A Sunday Drive on the Backroads

Hovering over my computer maps, I’d been looking for something to do with the family. A nice weekend drive in the mountains seemed just the ticket. As I looked along Summit Road, I recalled hearing that the gated-off section had been open to traffic for several months now. Why not check it out, I thought?

I first tried a little online research, but the Summit Rd. Assn. website appeared to be hopelessly out of date. I recalled that the last few times I’d been south of the Loma Prieta split, the dirt road had been nicely graded. I suspect that this was part of the Summit Road Fire efforts. I also conjectured that perhaps these improvements had ushered in a new era of detente, resulting in the open gates.

As I thought about the route, an additional thought arose. We could make a large loop – over 66 miles – almost entirely on backroads… Most of the drive would be scenic and interesting, with very little wasted time or distance. Only a hop from one highway exit to the next (less than two miles) would be needed, and even that would be in the foothills of the mountains. This sounded pretty good to us, so off we went.

Being no stranger to these backroads, it came as no surprise that we had a very nice, leisurely drive. The drive through the gated section of Summit brought heightened awareness and a little tension, but I drove steadily and carefully through, only slowing to snap a few pictures in some open stretches. We encountered no vehicles or people on the entire stretch. It was great fun to see it for the first (and hopefully not the last) time.

Not long after that, we had procured snacks at the Summit Store. It was a warm day, and since the shaded outdoor tables were all taken, we drove off to look for a good place to eat. A few miles later I pulled over next to a redwood grove that had – of all things – a palm tree growing in the middle of it.

Small Gallery of Photos

This turned out to be just one of three Santa Cruz mountain drives this month. It was the shortest and briefest drive, but still fun. Details and photos from the other two drives will be posted next.