Don't Call Me Ishmael: A walk at redwood height

Sequoia Park Zoo

Sequoia Park Skywalk

Skywalk view

Bears being bears.

One last redwood encounter waited for Saturday morning.

Sure, we would cross numerous groves on the drive toward Chico. The trees would grow progressively smaller until we drove out of redwood climate. But there was a special grove in Eureka.

Traveling the residential streets, a surprising number of homes host the giant trees in their yards. But the biggest expanse in city limits comes at Sequoia Park, a old-growth grove donated to the city for preservation in the early 20th century.

At the base of these tall trees lies the Sequoia Park Zoo, California’s oldest zoo. While just 5 acres, the zoo was among the most animal friendly I had seen. Mostly covering native species, small animals from Asia and Africa, and a barnyard area, no one would accuse them of mistreating animals.

The two black bears had an enclosure with two yards connected by a tunnel, a pond and flowing creek, numerous redwood trunks to climb, and numerous items for enrichment and relaxation, including log piles and hammocks. They paid no mind to spectators.

At Bill’s Garden, a statue and exhibit tells the story of Ziggy and Bill, two chimpanzees the zoo cared for. The two had a combined 50-year history at Sequoia Park. Bill came from a circus background, while Ziggy had been part of a nightclub act – in both cases, owners could no longer handle them. The two males did not get along as they would not in the wild so they had separate enclosures.

Bill was known for his paintings, even appearing on Letterman, which brought fame to him and the zoo. Both chimps were long-lived, with Bill becoming one of the oldest chimps in captivity. Ziggy died in 1996 at age 40. With Bill’s death in 2007 at age 62-plus, the zoo phased out its chimpanzee exhibit, while preserving the history of its famous twosome.

Totally dug this guy.

All the zoo buildings were constructed from redwood; there's no mistaking the wood. Lush gardens filled the spaces along the front entrance and any large spaces between exhibits. I would have normally left the barnyard to the young people, but the presence of several unusual horses, pigs, donkeys, and goats made it worth a pass.

The centerpiece of the zoo lies above the animals on the Redwood Skywalk, which grants visitors access to a quarter-mile of bridges and platforms set up 100 feet up in the canopy. A slowly rising ramp provides easy access to the platform level, and the mix of structures in the skywalk recalls the Ewok village from Return of the Jedi (last Star Wars reference, I promise).

Water acrobats

Some of the bridges have a little more swing than others, but once you start down the one-way route, you’re stuck with the swinging sections. I just gripped a little tighter and moved at a reasonable speed.

The skywalk is the best kind of tourist trap, offering a unique access point to the tall trees, and glances into the forest below. The black bears took a playful turn and the distance felt safe for their behavior to feel natural. I took a last look at the trees waving only at their very tops.

I glanced at the chimpanzee statue across the zoo plaza, the otters splashing in their pond, and thought how short a history California’s oldest zoo could claim compared its stately namesake grove along the North Coast.