Time to complete the Bucket List

As we drove through the Napa Valley from Mendocino on Day 14 we passed many small wineries so it would not be right to be in the Napa region of California and not go on a wine tour.

We were picked up from our hotel for the tour along with eight others, four of whom were from the UK. Our tour guide told us that we would visit four wineries and taste four wines at each. The wineries were Rutherford, Ghost Block, Cosentino and Fred Razi.

Along the way to the first winery she explained the history of wine making in the Napa Valley which started in the 19th century, the effect prohibition in the 1920s had on the industry and how many wineries were abandoned.

The catalyst that put the Napa Valley wines on the world map was the ‘Judgement of Paris of 1976’ where, in a blind tasting, Napa Valley wines were compared to French wines by a panel of predominantly French judges (9 of 11). The top wine, to the horror of the French judges, was the Napa Valley Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon.

90% of American wines come from California with, surprisingly, only 4% coming from the Napa Valley. This statistic is not so surprising when it was explained that the Napa Valley is only a small part of the wine growing area of California with regions such as Sonoma (which is next door) being much larger.

Now to the wines, we tasted four at each winery and starting with Rutherford.

It was interesting to hear that some of the wineries offered ‘estate bottled’ wines (ie grapes grown, produced and bottled all at the winery) with others buying grapes from other wineries.

The next was Ghost Block. Many of the wineries offered wines under different brand names some of which were the names of the owners’ sons or daughters.

We were told about the fermentation process, how the grape skins were used to make red wine, how French or American oak barrels were used to give the wine a different level of taste and how the length the wine stayed in these barrels made the characteristics of the wine.

The third was Cosentino.

One of our wine hosts said that white wines should be drunk within 1 to 2 years of the production date on the bottle. Red wines, however, mature in the bottle so could be drunk 5 to 6 years after the production date. That is if they last that long.

Our last stop was Fred Razi.

After visiting Fred Razi, it was decided to take another group shot and it is clear that 16 glasses of wine had taken it’s toll.

Day 16 and we make our last drive of the holiday from Napa to San Francisco for our flight back to Seattle. The 60 miles seemed easy compared to the 200 plus miles of other days but going into a major city did involve a lot more traffic, tolls and a 6 car crash (thankfully not involving us) so it took a bit longer than expected. Having spent the best part of 13 days and 1700 miles driving from Seattle to San Francisco, it only took 1 hour and a half flying back on Alaska Airlines.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Seattle and we are going underground. Find out more in our next posting.

The redwood forests became a distant past today as we left the coast of Mendocino for the inland wine region of the Napa Valley. We followed the fairly quiet highway 128 which follows the Navarro river. Heavy logging in the 1850s devastated the original redwood forests, but look closely at many of the trees today and one can notice the secondary growth that has sprouted from the cut stumps of the original redwoods. To their benefit has been the Navarro river which has nourished their regrowth.

At least 100 miles of our 150 mile journey ran between the many vineyards – mostly small-scale producers. We passed row after row of vines, sheltered by low lying hills and mountains either side.

One of the many vineyards running along the highway

Tomorrow we are to go on a wine tasting tour and hope to find out why the Napa Valley is known worldwide for its viniculture.

A three-hour journey led us to our destination, the town of Napa and upon arriving it seemed rather different to the areas we have visited so far. The buildings look so modern and clean, which belied the fact that the town dates back to 1847. Images from the 1800s show buildings in Main Street and First Street (where we have just eaten) that still exist today. The shops and restaurants look highly fashionable and enticing. There is also a lot of artistic work all around the town.

We took a stroll along the Napa river (along which our hotel is located) to the nearby market. Again, this was not as we expected. It contained lots of trendy companies selling coffees, ice creams, nicely displayed fruit and vegetables, sushi and meats. This was, without doubt, the most enticing and uplifting market we have seen.

Oysters are so popular they have dedicated outlets

Our hotel too is arty and brightly presented. Its floor to ceiling entrance displays show only books with white or beige covers, and they are not dummies.

So tomorrow the focus is on wine tasting. Well, it would be a shame not to when in this wine growing region.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We took a more leisurely approach today, taking advantage of a two night stop-over in Mendocino. This town is also located on the Pacific Coast, some 200 miles above San Francisco. Mendocino also built its industry and wealth on lumber, specifically giant redwood trees.

