Big Basin Redwoods Park

Big Basin Redwoods Park

California's first state park stretches from the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific. It was founded in 1902 to protect over 20,000 acres of ancient coastal redwood forest.

San Francisco: day 28
My friend C picked me up at Palo Alto station for a big day out in the mountains. It's been the best day of my trip, and that's a tall order. Highlights include:

> Whole Foods Market for picnic food and custom lattes. The place is massive and busting with brightly coloured delicious everything. If only David Foster Wallace (God rest his soul) could write an article about it. My friends call the place Food Porn.

> Ear-popping mountain roads with precipitous drops, hairpin turns and treacherous embankments. C did a great job driving, and no white knuckles even. The hills were carpeted in pine as far as I could see.

> Big Basin Redwoods Park. Holy. Monster. Trees. No wonder Redwoods are held sacred in many cultures. Living giants. The trees in this forest are between 1,000 and 2,000 years old, yet C found sprigs on the ground with cones so new and tiny they were no bigger than corn nibblets. Many of the trees have been singed in forest fires, some of them right through their cores, and still they're alive, supporting complex ecosystems. I saw one tree with a rivulet running down its trunk.

> Coastal drive from Santa Cruz to San Gregorio up Highway 1. Which, no wonder the views are legendary. We stopped at a beach to watch a 'flock' of surfers whipping around with those kite-sail things. Nevermind the sign that read "Warning: sharks"

> A walk up the beach head at San Gregorio where the view of sea goes on forever and ever. Amen.

> Dinner at the Peninsula Fountain & Grill after picking up J from Stanford. We laughed and ate til we were stuffed and exhausted. They dropped me off at the station and went home to lounge with their cats. My friends are so great.