Smithwoods RV Park. Felton CA. Monday 31st March 2008
Smithwoods RV Park in Felton, Calfornia is just a paradise & the sun is out & shining & Wayne is cooking porriage for breakfast before we get ready for the train trip to Bear Mountain.

We are back from the Roaring Camp Railroads Steam train trip through the ancient redwoods up to Bear Mountain which incorporsates 180 acreas. The Roaring Camp Railroads & Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park are located in Felton just six miles north of Santa Cruz. Roaring Camp operates two heritage railway lines offering visitors spectacular views of giant coastal redwood trees, lush canyons & forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains & Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park & the other train trip is to the beach at Santa Cruz.

We arrived in the carpark of the Railway Station & the attendent 'ripped' $6- off us for parking which did not make Wayne to impressed but we were in time to hear the steam train 'letting off steam' & it sounded exactly like the steam trains you see in the movies & it is used to be special logging steam train to bring the logs from the top of the mountain back to Felton Sawmill.

We purchased our tickets & then had a look around the tourist shop & then strolled across to the little train station to wait with the crowd of parents, grandparents & children running around making 'tot tot' sounds & chugging their arms back & forth like a stream train.

I asked in the shop did they have food on on the train & the lady looked at me as if I had asked the stupidish question she had ever heard & replied 'no but we sell nibbles & drinks here'. So I brought a packet of almonds & a piece of disgusting 'beef jerky' with cracked peper on it,  for Wayne which he loves & it makes me feel sick to even look at it.

As we were waiting for  the steam train to finally blow its last stack of steam & whistle Wayne tells me that the train is completely open without windows & then I said is there any toilets - NO was the answer so I was patiently waiting for the worst to happen & yes it did it did - It was very cold & open carrages without roofs & with only one carriages with a roof but no window glass & the seats were made of wood & were freezing on your bum so off we 'steam' luckily we brought our coats along.

I found the Redwood tress & pines the most beautiful trees in which there were 180 acres & they were so high & covering the forest from the sun. There are thousands of years old & keep growing from a sucklings at the bottom of the trees & when you looked at the huge redwood around you can not help but feel how luck you are to be able to see these ancient redwoods.

There were the remains of some beautiful old wooden train bridges above us which were destroyed in a fire some years ago & they had to re-track the lines to another slightly lower area of the forest. I am still unsure why they did not repair the wooden bridges.

All in all it was a very interesting steam train trip, extremely interesting history & beautiful country even though it was cold & no dunnys in sight!

When we got back to the camp we built another fire & had a great night by the camp fire.