Winos

Being wine club members at the Benziger Family Winery in the Sonoma Valley, Paula and I stop by for free tours and wine tasting at both Benziger and Imagery wineries. Benziger uses the Biodynamic method of organic farming.  This is an extremely precise appellation worn by only a handful of wineries in the US.  The wine is delicious.

An orange dragonfly is the namesake of several vintage wines at Imagery Winery in the Sonoma Valley

Stopping for lunch at the Imagery winery, we are entertained by orange dragonflies that flit about a water fountain beside our table like airborne goldfish.  We're the only people there and we feel like we own the place.

Lunch at the Imagery Winery run by Joe Benziger

We've bought groceries and make our own lunch.  It's chicken salad sandwiches on a baguette with heirloom tomatoes.  Kettle chips and antipasto accompany a 2015 Albariño, estate bottled at Imagery. We'd better not drink the whole bottle.  We want to get a place near the Chandelier tree in Drive-Thru Tree Park outside of Leggett, California so we can visit first thing in the morning!  It will be a long drive.

Point Reyes

Point Reyes Lighthouse in fog

We drive the 16 mile road out to the end of Point Reyes.  It's a lonely ride through gorse and ancient ranches tended in 150-year-old methods as dictated by regulation.  Wind-blown for whips across the entire landscape.  Fallow deer ease closer to civilization under the cover of wind and gray clouds. We see a shrouded herd peering back at us suspiciously.

Wind warped cypress trees yield to the fog ghosts

Standing under the cypress trees that line the road to the lighthouse, it is easy to understand where they get their nutrients and moisture.  There's no rain in the air but it is raining continuously under these trees where moisture is captured from the fog whipping through their branches.

Towering Redwoods

Fog drifts through the giant redwood trees in Muir Woods National Monument

This beautiful stand of redwoods fills a valley just north of San Francisco and easy driving distance from where the kids live in Redwood City and Burlingame.  We arrive late in the afternoon and are pleasantly surprised by the dissipating crowds. Shortly before the end of World War II, delegates from 50 nations of the newly formed United Nations met in these woods.  We are able to stand on the same spot.  The silent majesty of these ageless giants inspires awe and a feeling of inner peace.

Point Bonita

Point Bonita Lighthouse

The trip tick includes lighthouses at Point Bonita just north of San Francisco Bay and Point Reyes further up the coast.  We're in luck.  This national park site is only open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 12:30 until 3:30.  And that's when we arrive.  As a result, we can cross the suspended walk way and step inside the lighthouse.  Turning back toward the Southeast, we see a massive container ship plying the waters under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cliffhouse Coffee Stop

The Cliffhouse stands as a timeless icon of the Pacific coastline.

We're travelling up route 1 and can't help but pass right by the Cliffhouse.  This once famous beach resort now supports four restaurants and a gift shop.  In the 60's when I last was through this area, I remember a somewhat carnival atmosphere with hawkers and photo-takers.  Now, it's quite tasteful. We sit in a grand window and watch beach combers far below us while we sip fancy coffee.

Swing Northward

A parasail floats between fog and pounding surf off the point at Mussel Rock.

We head north for a week-long loop into Northern California.  There are so many things to see that the distances between stopovers is deliberately short.  First stop is actually unintentional.  A sign down a side street beckons us with a warning of a rough road.  It pops out on the cliff tops at Mussel Rock.  We are mesmerized as parasailing aficionados step boldly off the cliff into the gray morning sky.  A wind blows continuously against the cliffs below creating an updraft upon which they soar.

Parasailer in action.

We escape the chill wind and watch from our car.  This guy claims all the sky in front of us and offers quite a close-up display.  "He's going to hit us!" sez Paula.  But he shows impeccable control.  I wonder what he'd do if the wind suddenly died down?  There's almost no place to land down below but the surf.

Canoeing on San Francisco Bay

Redwood City Launch Ramp on the San Francisco Bay

It's a hot but beautiful Sunday so Paula and I take the canoe out on the bay.  Sailboats keel before a strong breeze but we fight it all the way out along the ancient and decrepit piers of the Redwood City Port.  We hail a Hawaiian outrigger hauling hard into the waves. Then we turn and let the wind blow us back home.  We make it back to the dock just ahead of a regatta of Lasers from the yacht club.

Biggering and Biggering

Daniel's dog Indie oversees James doing trailer enhancements.

