Skunk Train - Eureka to Willits

I first discovered this little train back in the 70's (I know....and believe me it makes me feel ancient) I was living in the Bay Area (San Francisco Bay area) and on weekends I used to make little road trips in my VW van. ( I AM a sixty's left-over, you know). I used to like to drive north of San Francisco to this little town called Willits. I was always broke, just having enough to get there and stay the night in a motel. I could hear the train leaving throughout the weekend. I learned it went through the coastal range to Eureka. I imagined what you might see of that trip: the redwoods, the ferns, maybe animals. I always planned on getting to ride it. It only took me thirty years. It was worth the wait.

The cars are actual railway cars from the 1910 era. The staff is wonderful about assisting those with diabilities. If you notice the metal contraption beside the train, it was the manual lift they used to help my Mom board the train.
The round trip to Northspur (the turn-around point) takes about 2.5 hours. It travels though forest of redwoods and other conifers. The engineer gives you the history of the area and points out things of interest as you travel. They have a "dining car" where you can get snacks on your trip. As much fun as it is to ride IN the train - THE way to see the forest is on their "observation" car.
They have two flat bed cars with handrails. Standing there, you only have the trees and the sky over you. You can smell the forest scents and get a creak in your neck craning your head back to see the tops of the redwoods. It was my favorite part of the whole trip. It was dream realized. Mom and Tom couldn't take the standing, but were understanding about my going out there.

I took picture after picture, until my battery died.

They had live musical entertainment of the train. He was quite a character and fun to listen to. He provided our mealtime entertainment as well. He had some of littel kids dancing along with his songs.

At Northspur, they have a barbecue menu available. All the food is cooked over two large open air grills. In the fall, on weekends, you can get fresh grilled salmon. It is possible to pick a trip that goes all the way into Willits. They have over-night packeages available, where you could stay at a motel in town and take the train back to your original destination, going both east and west. They had to turn the train around on our trip, to go back to Eureka, so we had time to get lunch before boarding the train to go back.

I felt a little like I had completed something from my own "bucket list." It was as good as I had imagined it would be. It was special getting to share it with Tom & Mom. It was something none of us had done before and so it got to be a first for all of us together. If we ever do it again, I think I would drive down the freeway to Willits and ride the train from there. There are no services on the road from Hwy 5 to Eureka. It's about an hour and a half drive and you only travel about 50-60 miles. Twenty-two miles of it is hairpin turns. It's worse that Hwy 34, for my kids' reference.

On our way back to the motel, we stopped in Leggett to see the tree you can drive your car through. They had one along the Avenue of the Giants, but wanted to make you pay to do it. This one is in a state park and is free. Did we drive through? No. Go figure. We weren't sure the van would actually clear without scratching.