Embracing the Change

 

With COVID-19 and the potential for wildfires, we had no doubt the plans for our Summer 2020 Adventure would change. Those changes led us to discover new areas and new experiences.

Our return trek from the California Sierra Foothills across Nevada and western Utah, mostly on America’s Loneliest Highway, was uneventful. Once on I-70 East the drive became much more interesting.

Entering Colorado we parked The Wanderer in an orchard at The Peachfork Orchards Winery, a Harvest Host stay near Palisade.

We had a most engaging conversation with Phil, the owner, wine maker and fruit grower who happens to be from a small Kentucky town about 100 miles from our home. In addition to peaches, he grows grapes, apples and pears which he sells throughout the area and beyond.

The drive through Colorado was stunning!

It just happened that we were there at the peak of fall color.

We also saw the damage from the Grizzly Creek wildfire in August.

A little change in our plans to visit friends led us to White Star Campground nestled in the aspens and evergreen forest near Twin Lakes.

Look closely and you can see The Wanderer.

We were happy to, once again, get into our hiking boots and hike about 5 miles along the Interlaken Trail.

Finally we arrived at the beautiful mountain home of our friends, Steve and Adele

where we parked The Wanderer for a few days.

Words can’t describe and photos don’t do justice to the beauty, but here is a glimpse of their little piece of utopia.

Their solar array provides all their electricity needs.

Passive solar heats their new greenhouse.

Nearby Arkansas River

Surrounded by mountains on every side, hiking trails abound. Considering that we are flatlanders living at near sea level, Steve and Adele were considerate to take us on trails they considered to be relatively flat.

Road leading to the Continental Divide Trail Head

The best part of our travel adventures are the new friends we make along the way. We met Steve and Adele in Arizona in the winter of 2018.

We have stayed in touch and have gotten together as often as our paths can cross. We consider them to be among our dearest friends.

Getting away from the smoke was very much welcomed. Apparently the “shortness of breath” we experienced was due to elevation gain and not the first signs of COVID!

Spending time with wonderful friends in an imposing place was the perfect finale to our Summer 2020 Adventure!

Heading east, mostly on I-70 through western Colorado, Kansas and Missouri was a bit quite boring but we did have a refreshing respite at Cousin Joy and Shannon’s home in Lindsborg, Kansas. 

Thanks to Joy and Shannon, Coronado Heights is now checked off our bucket list!

Summer Adventure 2020 has come to an end.  For us, adventures that lead us to new experiences and to friends and family with whom we can share good wine is "living richly." 

 

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Smoke, Smoke, More Smoke and Wine

 

Why, of all the places we could be, are we in smoky California?

 

 

In the background you can see the cooling towers from the decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear power plant.  (This is probably interesting only if you have been in the nuclear energy field 

El Dorado County Fairgrounds

In one word, wine.

 We can hear many of you (yes, Mom, we hear you). We know there are places other than California (that are not burning) where we can taste wine. But, for us, it’s about the hunt. It’s about finding the wines that best satisfy our palates at a price we can afford. We haven’t found any better full bodied, fruit forward, smooth wines that please us as much as what we have found in California (however Eastern Washington has recently gotten our attention.) We love the small, boutique wineries where each vintage is a surprise, depending on the weather and other factors. The casual tasting rooms fit our personalities and our lifestyle.

Driving through the rolling hills covered with vineyards sets the tone; somewhat reminiscent of Tuscany.

It wasn’t our plan, but over the past 12 years we have kind of created our own wine trail through the North Coast, Central Valley and Sierra Foothills regions. We understand the superior quality of the grapes is due to the cool temperatures at night and heat of the day. Our favorite time to visit is during crush when the grapes are beautiful

and everyone is excited about harvesting, barrel tastings and new releases. Needless to say, it was much more subdued this year. Due to the wildfire near Healdsburg , we were disappointed we could not visit our favorites in the Dry Creek region. However, the change in our schedule led us to return to Lodi and we wondered why it took 7 years for us to revisit.

The tasting rooms were very conscientious in keeping visitors safe. At all wineries we were instructed to wear masks until we were seated at tables placed a safe distance apart.

We only tasted where we could stay outdoors. The hosts all wore face coverings and kept the required 6-ft distance from guests.

