Jack London State Park

Our flight to Sacramento was moved to early Tuesday morning instead of Tuesday afternoon, so we decide that was the perfect opportunity to spend the day at Jack London State Park - something I had wanted to do for quite a while. 

We toured the museum (about 1 hour) then decided to hike to the Wolf House that he built in 1910.   

Along the way we passed this moss covered tree.  Quite lovely.

A close view of the tree.

The hike was nice and peaceful. It is about a half mile out to the Wolf House.

Our first glimpse of it!

Jack London wanted to build his dream house on his property in Sonoma Valley, so he hired San Francisco architect Albert L. Farr to design a 15,000 square foot mansion of lava rock and redwoods.  Jack wanted it to blend in to the surrounding wilderness.  Construction started in late 1910.

The design included advanced features for the time including a built-in vacuum, refrigeration, water heater, laundry facilities and a wine cellar.

Mindful of the recent 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Jack and Albert designed it to be earthquake and fire resistant.

But not resistant enough.  As construction wrapped up on August 22, 1913,  a worker left oily rags in a can and went home for the night.  Just two weeks before Jack and his wife were to move in, the rags caught fire and destroyed the mansion.

Only the lava masonry remained standing.  This is a view down the main level courtyard.

Jack vowed to rebuild, but the fire was a huge mental blow to him and his health started to fail not longer afterward.

This is a rendering of the Wolf House.

Jack and his wife had traveled the world on his yacht the Snark and his medicine kit during his travels included drugs such as morphine, cocaine, heroin and opium which were all common medications at the time.  But what likely caused his failing health was the mercury he used to heal his wounds on board the boat.  This caused kidney failure that led to a stroke or heart attack.  He died at the age of 40 in November 1916.

The remains of the reflecting pool at the center of the house.

Floor plans of Levels 1 and 2.

One of the few photographs of the Wolf House.

Levels 3 and 4.

After Jack's wife Charmian's death in 1955, the estate was donated to the state and made into a state park.

I would encourage you to visit this spectacular property.

A view into the basement.

An unintentional photo of myself.  You'd think I'd learn to handle my electronics better.

On the walk back out,  we passed this vineyard.  I stepped off the path to take the photo.  Only after I stepped off the path did I note the sign "WARNING poison oak" - I was wearing shorts at the start of my vacation.  Oy.

I later learned the fence is the edge of Jack London State Park and the vineyard is on private property.  And I luckily didn't develop a rash.