…Amanda’s note from Tues July 19

From the messy desk of Amanda Eichstaedt…

I Got On The Bus

I needed to get to San Rafael on Sunday and Ken was not able to shuttle me. I thought about posting on West Marin Commons, but nobody knows better than I do that there is a bus that serves West Marin. I mean, that Stagecoach goes by our house on both eastbound and westbound trips, twice each time, in order to pick up folks at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Waylon also has a few things to say abut the West Marin Stagecoach. He has a love/hate relationship specifically with these busses, but also with horse trailers, chippers, any type of trailer really, and anything that makes unusual sounds that drives by. In fact he’s not too keen on jets flying over, helicopters, large and small birds, and we both dislike drones immensely.

We joke about what would happen if any of us here at KWMR are run over by a bus (in this case, the Stagecoach). I’m really careful.

Waylon      photo: Ken Eichstaedt

It costs $2 to ride the Stagecoach, and you can get a transfer. That is a screaming deal in the days of over $5/gallon gas. 

When I hopped aboard in Olema at the campground there was one other passenger on board, and the driver. The first thing I heard him say while in conversation with the other person on the bus was “I know more about West Marin than I ever wanted to.” As we were returning from the spur trip to the visitor center, I heard sirens, and pulled out my phone to check PulsePoint to see where they were headed. Traffic Collision on Sir Frances Drake near Devil’s Gulch. Ugh, would we be sitting on the bus on a closed road? I hoped not.

On that super sharp curve west of Devil’s Gulch Medic 94 and an Engine 1564 were on scene with a motorcyclist who had not successfully navigated the turn. He looked banged up, but not critical. We drove on.

The passenger who was on the bus when I got on, and the driver and I, had a good conversation including topics about the depth of the ditch in front of our house, and marveled at how more people don’t end up IN it, and a discussion on the passengers discovery of KWMR, and his appreciation for the “West Marin Naturalist Hour,” and Saturday night music, among other shows.

One fellow boarded in San Anselmo and immediately struck up a conversation with the driver. At one point he told the driver that he should be a psychologist. The driver asked why, and he responded that the driver was a really good listener. The driver said that sometimes that is exactly what someone needs, “just to be listened to.” 

We continued bouncing along and in the Valley a few more folks boarded the bus. Three youths and another woman. Folks got off in Fairfax, and a few more folks boarded. I rode all the way to the end where it was then convenient to walk to my final destination to fetch a vehicle and head home.

It took about an hour to get to the transit center in San Rafael. Don’t forget about this transit option when you are thinking about going somewhere!

View of the ridge from Bear Valley Road.   photo: Amanda Eichstaedt

Youth Board Rep?
And….if you are a youth, or you know of a youth that might be interested in serving as a KWMR Youth Board Representative, please apply now for the coming school year! We had such a delightful experience with our very first Youth Board Reps – Elena Rodoni and Sophia Buckholtz, and we look forward to new reps in the fall! Application is HERE.

Thank you for reading our newsletter and for your support of KWMR!

Amanda Eichstaedt
KWMR Station Manager and Executive Director