 

Most used the “flight” system limiting the time hosts spent at tables.

 

With a few exceptions, most tasting rooms required a reservation to limit capacity and to provide contact tracing information.

Typically we would visit 3-4 wineries a day but, knowing our judgment could become impaired, we decided it would be best to do only one and chose appointments early in the day when it would be less busy.

Unfortunately some of our favorites wineries have closed, but we discovered some new favorites. Also, we have noticed a slight change in our palates, so our “wine trail” continues to evolve.

Getting our vote for the most cautious tasting room during COVID is Terra D’Oro in Amador County where we had the required reservation. Upon arrival we were greeted by a security person checking to see if we had a reservation before we could proceed to park. Checking in at the tasting room we were required to sign a liability waiver, given a welcome pack

and led to our table.

This year’s vote for the best ambiance goes to Lewis Grace in El Dorado County.

 

View from the patio at Lewis Grace Winery

Best newly discovered for our palates goes to Klinker Brick in Lodi.

Old Ghost Old Vine Zinfandel

Borjoin in Amador County continues to be our favorite all-around winery. (Outstanding zinfandels and Petite Syrahs!)

It's not what you might think; they were small tastings.

And the best surprise was our friend Bill’s Barberra, produced under his new label, William Gunn.

We knew it would be good, but didn’t expect the “WOW!”  His chardonnay is excellent and we can't wait to see what his blend "The Boss" will be like in six months to a year. 

 The smoke and COVID did not keep us from finding some very good wines. But was the aggravation worth it? We’ll let you know when our shipment arrives at our home in late October.

 The Wanderer is pointed east with “home” on the radar.

 

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Aww... the beauty of the Northwest!

Pretty rivers, spectacular lakes, beautiful hiking trails, robust wines, and fresh produce are what we found in Washington and Oregon.

Formed about 7,700 years ago when a volcano erupted, Crater Lake is breath taking! The water is as blue as what one sees in the Caribbean.

We climbed .8 miles of switchbacks and 420 ft. of elevation gain on the 1.6 mile Watchman Peak trail to get the “birds-eye view.

The lake is located in Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

Annie Creek Canyon is a pretty, 2-mile moderate hiking trail in the park with about 200 ft. of elevation gain.

There are several strenuous, moderate and easy trails in the park but we did only the two. 

The Wanderer was quite at home in the Mazama Campground, which was not at all crowded.

We loved that we were surrounded by young folks in tents (which brought back pleasant and not-so-pleasant memories.)

With a change of plans and the recommendation of our friends, Chuck and Linda, we discovered the cutest little Bavarian inspired tourist town of Leavenworth. With the evergreen trees of the Wenatchee Forest as a back-drop, it was reminiscent of an Alpine Village. 

It was very crowded when we first arrived but we found spacious outdoor seating at Icicle Brewing where we had a Bavarian pretzel and the most amazing milk stout beer. Dark Persuasion is brewed with rich coconut, vanilla and cacao nibs to give it a delicious German chocolate flavor. The beer was so good, we returned after our hike the next day to have another one. That was mid-afternoon and the town wasn’t nearly as crowded.

The shops looked really cute but, because of COVID, we just walked around outside (wearing masks). Perhaps we will visit again post-COVID and the town is alive with music and entertainment.

It was worth driving over the washboard gravel road

to get to the Icicle River Gorge trail. The 4.5 mile easy hike was one Kodak moment after another!

Around Wenatchee we saw orchard after orchard of apple and pear trees. Fruit stands were in abundance.

We were a bit early for the apple harvests, but we did score some Early Honey Crisps!

Oregon and Washington are homes to some of our country’s most magnificent natural resources and outdoor activity opportunities. In the higher elevations, the summer temperatures are delightful. It was in the 50s when we left this morning.

We are back in California where the temperature is quite oppressive at 110°. Our home tonight is a Harvest Host stay at MoonBeam Lavender Farm in Corning. 

(Fortunately The Wanderer has air conditioning!) We missed the lavender harvest but were right on time to see the loofah in several stages. 

(Yes, ABN shopped and purchased loofah seeds.)

We drove through some dense smoke on our drive today, 

but it isn’t bad here at the farm.

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