We slate construction for Saturday.  Daniel Sheeter and Mary Haywood are building a multi-purpose, micro-home on wheels in Aaron and Meredith's back yard (we Easterners call it a trailer).  Mary is the architect, Daniel is the contractor, A & M provide finances and direction but guess who's building wheel chocks?  This micro-home will serve as Mary and Daniel's residence for the next year-or-so in return for labor.  Then it will become a temporary, on-site home if Aaron and Meredith find property up in wine country on which to build.

Babysitters for the Day - Friday

Lolo and Paula compete for best laundry sorter

Winslow wakes up with a runny nose.  We use that as an excuse to keep her home from daycare.  She's ours for the day!  Lolo helps with everything.  She sorts our travelling laundry (and some of her own things thrown in for volume).

The receiving inspector approves a large shipment.

We are impressed with the groceries shipped from Amazon.  Eight large containers arrive full of ice, dry ice, and groceries.  The San Francisco kids order everything on-line.  It arrives fresh the next day, There's even a watermelon in there.  Lolo helps us find a place for everything.  When the kids arrive home from work, we've even walked the dog.  But there's no rest for the workers.  Nassar has reservations at Il Fornio, a favorite Italian restaurant in Burlingame.  Lolo is well behaved and draws happy attention from other patrons.

Hetch Hetchy Water

James stands in front of the reflecting pool before the Pulgas Water Temple.

We visit the Pulgas Water Temple just north of Mountain View, California.  

Hetch Hetchy water spills into the Chrystal Springs Reservoir below San Francisco.

It's a beautiful little place commemorating the completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct that carries water from high in the Sierra Mountains 160 miles to the San Francisco Valley.

This is a project that met with significant resistance, not least of which came from John Muir.  Since Paula and I walked the John Muir trail, we feel compelled to understand the issues involved.

Map of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct by Shannon1

Some people attribute this project to the frustration and exhaustion that led to John Muir's death as he fought against the damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley that he said was as beautiful as the Yosemite Valley.  Here are more details from wikipedia.

Albert Bierstadt, Hetch Hetchy Valley From Road, c. 1870

On the other hand, the project supplies water to 2.5 million people...

A 160 Room House

The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California

Paula and I drop Lolo off at her day care and head south to visit the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California.  It is huge.  And it is quite a well maintained attraction with fresh paint and beautiful flowers and gardens.  There are 160 rooms of which we are able to visit 110 on a guided Grand Estate Tour of the home.  Elegance and sophistication is evident everywhere.  But as they say, "Please exit through the gift shop!"  Now we see kitch redefined in all its glory!

Fresh China Town

Dan Herbst masterfully manipulates a chicken foot.

The Apple Conference is in full swing in San Francisco.  We look up an old friend Dan Herbst who is attending.  He quickly arranges to meet us at Hang Ah Restaurant on the Pagoda Alley.  It's delicious.  And there are no tourists in sight.  One thing leads to another and before you can say "Cheers!" in Chinese, we have ordered breaded chicken's feet again.  It takes several Tsing Tao beers to coax me to eat them.

High Above Mountain View

Paula walks Raleigh through mountain lion territory

We take Raleigh for a walk high in the hills of the Pacific Coastal Range where grassy knobs are swept by Pacific winds.  This country is beautiful.  And it is full of mountain lions.  We see signs warning us to proceed at our own risk.  And what to do when confronted by a mountain lion.  Stay facing toward the beast.  Look big and make a lot of noise.  I make sure to keep Raleigh way in front with little Paula taking up the rear.  Mountain lions prefer smaller prey, right?  There is scat sign of the big cats all over the road.  Raleigh wants to follow scent trails at every turn.  We get spooked and head for the safety of the car.

Grand Baby Winslow

Meredith and Winslow avoid the sun

It's great to see grand baby Winslow who dips her feet in the icy cold water but has been instructed not to get her diaper wet yet.  Lolo is 11 months now and flaunting four teeth.

Tahoe Cruise

Nassar, Meredith and Aaron steer for open water.

We have a sun-drenched day at 6,000 feet on Lake Tahoe.  My father canoed all over this lake many decades ago and it is a joy to see the kids follow in his footsteps.  This lake has history on both sides of the family where Meredith's parents have a second home and Aaron proposed to and married Meredith.

A Mad Dash to Tahoe

Welcome to the West!

Aaron and Meredith duplicate for us the welcome that they received when arriving in St. Augustine, Florida after they crossed the continent.  I'd love to say that we did it by bicycle the way they did it but that would have taken us two months instead of two weeks!

