Grove of the Old Trees
Occidental, California
pictures and text (c) Stephen J. Martin
A nice walk among the redwoods.
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Discovering the redwood grove up in Occidental was quite a splendid turn of events. Being guided there under the handwritten notes of Sharon whom we met at a local jewelry and art store in town, we found it right where she'd described. From the moment we stepped out of the Jeep and into the forest, I felt not only the grandeur of the trees standing sentinel throughout the centuries, but the presence of spirits among us! What are these trees, what are these plants along the forest floor, and who are these spirits? The trees are ancient redwoods, and the bark really is red! Although the boughs loom out with great stretches of green, the wood itself is red and the fallen wood covers the forest floor in similar tones. The sunlight streaks through from overhead with magnificent beams of light, cutting between the veehs of the boughs wherever it can. The gentle breezes bend the branches and the streaks of light shift about in response, causing a magical light-dance to occur before our very eyes. Along the forest floor, paths of red bark cut their way around the scattered growths of greenest fern. We also found a meadow, of sorts, rich with grasses and poison oak. The spirits? I didn't ask their names or nature, but the one that accompanied me was remarkably friendly. She placed her hand on me from the very moment I stood up out of the Jeep and she led me around as if giving me a personal tour of her forest. That being said, I'll presume her to be a fairie. She had a very playful and frisky nature, and she stayed with me every step of the way till we returned to the parking area, at which point I considered inviting her home with us, but then thought better. She has her home and I have mine.
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Features:
Picnic tables and benches here and there along the trail.
The trail was almost flat, no real hills to worry about.
Very quiet and serene.
Watch out for:
We saw a swarm of bees buzzing around overhead at one point.
They didn’t bother us, but in the interest of keeping it that way,
we turned and walked down a different trail.
We saw a lot of sites concealed in the shrubs where Berkeley University
has stationed various test equipment. It’s best to be respectful and leave these things undisturbed.
We also saw a lot of poison oak, so be careful where you walk.
How to get there:
We came in from the Bohemian Highway as it passes through Occidental.
We went west on Coleman Valley Road, a very winding road.
We turned left on Joy Rd. and right on Fitzpatrick.
We followed Fitzpatrick almost to the end.
It is a very narrow road and we had to pull to the side from time to time in consideration for oncoming traffic.
Just past the iron grates on the road that prevent cattle from wandering we saw a turn out on the right where we could park.
In that parking lot is a gateway plainly marked Grove of the Old Trees.
The parking area is just a dirt turnout from the main road so don't miss it by looking for a big sign.
This is my feeble but workable map. If you want something more similar to Google maps, I recommend putting Bohemian Hwy & Coleman Valley Rd Occidental, CA 95465 into Google maps to get you started from your place.
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Meet Stephen (Nude Tea) on MySpace
Redwoods on Wikpedia, which in this grove would be Coast Redwoods.
Fairies on Wikipedia, which although presented as mythological ... I believe!!
My hobbies include writing poetry about the faeries, elves, gnomes, mermaids and magic of the Sebastopol, Bodega Bay, Sonoma County area.
I wrote Nude Tea which is available at online bookstores like Barnes and Nobles.
My
44 Summer Stories are available at WildChildPublishing.com
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My Stories |
| Dyan N. Livven |
| Joey Slitherton |
| Remember The Children |
| A Mermaid Story |
| Mermaid of Zennor |
| Defender of the Last Elf |
| A Mermaid Song |