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| Railroad Trestle - Henry Cowell State Park Photo by Madeline Horn |
Last week we finally took the world's advice and went on a date without the baby. This was our first outing together without Wilder since he came home from the hospital 2 months ago. We'd planned a matinee film, but we were persuaded by the glorious sunny day to change plans to an outdoor picnic.
We hiked down to the Garden of Eden swimming hole from Highway 9. The path from the road brings you through redwoods, past lush fern gullies, and along the railroad tracks to the beautiful Garden of Eden.
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| View from the beach at the Garden of Eden Photo by Madeline Horn |
Mini rapids and waterfalls flow between a series of swimming holes. A few small beaches allow space for sunbathing before jumping in. Vertical redwood trees spike towards the sky on either side of the river. We picnicked on egg salad sandwiches, cheese, salami, apricots and oatmeal stout. Then we jumped in to the cool refreshing water without allowing 15 minutes - oops!
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| Photo from July 2013 of me and my sister Melissa at Garden of Eden Photo by Dorris Welch |
A current flows through the middle of the largest swimming hole, giving you something to do in the water - let yourself ride the current, then swim back up, and start all over again. I adore the exhilirating feeling of cool river water on my scalp on a hot day. Nothing compares to it.
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| Trestle Photo by Madeline Horn |
Kimo is a jumper. He told me how he once jumped off a tree limb into the water at Garden of Eden. To me, it seems fool hardy and dangerous, but it also makes me love him more. He didn't pull any daredevil stunts on our picnic date.
On our walk back to the road Kimo showed me the railroad trestle, a short detour up the tracks towards the main part of Henry Cowell. He grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and has a map of all the trails, trees, and swimming holes in his heart. He has many memories in each forest location he brings me to.
The trestle is covered in scratch graffiti - silver paint revealing red rust letters. Lots of the graffiti is from decades past. The oldest piece we found was from 1971! It was fun to photograph, even though I only had my phone to take pictures that day. The trestle passes over the beautiful San Lorenzo River. There are so many spots to wade, splash and swim on the river. It's a never ending source of recreation and inspiration.
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| San Lorenzo River Photo by Madeline Horn |
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| Kimo Photo by Madeline Horn |
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