California Spring Break {Lessons Learned On a Steam Train}

On our last full day in California, we decided to go to Roaring Camp in the Santa Cruz mountains to see the Redwood Forest. We also bought tickets for the steam train that goes up the mountain through the redwoods. I hadn't ridden it since I was really little, so I was excited to do it again. It was also fun that almost all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins in the area were able to come with us.

When we got to Roaring Camp, we explored the model train exhibit for a few minutes, ate some lunch, and then went to hike through the redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park. It is one of my favorite places to be because it is so beautiful and serene. The entire walk through the redwoods is absolutely stunning. It had been a drizzly morning, so everything was so bright and colorful. The greens and yellows were amazingly crisp and vibrant. We meandered slowly along the path, taking our time to explore the inside of huge trees and even find some banana slugs. There were numbered trees along the path that you could read more information about. Each boy found the number that corresponded to his age and wanted a picture with it. So, here we are at numbers 3, 8, and 10.

Redwoods are such unique trees. They are the tallest living things on earth and can grow to over 300 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter. They can also live thousands of years. The ones at Henry Cowell State Park were 1400-1800 years old. Impressive, to say the least!

It was getting close to the time we were supposed to be at the train station, so we had to hurry through the last part of the hike. We finished just in time and headed over to board our train at Roaring Camp.

The trains at Roaring Camp are narrow-gauge steam locomotives. They date from the 1890's and are some of the oldest and best preserved working steam engines in the country. The route our train took was from the base camp to the top of Bear Mountain and back down. The train goes across trestles and up some of the steepest grades (8%) of any train in the U.S. It was supposed to be about a one hour round trip through the redwoods....

We departed a little bit late because the previous train was running behind schedule. After boarding and getting everyone situated, we started off on our journey. About 10 minutes into the trip, the train had to climb a steep section of track. The conductor, who was giving us information on the train and its history, said that on the previous trip the driver had to back up and try the hill 5 times before they were finally able to make it up. Apparently, the steam engine had recently been serviced, and wasn't quite running up to par. We started up the hill at a nice even pace. The engineer decided to try to not use full power to hopefully prevent slipping and stalling like the last trip. We got part-way up the hill, but the engine stalled out and couldn't make it. So we backed down the hill to a flat part in the track and got another running start. This time, the engineer went full throttle. Steam started gushing from the engine as we slowly and steadily climbed the steep hill and just barely made it.

We continued on for a few more minutes, but the next steep grade proved too much. The little engine couldn't make it. The engineer called back to the base camp for a diesel helper engine to come give us a push up the steep part. We waited for several minutes while the other train was started up and made its way to us. It hooked up and tried to push, but we were too heavy, so they had to remove one of the cars to lighten the load. We happened to be on the last car, so they took our car off, moved us to a siding, and pushed the rest of the train up the switchback. They then brought the helper engine and hooked us back up to the rest of the train. It took quite a long time, but it was so interesting to see how everything worked and what it would have been like to ride a steam train back in the day.

When the train was finally all hooked together again, we made our way to the top of the mountain where we were able to get out and explore for a few minutes. It really was beautiful and worth the ride. The redwoods were magnificent and the air was clean and fresh. We took some pictures, and then hopped back on for our trip down the mountain. We made it about 1/3 of the way down when all of a sudden, our engine derailed and we were completely stuck. By this point, many of the passengers were starting to get pretty annoyed and couldn't believe that we were stopped yet again. Most of our group was in pretty good spirits and got a good chuckle out of all the problems. The conductor announced that they would have to call the helper train to come back and take us down the mountain, and it wouldn't be here for another 20 minutes.

By the time the diesel helper engine arrived again, Hyrum was starting to get antsy, so the delay was getting less enjoyable. They determined that the angle of the track was too sharp to hook up to, so the diesel engine had to attach a chain to the first few cars and tow us to a place in the track that was straight enough to hook in. We were all starting to question if we were ever going to get down that mountain. Haha!

After several attempts, the diesel was finally able to connect to our car and get the train back down the mountain. Three hours after we started, we were finally back at base camp. To be honest, I thought it was a fascinating experience, and I was only slightly annoyed at all the problems. Our conductor was full of positivity the entire time, even though he was dealing with a lot of problems. At the end of our trip, he said he had never had anything like that happen before, and that usually the trip is a simple up and back down. Our little group did really well and had great attitudes, but I understand why so many of the passengers were angry. The railroad was very kind and refunded our entire ticket purchase price for the inconvenience. The tickets were not cheap, so I was happy to leave with a very memorable experience and all the money we spent back in our pockets.

As we were sitting on the tracks during all the various problems, I kept thinking about the talk that Gordon B. Hinckley gave several years ago about how life is like an old-fashioned rail journey. He was speaking at a fireside for Single Adults at the time. The fireside was about how life isn't always perfect, and we must look for the good in difficult situations. He said, "Life is like an old-time rail journey-- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." ("Big Rock Candy Mountains," Deseret News, 12 June 1973, A4)

I started to think about the life lessons that we could learn from our experience and how we could be thankful for the ride. Here is what I learned on our steam train journey and how it applies to life:

*Our steam engine stalled going up the first major hill and had to back up and try again. The second time it went full-throttle and was able to conquer that obstacle.  -- You only truly fail when you quit trying and stop learning from your mistakes.

*On the later switchbacks, the engine couldn't make it on its own power, and the diesel engine had to be sent to help push it up the hill. -- Sometimes in life, you don't have enough power to get through the difficult parts by yourself. In these times, Heavenly Father sends us a helper (an inspired person or persons) to give us added strength.

*When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we were able to stop worrying about the previous problems and enjoy the amazing view for a few minutes. -- There will be periods of rest in our lives where things are going well, and we can truly stop and enjoy the moment. These times of calm can be especially happy because we have felt the opposite as we have struggled through trials and overcome them.

*On the way back down the mountain our engine derailed and we were stuck. While we waited, Aunt Teresa commented, "There are many worse places that we could be stuck!" We looked around at how beautiful the nature around us was. We had great company, great conversation, and great scenery. -- With a positive attitude, any experience can become more of an adventure than a disaster. During the trials of life, an attitude of gratitude helps us enjoy the journey.

*In the end, we made it down safely and were rewarded with a memorable learning experience and a full refund!-- As with our lives, blessings come after the trials.