click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald KinneyI shot these late Tuesday afternoon, a mile or so upstream from where I normally hang out on the Lagunitas Creek.
click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald KinneyMany "locals" use the name of "Papermill Creek" interchangeably with "Lagunitas Creek", and yes, in the late 1800's Samuel P. Taylor built a water-powered paper mill in this area -- some of the stone foundations still exist. Today the area has been turned into a State Park and is a popular campground inside of a beautiful Redwood forest.
To quote Wikipedia:
The park is named for Samuel Penfield Taylor, who found gold during the California Gold Rush and used some of his money to buy a parcel of land along Lagunitas Creek. In 1856, Taylor built the Pioneer Paper Mill, the first paper mill on the Pacific Coast. In the 1870s, the North Pacific Coast Railroad was built between Cazadero and a pier in Sausalito where folks could catch a ferry to San Francisco. The railroad passed near Taylor's mill, and, ever the entrepreneur, he built the "Camp Taylor Resort" alongside the tracks. A destination for city-weary San Franciscans, the resort offered both a hotel and tent camping, as well as swimming, boating, fishing, and a dance pavilion.
click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald KinneyThese days it's all about the Coho Salmon in Lagunitas Creek -- or the lack thereof. Thanks to ocean pollution, the population of the Coho Salmon has declined over the years to where it is estimated that only 500 Cohos return to the creek to spawn and die after their two years at sea.
click photo for full-size imagephoto by Donald KinneyBut OH, the colors of the Lagunitas Creek...
And WOW, the tranquility of the area is almost overwhelming...
All of this, pretty much right in my backyard -- I KNOW I'm a lucky guy!
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