Elks and Birds

On Wednesday, July 7, we went back to the Point Reyes park and saw a special presentation by a ranger and the video on the Native Americans who had lived here.  We then drove to the end of the peninsula to the elk reserve.  Saw several herds of elk and one big male with great antlers.  We took a hike to the shore through a pass through the hills.  Saw tons of wildflowers and black sand on part of the beach.  We drove back to camp, stopping in San Rafael for a nice Italian dinner.

On Thursday, we picked up our mail that we had had forwarded to Point Reyes general delivery, did laundry, and continued up the Pacific Coast Highway.  It was amazing the difference between the coast, which was foggy, windy and cold, and 5 miles inland where it was sunny and hot.

We drove up to Bodega Bay and got a campsite.  You may remember Bodega Bay is the place where the movie "The Birds" was filmed.  Just had to go check out the site of the movie and take some pictures.  Afterwords, we drove to Bodega Point, read, ate popcorn and watched pods of gray whales.  We camped at Sonoma Coast State Beach.

Some Fairly Good Days

On Saturday, July 3, we drove over to Muir Woods.  Being the Saturday of July 4 weekend, it was really crowded, so we drove on past and found Muir Beach, which was almost deserted.  We took our chairs, a picnic, our books and sat on the beach and read all day.

On Sunday, July 4, I woke up fine, but after some juice I got really sick.  I'm a bundle of fun.  And, here it is a holiday.  We spent the day in the hotel watching the history channel.  I was able to eat pizza for dinner.

On Monday, July 5, I was better, so we checked out of the hotel in El Cerrito and got a campsite at China Camp, outside San Rafael.  Then, we went to the Marin County Fair, which was absolutely great!  We saw the 4 Tops, the Temptations, a really good art show, all the animals, dressage, ate junk food.  All my favorite stuff.  However, the gods were not content to let me have a perfect day, so on the way out of the fairgrounds, I tripped on a piece of unfinished concrete and fell flat on my face.  Skinned my face up something terrible (I will not share that picture.), hurt my hand and crushed my chest.  I did not break my fall at all.  Couldn't believe I didn't break my nose.  To top it all off, when we got back to the campground, they had locked the gates and John had to hike in and ask the not-too-happy camp manager to let us in.  Oh, well, it was still a great fair.

The next day we spent in camp, just relaxing and allowing me to heal some.  I had a hard time sleeping, because I was so sore.  Had a nice campfire that evening.  While we were sitting around the campfire, here comes a raccoon and climbs right up on our picnic table to see what we had.  We also saw deer, a coyote, 5 pileated woodpeckers  and a family of wild turkeys. 

Starting up the Pacific Coast Highway

Basing ourselves at the hotel in El Cerrito, we journeyed out on Thursday, July 1, to Tiburon and Sausalito and towns surrounding the San Francisco Bay.  What a beautiful area.  I don't think I have ever seen towns that just scream 'pride' in the way the houses and yards are kept.  The yards are full of flowers~~and the towns, too.  Everything is just done to the hilt, and to me spoke volumes of the way the people feel about living there.  It may also say something about the climate and their ability to have flowers all year long, which maybe makes all the effort worth it (or maybe it just screams money), I don't know.  Also, that day, we went to Fort Baker and to a Mammal Recovery place and saw rescued orphaned seals of all kinds.

At this point, we have decided to meander up the coastal highway.  We had, on a previous trip, done the pacific coast highway from San Diego to San Francisco.  We now look forward to seeing the rest of the coast.  We know we will not be disappointed.  The first thing on our list is the Point Reyes National Seashore.  I am fascinated by the San Andreas fault, and it runs right through the park.  We went there Friday and looked at all their exhibits and the film about the area.  We walked 4 trails, including the Earthquake Trail and an Indian village.

The San Andreas fault in this park ruptured during he 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and moved 20 feet in 90 seconds on that day.  Here is a picture of a fence which had been in one piece until the 1906 earthquake.  I am standing by the part that has moved.  Original location of fence is in foreground. The crack in the earth has 'healed'.

Wine Country - Sonoma Valley

Tuesday, June 22.  We left Napa Valley Campground and drove back into St. Helena for coffee and a trip to the money machine.  We went to a gormet market in Oakville and drove through Yountville.  Went into Napa, where we went to Oxbow Market, drove through downtown and to Hess Winery, where we toured their art collection.  There are so many vineyards you cannot hit even a fraction of them in a week, so they all have some kind of gimmick to get you to come to their vineyards.  Some have incredible haciendas, some brilliant gardens, some art collections in their mansions, and others have live entertainment in the gardens.  You don't even have to buy anything or pay an admission price.  You can just hang out in the gardens.  Bring a picnic, buy a glass of wine, and sit at the picnic table overlooking the vineyards and enjoy the music.  Not a bad way to spend a day (or a life)!

After touring the Napa Valley, we zigzagged over and toured the Sonoma Valley, arriving first in the town of Sonoma.  Okay, just leave me here~~really, this time.  Napa Valley, I guess, is supposed to be the equivalent of old money, the big flashy area.  Sonoma is the new comer, less flashy, more homey, but still, gracious and absolutely stunning.  It's the kind of place where you think:  "If I had all the money in the world, I would live here."  And, I think, that's about what it would take. 

Sonoma is laid out like an old Spanish town, with central town square with trees, a pond, benches, and lots of moms and kids.  There are historical buildings to tour, great food to eat, and ice cream.  We leisurely walked around town, spent a lot of time at the museum of early California life, and had ice cream.  We left town about dinner time and got a campsite at Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park. 

Wine Country - Napa Valley

On Sunday, June 20, we headed south from the Mt. Shasta area toward Lake Shasta.  Had a hard time finding access to the lake, actually, which seems so strange, and ended up at a little marina restaurant with a 90 minute waiting list.  We walked around the marina, looked at the lake, and had lunch.  It was Father's Day and this was the only place around.  The meal was mediocre and the service worse.  I think I owe John a 're-do' on the Father's Day lunch!

Afterwords, we drove south on I-5, west on Rt. 20 and camped at Clearlake State Park.

There was really no other way to see all we wanted to see other than to zigzag back and forth through the state, so that's what we did.  We saw all the mountains, parks, etc. in the eastern part of California, then back down towards the middle of the state to wine country.  I must admit, I hadn't really thought of going to the wine country, as I don't like the stuff, but I surely would have been remiss not to have seen it.  Since John had 'retired' from the trail, and he does like the stuff, we decided wine country was not to be missed.  What an understatement that turned out to be! 

On Monday morning, June 21, we left the campsite at Clearlake and drove leisurely through Napa Valley.  Green!  After weeks in the desert, what a change.  We were on Rt. 29, going south, and went to Calistoga.  Found another used bookstore!  Had lunch in an old converted train station.  Walked around town and got some groceries.  We went on to St. Helena and took a tour of the Beringer Vineyards.  With the tour, you got to taste about 5-6 wines.  So, I got mine, tried a sip of each, didn't like any of it, and gave it to John.  Yes, indeed, if you go to a wine tasting, you want to go with me!  We then went to town and I got what I like, a gelato.  We stayed the night at Napa Valley State Park, and topped off the wine and gelato with grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and baked beans.  We began sorting through our books.  They are taking up too much space in the van.