The Skunk Train Railbikes

To call Fort Bragg a quaint coastal town would be an understatement.  Tucked in the upper left hand of California, the onetime hub of the lumber industry sits at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by redwoods.  It’s also home to the Skunk Train, a heritage railway that up to a few years ago was able to take weekend visitors on a forty mile tour through the middle of an old growth forest.  That is, until the spring of 2013 when a series of tunnel collapses along the route left the company with little more than three miles of track.  According to SF Gate, when it was up and running its complete route, the railway was responsible for 50,000 visitors a year.  Clearly, the local economy was depending on a draw now that the train was not able to deliver its normal run.  The innovative solution to the problem was something called a railbike.  

Gathered at the depot and ready to go.

The kids loved that logo.

A railbike is a cleverly-engineered, human-powered affair to get out of town on a set of train tracks.  The two seat bikes are built off of an aluminum frame making them light and easy to pedal.  In case riders haven’t been putting in the miles on the road back at home, they are equipped with an electric assist motor that allows riders to take in the scenery without breaking a sweat .  As light as they are, safety is at the heart of the design.  All railbikes have disc brakes, seat belts, and riders are required to wear helmets.  In addition, they ride on plastic wheels so they run in near silence as riders cut out and get away from it all.  As an added bonus, since the bike rides on rails, there’s no need to steer.  All riders have to do is pedal and take in the experience.

Riding on plastic wheels

Patiently awaiting instructions.

Looking as about as 2021 as a photo gets.

We met up with our guides for an orientation before our departure from the Skunk Train depot.  Doubling as a well appointed gift shop with old time charm, the depot sits next to the Pacific Ocean and is worth a stop even if a trip out on the rails isn’t in the cards.  After crossing a city street and sailing past the town’s graveyard, the route we were on was swallowed up by an ancient forest. Aside from the tracks and several trestles, signs of civilization slipped away as we moved deeper into it. The air was cool and the light was filtered by the canopy.  Even on the hottest days, I can’t imagine anyone getting overly blasted by the sun.  Trees, ferns, and the meandering Puddle Creek served as just the thing we needed as our reintroduction to the world after a year and a bit in Covid isolation.  

Even the moss was overgrown.

Trees, trestles, and fresh air.

Pulling into Glen Blair Junction.

After several miles of meditative bliss on the rails, it was time for a layover in Glen Blair Junction.  While the guides set up the turntable and spun the bikes back around the direction from whence they came, we were left to their own devices.  The options are pretty simple: sit at the picnic tables and listen to the birds tweet, or take in a mild hike. 

That tunnel up ahead was the driving force of the Skunk Train Railbike adventure.

We opted for the hike.  The trail is immaculately well taken care of.  Aside from the trees, plan on seeing plenty of ferns and mushrooms in the understory.  While the trail does have a climb, like all things on the railbikes trip, ease of use is at the heart of it. My five year old was able to make the trek with nary a peep.  It loops and eventually ends with an overhead view of the Glen Blair Junction.  By the time we made it back down the hill, it was time for us to depart and make our return to town. 

Great spot for a photo.

A year in the same zip code is a long time.

The view of Glen Blair Juntion.

The whole trip was about three hours total.  This gave us plenty of time to take in Glass Beach before we got back on the road and headed to parts northward.  For anyone who may be interested in a trip that’s a bit more strenuous and more of a time commitment, there is a new adventure available since we took our outing. If the grove looks at all familiar that may be because woods like these just a few miles away doubled as the forest moon Endor in the filming of The Return of the Jedi.

We were assured those weren’t blaster marks left from the production of The Return of the Jedi.

Skunk Train Railbikes

100 West Laurel Street

Fort Bragg, California 95437

707 964-6371

Looking for somewhere to eat?  Make a trip to Princess Seafood. Interested in other unique rail experiences? In Los Angeles take a look at Angel’s Flight. In Sacramento, make a visit to the California State Railroad Museum.

This post is based on a visit made on June 12, 2021

Rock City - Chattanooga

If there was ever a moment in the last hundred years to advise someone not to open a business, it would have to have been 1932.  The Great Depression was only just beginning to grind. Bank runs and double digit unemployment were the norm. The Dust Bowl wiped out family farms and displaced people throughout the country.  However, right in the thick of the chaos, Garnet and Frieda Carter decided to open Rock City in Chattanooga, Tennessee. With little more than optimism and a vision for what could be, the Carters figured that they had the next great roadside attraction on their hands and it was as good a time as any to share it with the world. Their courage to chase a dream despite the oppressive uncertainty of their times speaks to the very soul of what it means to be an American.  A visit should serve as an inspiration to all of us laboring under the weight of the twenty-first century.   

The view from the top of Lover’s Leap.

 A visit to Rock City illustrates the kind of American optimism that worked for Garnet and Frieda Carter and that we need to find within ourselves.  It is like a patchwork quilt of fantastic reasons to stop the car and take a look. According to their website, Mrs. Carter planted over 400 plants, shrubs, and trees throughout.  However, calling it an arboretum would not be accurate. Seated high atop Lookout Mountain, Rock City features a looping trail that winds past some amazing natural terrain as well as the Carter’s own whimsical touches. The trail offers visitors an opportunity to walk across a rope bridge and to see a waterfall on the edge of the cliff.   If there is any part of Rock City that could be considered a centerpiece, it would be Lover’s Leap. Poised at the edge of a 1700 foot cliff, visitors are offered a stunning view of the land below. It’s supposed to look into seven different states, although rock city acknowledges there is no science behind the claim. While Lover’s Leap is magnificent, there is much more to see. 

