Jack London State Park

On Monday I had the day off for Presidents Day so we continued our adventures by heading to Jack London State Park in Glenn Ellen.  Jack London wrote Call of the Wild, White Fang and many other books.

Many of you know the winding road over "the mountain".  I forgot to mention in our trip to Fort Ross Allyson got sick just as we were at the bottom of the mountain. Luckily I had included a full change of clothes in the diaper bag (I don't usually do this).  My parents helped us clean up the mess at the gas station and all was well the rest of the day.  That was only the second time Ally has ever been carsick, but we were a bit apprehensive as we went over that very same mountain Monday.  Luckily there was not a repeat of that incident.

The park has a very nice museum, in The House of Happy Walls, but Allyson wasn't too interested.  She didn't like to stay with us, she wanted to run around the museum.  Daddy was nice enough to take her outside a couple of times so I could enjoy the exhibit.

After our visit I have done some of my own research to learn more about Jack London's life.  I found it interesting that the museum left out the more scandalous tidbits.  They didn't mention the confusion of who his father was and that his mother tried to commit suicide before he was born.  His supposed father wanted her to have an abortion but she didn't want to, so instead she tried to kill her self.  The museum also failed to mention his first marriage and the subsequent divorce.  With all the crazy and adventurous life he led I was surprised these details were omitted.

The House of Happy Walls was built by Jack London's second wife Charmian after he died.  It is so beautiful, with huge windows like this throughout the house.  This is a picture of the kitchen.  The house reminded me a lot of my Great Grandma's house, since I am sure much of it was from the same era.

The exterior of the House of Happy Walls.

We took the short hike to see the Wolf House.  The extravagant house The London's designed and had built but burned weeks before they were to move in.  The ruins were very impressive, it would've been an amazing house, with 9 fireplaces, refrigeration, heated water and a vacuum system. Pretty amazing for 1913. It was constructed with materials found on site, native stone and redwood.

Allyson on the viewing platform.

Posing with Grandpa near the Wolf House.

Allyson loved the hiking, unfortunately she had a hard time keeping up.  She wanted to stop and look at every rock and stick.  Daddy was nice enough to give her a ride once in a while.  She did a lot of hiking that day and did great.

We visited the London's cottage and the main buildings of the Beauty Ranch (Jack London's ranch).  All the barns and ranch buildings were made of stone, they are beautiful.  Even the manure storage was made of stone!

This is the Pig Palace.  Jack London had a lot of grand ideas he tried while ranching, some succeeded and other failed.  He designed this Pig Palace to reduce labor costs.  The central building held the feed and the pens are in a circle around the feed storage.  You could see how the pens were designed for easy cleaning and drainage.  He raised breeding stock and they were very well cared for.

I loved this state park and would love to go again.  There were a lot of trails that we didn't get a chance to explore.  It also got me excited to read Jack London's books, I requested The Valley of the Moon from the library and I can't wait to read it.