; $.

Operating now in the original location of Laural Deli, the low-key Headlands Coffeehouse brews 16 kinds of coffee and serves up baked goods, smoothies, Belgian waffles, sandwiches, salads, and pizza.  Live music is often scheduled in the evening. 



More things to do in Fort Bragg. 

More things to do in nearby Mendocino.

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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Walnut Creek: Vic Stewart’s; restaurant review

Greater East Bay

Vic Stewart’s  

850 S. Broadway, (925) 943-5666. D daily; $$$.  Reservations advised. Free valet parking. 

It’s hard to imagine a more romantic setting than dinner in one of the intimate refurbished dining cars at this premier steak house.  At Vic Stewart's you can snuggle with your honey in your own private compartment of the authentic 1901 Pullman dining car, sipping a jumbo martini and anticipating what delicious item might arrive next time the door swings open.  Perhaps it will be an appetizer platter laden with baked brie, sauteed wild mushrooms, and sizzling roasted garlic, followed by a serious steak (the top sirloin infused with Merlot is primo) and satisfying mashed redskin potatoes, and culminating with a decadent Chocolate Lover’s Pate to spread on cinnamon shortbread cookies.  More seating is available on a former platform of this converted 1891 Southern Pacific train station.


More things to do in Walnut Creek.

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image ©venue

Walnut Creek: Lindsay Wildlife Museum + Larkey Park + Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society; things to do

Greater East Bay

Lindsay Wildlife Museum  

1931 First Ave./Buena Vista Ave., in Larkey Park, (925) 935-1978.  W-F 12-5, Sat & Sun 10-5, in summer daily 10-5.  $8.50, 65+ $7.50, 2-17 $6.50.

live owl at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

This hands-on museum displays an indoor mini-zoo featuring more than 50 species of live, native California wild animals.  All have been injured or orphaned in the wild and are non-releasable.

et examines woodpecker at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

An adjacent wildlife hospital—which is the oldest and one of the largest animal hospitals in the U.S.--rehabilitates injured wildlife brought in by the public and releases them back into the wild when recovered.  You can view a treatment room, and sometimes an animals check-up by a vet is scheduled for everyone to observe.  We got to see a tiny Nuttall’s woodpecker be examined.

child pets bunny at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, California

Children can touch some of the wild animals as well as some domestic animals, and animal presentations are scheduled hourly.  Become a museum member and your children can as well check out an abandoned domestic animal from the Pet Library for a week; a small fee is charged, and a cage is included.

Larkey Park

Outside, inviting Larkey Park offers a public pool, a playground, and picnic tables and barbecue facilities.

Larkey Park playground in Walnut Creek, California

Larkey Park playground in Walnut Creek, California

Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society

Also in Larkey Park, the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society features a large and elaborate layout of mountains, bridges, and towns that measures 56 by 34 feet and has more than 4,300 feet of track.  It is self-described as “the most mountainous and one of the largest exclusively HO scale lines in the United States.”  Society members demonstrate their trains and answer questions, and every hour on the half-hour the lights dim and then flash to simulate nightfall and a storm.  When the building it is housed in opened in 1974, it was the first in California to be designed specifically to house a model railroad.  Admission fee. 



More things to do in Walnut Creek.

More places to see animals.

More trains in Northern California.

More trains around the world.

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

top 5 images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

bottom image courtesy of venue
updated 12-19-14

Oakland: Oakland Zoo; things to do

880 South 

Oakland Zoo

Have you ever wondered what superlatives reside at the superlative Oakland Zoo? 

When you visit the zoo with children, you have an excellent opportunity to teach them more about language.  Challenge them to see how many more superlatives they can find—the sleepiest, the quietest, the cutest, etc.  I visited with my three grandchildren, two of whom afterwards stuck to their guns about pre-visit animal favorites—the 4-year-old loves the giraffes and the teen adores the big cats.  I’m not sure about the 2-year-old, though he did stare for a long time at the meerkats.  This time I personally settled on the zebras--which we saw chasing each other--and the vividly colored frogs in the children’s area. 

A cafe at the main entrance offers hot lunch items—including a vegan burger and some vegetarian selections--but the food is ordinary and on the expensive side.  I suggest taking a picnic and supplementing it with the soda, ice cream, and other sweet treats that are dispensed from stands around the zoo.  A scattering of benches and grassy expanses invite a relaxing break. 

You’ll know it is time to start for the exit when you hear something like, “I’m done with the zoo,” as I did from my 4-year-old granddaughter, or, “But I don’t want to see the rabbits,” as I overheard another pre-schooler whine.  But before we left, we exited the zoo and boarded the Outback Express Adventure Train ride around Wild Australia, a part of the zoo you don’t otherwise see.

Check out the sun bears via webcam.


Way more things to do in Oakland.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

McCloud: Shasta Sunset Dinner Train (CLOSED); things to do

5 North 

Shasta Sunset Dinner Train

This train no longer operates.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

Ride the Reno Fun Train; things to do

Miscellaneous Adventures

Ride the Reno Fun Train

It's time to make reservations for this annual rolling party, the Reno Fun Train. The train will operate on February 19 and 26, and on March 5, 12, and 19, departing on Friday and returning on Sunday.
(800) 783-0783


More ideas for exploring Northern California.

"Fun Rick" image copyright 2010 Carole Terwilliger Meyers