Wine Country Respite

After a long drive this past Friday, I arrived in Santa Rosa, California, to visit with my beautiful daughter and two grandchildren. Unknown to me, this was NASCAR race weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The RV park was packed with NASCAR fans of all means and persuasions. All were very interested in The Pod, and many tours were held. 

Saturday night we dined at Wiilie's Seafood and Grill, located in Healdsburg, just north of Santa Rosa. One of my daughter's co-workers joined at the last minute for dinner (far left).  We ordered many small plates (sometimes multiple orders) and a few specialties (the family loved the lemon meringue pie)!  Very good times with lots of laughter, silly jokes and lots of dogs to pet (the patio accepts dogs on a leash).

Sequoia National Forest Update

Unexpected rains revived the fading greenery throughout this forest and watershed. Although we were soaked by early morning showers, the beauty and majesty of these forests and trees marveled everyone.

Staying Cool...well at least trying

Orchards for Miles

From Fresno south on CA-99, past Selma (the raisin capital of the US, think SunKist) to Visalia and on to Bakersfield ( a distance of ~150 miles, there thousands of acres of orchards and grapes. Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, apricot among others, plus olive and walnut groves. 

The attached, if rotated clockwise panoramically through 360 degrees, shows the orchards extending off into the horizon. The farmers were burning that day uprooted older trees that no longer could bear fruit. Hence, the haze in the background. After the fire embers have extinguished, the ashes are furrowed into the soil and new trees are planted.

Here is another view of Kaweah Lake with the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the background. Beneath these mountains lie the King Canyon and Sequoia National Forests.

Woodlake Botanical Gardens

Just east and north of Lemon Cove a small town, Woodlake, has an amazing botanical garden. Started in the 90s as a means to give kids jobs, this nonprofit organization has created a ten acre garden full of citrus, vegetables, flowering  plants and trees. It occupies ten acres of an abandoned rail line, and the walk is worth the two to three hour exploration.

Took a few days off to travel north to the Southwest coastal towns in Oregon. Traveled via US Highway 101 to revisit the upper reaches of Northern California (Arcata, Crescent City) and visited the Avenue of Giants just outside of Garberville, California. This National Forest protects the surviving giant redwoods that once populated most the the Northern California coast and ridges. Wildflowers bloom abundantly, and there is very little congestion on the road or on the hiking paths.

The southwest Oregon coastline is equally beautiful. Attached are photos of the coastline from Brookings to Florence and Yachats, Oregon.