The wind, the rain and a rainbow on Lake Tahoe

The weather is too much for us tonight with three foot waves washing in from the south.  Maybe tomorrow we'll get out on the lake!

Mountain Meadows, Utah

Baker-Fancher emigrant wagon train

We climb out of St, George, Utah into the dying light of evening along Route 18.  There are several signs alerting us that we are approaching Mountain Meadows.  We have to look it up.  And so should you.  It is a dark story during the period of our great migration westward as a nation.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

Snow Canyon Supper

Paula sets the table in Snow Canyon, Utah.

 We stop for supper in Snow Canyon, Utah.  What a beautiful and lonely place.

Our way out of Snow Canyon, Utah.

I attempt to duplicate a picture done many years ago by my dad.  He had a green canoe on the car. The car was a 1966 white Chevy Suburban and the mountain behind was Gray's Peak, Nevada, turning pink at dawn.  His photo made the cover of Nevada Highways Magazine.  I'll need more work.

St. George

We zip through St. George, Utah.  I retell the story of St. George and the Dragon.  But I feel that I'm off the mark.

Mormon Temple in St. George, Utah

St. George and the Dragon

The REAL St. George, Utah...

Zion

Deep in the Narrows - Zion National Park, Utah.

I've been in many of America's greatest national parks.  But Zion is a pinnacle.  We take several hikes.  I've been wanting to walk "The Narrows" for a long time.  I get my chance.  This is a slot canyon where the only access is to wade in the river.  Some Chinese guys gingerly test the deeper part of the creek.  I can't resist showing them how we do it.

Do You Have Internet?

Mt. Carmel Motel and RV Park, Mt Carmel Junction, Utah

We stop for the night in Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah.  Paula asks the matron, "Do you have internet?"  They do. "OK, do you have a room for the night?"  You can see our order of importance.

Sunset Over Bryce Canyon

A last touch of sunlight staves off deepening gloom over Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.

We head to Bryce Canyon National Park.  Climbing to 8,000 feet from the desert floor it's difficult to ignore the dramatic changes in altitude and temperature.  Paula gets out her down parka.  I don my fleece.  We grab a picnic supper at a table and head out to Sunset point on the rim of Bryce Canyon.  It's worth it.  We watch a professional photographer with a giant camera taking time-lapse movies of the lengthening shadows.  He plans to be here long after moon rise to photograph the shadows cast from hundreds of Hoodoos that point eerily toward the sky.  For us, this was the prime time to arrive and we are thankful for our delaying tactics in the desert between the San Rafael Swell and Canyonlands.

Epicenter

Downtown Green River, Utah

We make it back to Green River, Utah by 3:00 PM.  Here's the main drag.  We're in a hurry or we'd stop and play pool with that bored-looking guy sitting out front.

Back Roads of America

Navigation from Arches National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park should be a piece of cake.  We use Google Mapping.  Of course we want to avoid the interstate highways.  Mistake!!  Sometimes it's better to embrace the devil you know than the devil you don't know. Here's what Google offers as the only alternative to Interstate 70.

Route 1007 outside of Green River, Utah

 We decide to take it.  I have 4-wheel drive.  We get 15 miles into the desert with the 4-wheel drive and the transfer cases are digging new ruts in the sand.  But we are stopped by this:

Route 1007 is impassable

The bridge over the gully is out but someone has been kind enough to make a new "ford" across.  The only thing is, there has been a flash flood since the last person made it.  The channel in the middle is ten feet below the gully floor.  Paula says we have a shovel in the back and I can dig us across in about two hours.  I decide to backtrack and take I-70.  I think she's disappointed.

Arches

We wake early and head over to Arches National Park.  There are lots of famous pictures taken here so here's one to prove that we were actually there.  This park contains the highest concentration of natural arches in the world.

Paula and James in front of Delicate Arch

Our Trip So Far

Our Trip So Far

We've been on the road for 9 days spanning from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Moab, Utah so far.  We have completely avoided the Interstate System, opting for back roads that sometimes have turned into dirt roads. We have gone off-the-map where we could not find Internet reception and found help whenever we asked.  We've met a LOT of wonderful people and are falling in love with this amazing country all over again.

