(Thomas) Today, we’re continuing to Yosemite National Park. Our hotel there is not too far away so there’s time for a little detour. So we take one. I’ve recently read about a train museum on a Back to the Future fan page where the steam locomotive and some carriages from Back to the Future III may be seen. Gabi suggests we go there. Yes, honestly! Because she knows that I’d like that. That’s love! 🙂

So suddenly, we’re in the middle of nowhere. We pass huge meadows where hundreds or even thousands of cattle are grazing. We don’t meet another car for ages. We finally arrive at Jamestown and the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. At this old train depot, time seems to have stopped roughly 100 years ago.

The Historic Park consists of an old train station from which you can ride old trains on weekends, and the depot itself: a roundhouse with train tracks all leading to a huge turn table. It’s in here: Steam locomotive No. 3 that not only played a big part in Back to the Future III (dressed as No. 131), but also in many other films and TV series, e.g. in Wild Wild West starring Will Smith or Little House on the Prairie. It also appeared in an A-Team episode. It’s the “most photographed locomotive in Hollywood history.”

In the “Movie Exhibit” part of the area, there’s the end part of caboose No. 7 on which Doc Brown and Marty McFly jumped from the back of their horses. It was mounted on a flatcar and Michael J. Fox hang onto for the close-ups while the real jump was done by a stuntman on the real caboose.

Close-by, there’s also the headlamp bearing the No. 131 that was installed on the locomotive.

There are also two smokestacks used in the film. The left one had additional piping for the coloured smoke and the right one was used for filming after the smokestack had exploded.

The long wall is an impressive timetable of all films the park’s locomotives appeared in. A lot of Wild West movies, but also modern productions. No. 2 is best known for its part in Back to the Future III and still attracts visitors from all over the world. The lady at the entrance told us about a recent visit from a guy with his DeLorean turned Time Machine to take a photo of his DeLorean and the locomotive together. What a splendid idea!

Until about 20 years ago, the steam trains from Jamestown went to the Hill Valley 1885 movie set. The Wild West town was built nearby and was left by the production company afterwards. Unfortunately, all of it burnt down after a lightning strike (such an irony! A bolt of lightning sent Marty McFly back to the present). Also, people living nearby took parts of Hill Valley home as a souvenir. There’s nothing left of the movie set today. The lady at the entrance shows us the approximate area where it was situated and we drive there.

All of the meadows are private property and fenced. We really don’t want to trespass on someone else’s property. I therefore take a last selfie on a railroad crossing before we leave for our hotel.

At a small tourist information office where I asked again for the precise spot used for filming, the guy there recommended driving into Yosemite park today already. It’s much more scenic than the highway. And there’d be enough time before dusk. Yeah, why not! The entrance fee is valid for several days and we can have a first look at Yosemite National Park.

The small detour proofs to be a really big one. Jamestown is so far off that we only find a petrol station with a store and deli counter at around 5 pm. We get a really tasty sandwich, freshly made.

We finally make it into the Park, where we’re rewarded with stunning views:

We enter the park on the northwestern road and leave it in southwestern direction. Shortly before dusk we arrive at our hotel. It’s really old-fashioned and truly patriotic. There’s the US flag in the lobby, a big eagle made out of wood, and a waterfall integrated into the hotel’s stone wall.

Behind the bed, there’s even a hand-painted (!) picture of Yosemite.

At the time we’re settled in, the hotel’s restaurant has already closed. Great. I therefore head off to find a pizza place and take a pizza back to the hotel.