I remember reading Jack London’s books as a kid and being enthralled by them. I’ve seen references to him scattered around the bay area here and about his life. It’s a bit of an understatement to say he had an interesting life indeed. It turns out his gravesite and the ruins of his dream home are (along with a museum) part of a state park near Sonoma. Danielle and I wandered around there one day, which was a pretty amazing experience for me.
The ruins of Wolf House are nice to see; A hike of about a mile takes you to a small clearing in a forest where the stone remains of the 4 story dream home he and his wife built still stand. It’s been about a hundred years since the house burned down, and in that time the surrounding forest has swallowed up most of the site. The materials scattered around the museum and on the site indicate that the spot used to have a lovely view of Sonoma valley, and it’s a powerful reminder of the march of time that the forest has come to cover it all up. You could walk by it 50 yards away and never see it.
There are, as always, more pictures in the Flickr gallery.
