Riding the steam train

To Mommy's surprise there is really such a thing nearby! （无知的妈妈）

Last Saturday is a rare warm and sunny day in the bayarea. Daddy found out about this ride from the web -http://www.roaringcamp.com/outdooradventure.html We were supposed to leave home by 9am, yet we missed the target time again. Not too bad this time, it was just delayed by 1 hour. Our plan was to do a little walk on the trail next to the train station before the ride, yet by the time we got there, it just didn't seem possible. Daddy lined up to get ticket and we had an early packed lunch. According to the info on the web, there is only 1 ride per day in the winter, but that was the President's Day long weekend, they added 1 more ride after the 12:30pm one. It was quite crowded in that little place and the train was fully packed. We were on the 12:30pm one. The train head is called #2. She has been serving for a long time. It's quite amazing to see how the white steam and black smoke coming out of the engine. The carriages are all open air, except the last one. So most people could sit and look up the sky to see the tall redwood trees. About 2/3 up the mountain, the train will stop, and the last 2 carriages will be disconnected from the front, apparently at certain angle/level, #2 couldn't handle the weight, or maybe they purposedly design it that way so passengers could have the experience. #2 will continue up the mountain, while the last 2 carriages will be pushed by a small engine at the back. Then they will be reconnected at the next slope. We had a 15 mins break at the top of the Bear Mountain. Then on the way back down, they did the same disconnection and reconnection. The whole trip last about a little over 1 hour, April had a good time there. She was scared by the steam at one point, when they released the pressure on the way down and we sat on the first carriage right behind the steam head. And the funny thing was she asked us, "Where's the seat belt?" Haha, no need in such a slow train.

The conductor gave a pretty good narration about the train and history, but the only thing Mommy could remember is the fact that such a ride requires 600 gallons of water. And to boil the water, it also requires some kind of oil, which is why we see the black smoke. What a waste of energy and resources!