The trail back from Lover’s Leap twists through a series of granite outcroppings with names like Fat Man’s Squeeze and Goblin Underpass.  At times, visitors may find themselves squeezing between two ancient rocks separated by inches, and at other points, ducking as they creep through tunnels along the way.

Looking for gnomes.

The first of many gnomes spottings.

I lost count of which number gnome this was.

Despite the natural beauty of the place, the Carters added their own touches to the land and in the process, enhancing an already incredible experience.   An enthusiast of European folklore, Frieda also integrated her collection of gnomes throughout, transforming it from a nice place to take a walk in the afternoon to something much more fanciful.   The final portion of the trail leads to Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village. In both areas of the caverns, kids are treated to scenes of classic storybook tales and nursery rhymes brought to life through dioramas.  While not high tech, they will hold a kid’s attention and engage their imaginations.  

It was cold and rainy when we arrived at Fairyland Caverns.

Regardless of the odds, their variety of ragtag entrepreneurship created a family business that has drawn a steady stream of curious people for almost ninety years.  Based on the number of people willing to pay the admission the day we visited, it looks like they will be around for 90 more. Rock City is a location that could easily be visited during all four seasons.  

There are several food locations within Rock City although we didn’t try any.  However, we can vouch for the Purple Daisy Picnic Cafe at the bottom of Lookout Mountain.  Their barbecue was so good, after we ate, we took an order to go for the drive up to Gatlinburg.

This entry was based on a visit to Rock City on December 28, 2019.

Interested in seeing some other one of a kind family businesses? If you’re in California, take a look at Tio’s Tacos or M and M Nursery. If you need a great place to take kids in Nashville, take a look at the Adventure Science Center.

Rock City

1400 Patten Road

Lookout Mountain, GA 30750

706.820.2531

800.854.0675

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater

Los Angeles is a deeply conflicted city.  Bukowski recognized it. So did Wambaugh. X’s Los Angeles is hardly a love song to the city of Angels.  Even Miley Cyrus took time to reflect on how vapid and unfriendly a place it can be. It’s a place that manufactures images of perfection and sells them to the world, but stumbles over its ability to improve itself.  For all of its sunshine and warmth, it’s an inhospitable place full of strangers. It wants to be palm tree lined streets and clean lines, an ideal attempting to emulate a Nagel print. However, what lies beneath is a decaying metropolis, almost completely absent of joy.  

Here comes the hype man.

Be ready to sit on the floor.

And yet, while it is a city of brooding unhappiness, it is also home to The Bob Baker Marionette Theater.  For fifty-five years, the theater company has offered up a place where families can come in and shake off the weight of the city.  What happens in that little concrete building sitting in a fold between the high rises of downtown and Echo Park is pure magic. It’s a place where puppeteers transport a room full of children on an afternoon of wonder with little more than their collected imaginations.  It is one of those very special places where even the worst in life can be corrected with nothing more than some laughter and a little bit of ice cream.

In late July, the editorial staff of Animated Meat headed out with children in tow in order to experience the Bob Baker Marionette Theater at their 1st Street location.  What we found was absolutely amazing. A performance by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater is remarkable because they are able to produce so much from a few simple ingredients. There is nothing more to be found than a capable crew of puppeteers, a pre-recorded soundtrack, and a room full of kids.  That’s it. And yet, when the lights dim and the first puppet steps out front and center, something special goes on in that space. It’s a kind of magic where the outside world and all of its troubles cease to be.

All of this joy is about to be released onto the streets of Los Angeles.

With an ever changing parade of puppets over the course of the show, it is evident that the late Mr. Baker understood a child’s attention and knew how to feed the sense of awe, with princesses, robots, dancers, and monsters, all twirling and moving to songs recorded in a bygone era.  Every weekend, the theater company welcomed another group of children and entertained them without the slightest shred of irony or cynicism. There is no cool here. Brownie points are not awarded for being clever or cutting. Unlike companies like Disney who have figured out how to maximize profits, the Bob Baker Marionette theater only charged fifteen dollars for a show.  The only thing for sale is a five dollar marionette. The constant push to maximize the profit margin does not exist within these four walls. It is an art produced for one reason, to delight children and provide them some shelter from a harsh city that has provided very few safe harbors.

Rules we should all be able to abide by.

Over the course of his life, Bob Baker made several thousand puppets. These ones were stored in one of the hallways.

These puppets are set to perform at the Halloween Spooktacular.

Currently, the company is in a state of flux, opting to shut their doors and become a puppet show in residency for the time being.  For the next few months, people can catch a show at the Southern California Children’s Museum in Pasadena. However, they just announced a new, permanent home on York Avenue in Highland Park.  The proposed theater will be created from unrealized designs drawn out by Bob Baker himself. While the news sounds optimistic, I can’t help but think that the potential loss of this theater says so much about the value this era and this city puts on children.  It’s jarring to consider that something so special and necessary to the common good of a conflicted place like Los Angeles has such an uncertain future. Los Angeles would be a sadder, grimmer place without it.

Jacque giving his two cents on the staging of this photo.

Jacque was telling me about the composition of this sign and how the color played off the black background. Kids say the darndest things.

Interest in seeing a show?  Follow this link. Aside from being a spectacular place to let a kid’s imagination run wild, it is also a 501 C3 non-profit organization. Interesting in making a donation?  Follow this link.

Portrait of the artist preparing to fly away.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater

4949 York Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90042
213 250-9995

Looking for some unique places to take kids? When in Hollywood, pay a visit to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In Nevada, make sure to stop at Valley of Fire State Park.