AAA Triptick

Moonrise in Wilson's Arch

Moonrise in Wilson's Arch, Utah

Heading north again toward Moab we stop at a roadside rest for supper.  People don't usually frequent these places this late.  The rabbits are out grazing on the lawn.  Cottonwood seeds float by like giant snowflakes.  Moab has 200 hotels!  Turns out they are 96% booked and we struggle to find an available room.  A helpful clerk gives us a number.  We call and there's a room with king size bed.  "We'll take it!", sez I.  "When will you get here?" she asks.  "4 minutes!"  The room is on the back, away from the highway and overlooking a beautiful arroyo full of cottonwoods and tall grass.  Lucky us.

We Just Ran Smack Into Canyonlands

Looking North - Canyonlands National Park, Utah

The car registers a quarter tank of gas.  Then we see the sign for Canyonlands National Park - out in the middle of nowhere.  We take a left turn and head out across the desert.  33 miles later, we start to drop into beautiful sandstone canyons, deeper and deeper in the shadows.  The gatekeeper suggests a year-long pass to all national parks.  We buy it.  But she also notes that seniors get a lifetime pass to all national parks for $10.  "What's a senior?" we ask.  "Age 62," sez she. Paula will be back for that deal next year!

Hanging out over Big Spring Canyon, Arches National Park

We spend all day hiking the most beautiful and rugged trails that follow cliff-tops over dramatic canyons.

We fall in with a group of five people speaking Spanish.  I offer to photograph them all together.  It turns out they live 50 km from Santiago de Compostella.  We share the excitement of friends in far-off lands.  They take our picture, too.

James and Paula in Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Evening falls.  We are running on fumes - and so is the car!  We backtrack to Monticello, Utah maintaining momentum, drafting other vehicles, coasting in neutral down hills.  The Conoco Gas station is a wonderful sight.

Breakfast at 7,000 feet

Absolute Bakery and Cafe, Mancos, Colorado

We pull off the road in Mancos, Colorado at 7,000 feet.  Around the corner the Absolute Bakery and Cafe beckons.  It's crowded with old hippies and young hipsters.  The waitress is really pushing the "green salsa" for breakfast.  We worry about recent Colorado legislation and green salsa and my paranoid flashbacks ;)   One baker sports a t-shirt that says, "Old hippies don't die... they bake."  We decide to risk the green salsa on an avocado and sprout omelette.  What a wonderful breakfast!

Absolute Bakery and Cafe Menu

Entomology in Durango

Washing bugs in Durango, Colorado

We wake up early in the Wapiti Lodge in Durango, Colorado.  Wapiti is the correct name for elk.  A threesome of motorcyclists are washing immaculate Harley's next to our parking space.  I decide to join them and wash a week's worth of bugs off my grill.  We collected most of them in Kansas.  The bikers smoke cigars and tenderly rub down chrome and faring with chamois.  They are heading toward the grand canyon tonight.  They came over the Million Dollar Highway last night.  I am grimly aware of the evil of that ride and can't imagine it on a motorcycle in the freezing rain.

Daredevils

The road that hairpins between Ouray and Durango has the reputation as the most dangerous road in the USA. I can see why. Naturally, I scoff at danger so we head for the high mountain passes. There is seldom any guardrail between the road and precipitous gorges rushing below us with snow melt and newly falling rain. The road rises to 11,000 feet and the temperature drops to 37. We see slushy snow mixed with the rain slashing against our windshield. Many tight turns recommend a maximum safe speed of 15 or 10 mph. We heed the recommendations.

S - curve North of Silverton, Colorado

The road is under construction, they have been blasting rock and we are down to one lane full of potholes. There are numerous motorcyclists riding this road with us in the snow and rain! 

Construction on the Million Dollar Highway

We make it to the pass. I'd hate to see this road in the Winter!

In the Pass

Construction

Flagman on Highway 50

Highway 50 is under construction along the stretch that borders the Bay of Chickens on the Blue Mesa Reservoir.  The construction is long and so is the wait.  We shut off the engine and relax.  I think Paula is watching and she thinks I am watching.  We both fall asleep.  When we finally wake up from a deep and relaxing sleep, the line in front of us has started and the nearest car is way off in the distance.  The 200 cars behind us have not noticed a thing (or they are incredibly patient)!  We gun the engine and catch up, laughing all the way.

Wild Southern Colorado

We head out of Boulder toward the   Uncompagre national forest and the Million Dollar Highway. It rains all day but most of it evaporates before it hits the ground.

Desert Rain - Colorado

We spot wildlife of all sorts, including these.

Bison

Pronghorn

Fox