One of the most satisfying local events of 2015 occurred one year ago today with the 
opening celebration of the Arana Gulch Pathways connecting Live Oak & Santa Cruz. YAY for the perseverance of many, many people over the 35+ year history of this project!
This route was originally planned to be a four-lane road, together with the plan for Santa Cruz to annex Live Oak – we’re talking 1960’s/70’s here (omg that’s half a century ago!). 
The road was called the ‘Broadway-Brommer Connection’, & there was even a concept at one point to have an additional road veer up through the gulch to Capitola Road. Yeah, those were the pave-it-over days – good riddance, I say. & the annexation that never happened? …well that’s a story for another time.
This month, in honor of this special anniversary of scenic pathways-instead-of-roads, I’m offering an Arana Gulch Scavenger Hunt. The first two winners will receive personally-autographed copies of Ghosts in the Gulch by local historian & Evergreen Cemetery volunteer extraordinaire S.L. Hawke; everyone who participates will receive a copy of Live Oak History Walks – Arana Gulch & Schwan Lake guide by Norman Poitevin/Live Oak Neighbors.
The Scavenger Hunt rules are easy: 1) Find the object or view shown in the numbered photo below; 2) Identify the photo location by number on a map of Arana Gulch, or describe it to me in an email; & 3) Email me* your answers by Leap Day 2016 (February 29).
Piece a’ cake! & as a bonus you’ll get some fabulous walks or bike rides logged onto that nifty fitbit. Let me know if it’s a group effort & I’ll include extra copies of the Live Oak History Walks guides.
Here we go, & of course (as I remind myself), enjoy the path you’re on!
#1 
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
ps., if you don’t happen to live along our beautiful central California coast, please come & visit – I’m always up for a personalized Arana Gulch scenic tour!
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*My email can be found in About. You however don’t have to find everything to submit your answers, but the more you find, the better off your chance of winning. Please include your name & contact info. I’ll inform the winners by March 5, 2016. All photos are taken from locations on or adjacent to signed pathways in Arana Gulch.
the everyday primate 
a hint re #7: the object on which this particular design exists has apparently moved its location from the time I took the photo; ergo, you just need to identify the type of object & general location.
Below are the Scavenger Hunt answers – don’t peek if you want to try this for yourself!!
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The most important overall clue in the blogpost is the brief Broadway-Brommer history: the photo locations are primarily along or near that general route. Plus, I live near the upper harbor, which you may have figured out by the photo of Schwan Lake on my About page. Ergo, the photos were concentrated in the southern part of the park.
Photo locations:
#1: North & eastern side of Hagemann Bridge, looking down over the railing. The weather & time of day can really affect the light in Hagemann Gulch.
#2: Beneath the Upper Harbor sign where the Arana Path diverges from the sidewalk down into the upper harbor. The ‘JM’ brass marker honors former Port Commissioner Jeff Martin, who strongly advocated (along with yours truly) for the Arana pathway to connect to Brommer St. & 7th Avenue.
#3: Ornamental gate along the Creek View Trail on the west side of the upper harbor dry storage. The storage area is now concealed behind a green fence screen.
#4: Looking uphill from the Coastal Prairie Loop Trail just south of the upper harbor trail junction. It hadn’t rained for ages.
#5: Carved tree in the stand of eucalyptus along Arana Creek. While the trees are visible from the Arana Creek/Upper Harbor Bridge, access is via a southeastward not-marked trail from the upper harbor trail junction. Since I asserted in the post that all photo locations are near signed pathways, you all get a free pass on this one.
#6: Looking northeast from about the middle of Hagemann Bridge: view of one of the Hagemann Ranch houses. The original ranch in 1871 was called Live Oak Ranch & encompassed 110 acres between Hagemann Gulch & Soquel Avenue.
#7: I loved the fantastic markings on this dredge float, located last year along the path up to Brommer St., next to the Brommer boat storage yard. These containers have since been moved (I did locate one near the back of the storage yard but not the one with ‘artwork’), so you all get a free pass on this one too!
#8: Stairs near the Brommer-side junction of the Creek View Trail & upper harbor sidewalk, heading east up to the Brommer boat storage yard & adjacent condominiums.
#9: Southernmost view of the upper harbor from the Coastal Prairie Loop Trail.
#10: View of ironwork behind the westside upper harbor dry storage fence from Coastal Prairie Loop Trail just south of upper harbor trail junction.
Thank you so much for participating, everyone – enjoy Arana!
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