Brandon and Lindsay Tiffany were at the entry kiosk for Jack London State Historic Park on Sunday morning when they were advised by the volunteer attendant that the 1 millionth visitor would be coming through that day, and that it could very well be either Tiffany or their daughter, Ayla, 4, or son, Noah, 1.
“That would be cool,” said Lindsay, who entered the drawing for a prize basket that contained an annual pass to the Sonoma County park, a copy of “The Call of the Wild,” London’s most famous book, plus other swag. The drawing was at the end of Call of the Wild Day, an all-day free event to celebrate the overwhelming success of the first state park to be form an agreement to operate as a nonprofit organization. This goes back to 2011-2012 when Jack London Park Partners was formed to keep the park, created in 1960, from possible closure during a state budget crunch. Admission is by the carload, at $10 per, which made it impossible to designate the exact moment when the millionth person came through.
But at an average of 2.5 passengers per car, they were able to narrow it down to sometime in May and for the sake of the celebration, narrow it further to one of the 1,000 people who came on Call of the Wild Day.
“At some point, who knows when that point will be, the 1 millionth person will come through,” said Lindsay, who lives in Santa Rosa and was trying not to be greedy. “We’d be happy just to get the one-year pass.”
That would mean her family would not have to pay the $10 fee, which was waived for all cars on Call of the Wild Day. Also free were hayrides around the Beauty Ranch, a blacksmith demonstration, art projects for kids, wine tasting, country music at the picnic grounds, and food for sale at the Tri Tip Trolley for those who forgot their own picnics.
“We treat everyone like they are the 1 millionth visitor,” said Kristi Lanusse, associate director of donor relations and marketing…