By the 1960s-1970s this industry had declined. It coincided with the hippy movement, with many moving into the town to share peace and love. From our experiences today some have still remained. There are quite a few interesting ‘characters’ here ready to catch the ear of passing tourists. One guy we got chatting to offered to do our life chart (by means of numerology), explaining how we can be reincarnated a thousand times. A delightful discussion, but we eventually turned down his offer. It is quite enough to know what we a doing tomorrow let alone for the rest of our lives,

We moved on to find this is a quiet and pretty town with wide roads and little traffic. It makes pleasant walking. Several houses date back to the latter 1800s, some are now museums… and we found yet another really nice bookshop. Unintentionally, these stores are becoming quite a pull for us with such an interesting array of reading matter.

Just a few miles up the bay there are areas known for their ‘glass beaches’. This concept was unknown to us previously so we headed to the local museum, whose owner was also a character and passionate about the beaches and glass. He had a fine array of glass pebbles and explained their origin.

We discovered that the sea was the dumping ground for trash before the age of environmental enlightenment (and plastics to a large extent). Despite the obvious problems this would cause, Fort Bragg’s coastline is formed in such a way that the trash stayed in the bay and was not swept out to sea. Hence, years of glass pieces rolling up and down the shore has caused them to become rounded and worn, larger pieces looking like pebbles. Ceramics are also affected in a similar way. Glass that has been washed and rolled in the salty sea gain a frosted surface. If this happens in river water (with no salt) the surface remains smooth. The colour depends on what the glass was originally used for. An example was red glass pebbles that had been formed from car reflector lights. Some particularly beautiful examples on display were light green pebbles with frosted surfaces, formed from bottles and jugs. Such pieces are often used for jewellery.

Having learned about this we headed to the nearest glass pebble beach, full of anticipation. What a disappointment. The beach had many beachcombers all searching for a little piece of treasure. What we did see were the smallest pieces of glass hardly half a centimetre in length. We have seen more on our own beaches. It seems that too many treasure hunters have taken away gems over the decades. Some people advised that the best time to visit is when the tide is out and the sun reflects of the surface of those remaining, but large pieces are hard to find today.

Our final destination was the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. This too was on the coast and seemed an unusual site to place a garden, being battered by the winds and salty air. However, the extensive acreage was beautiful, coupled with the views over the bays. So many of the plants were similar to ours, such as rhododendron and dahlia, and there were fine displays of heather.

Tomorrow we leave this lovely area, heading to our final destination of Napa before we start our journey home.

**Technical hitch. We apologise that there have been issues with the day 11 and 12 reports. Day 11 has come over multiple times, and day 12 (which we have had a great deal of trouble sending) does not appear to have all its photos displayed. We suggest you view the latter at www.timetocompletethebucketlist.com site where it is displayed correctly. We do not know what is causing this. It is out of our hands, but many apologies for the inconvenience.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

Today was the day for worshipping the trees. We were heading to redwood country, the land of the giants.

We took the Pacific coastal route for most of our 250 mile journey, taking advantage of some of the many viewing areas along the way. America is very good at providing these ‘pull outs’, some with information boards and occasionally ‘restroom’ facilities.

Views over Crescent City harbour

Crescent City Harbour has been important for the lumber industry for 150 years, shipping redwood, spruce and Douglas fir to ports along the coast, but it has not been without its casualties with boats hitting dangerous sandbanks. The construction of two lighthouses helped alleviate these problems.

One of our stops coincided with the arrival of a young couple from Bristol, journeying even further than we are. They had just married north of Seattle, with a ceremony floating on a river and had chosen to go it alone – just the two of them at the wedding. We had a brief, but pleasant, encounter with them as we all enjoyed the bay views.

The seastacks are formed as a result of their immensely hard rock content being resistant to sea erosion compared with other softer rock surrounding it.

We were then on to the tall trees. We thought the Douglas firs earlier this week were tall, but the redwoods were immense. We took a trial around the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park admiring the towering trees, unbeknown that this area also has black bears, elk and mountain lions. All best avoided.

This species of redwoods grows close to the Pacific coast along a band about 20 miles wide. The trees need lots of moisture and are found in rainy, foggy areas. Although, thankfully, we did not see the rain, we did see the coastal mist. Redwoods can grow from seedlings, but they can also sprout from the tree’s lateral roots, stumps or even logs. Initially they grow 2-6 feet a year. By 20 years they can be 50 feet tall but with a diameter of just 8 inches. Ultimately they can reach 300 feet tall and in excess of 20 feet around. They can live for 2,000 years.

But we have people, unknown to us, to thank for this scenery. In 1918 a group of people formed the Save the Redwoods League. Using private donations they helped purchase much redwood forest, which was later donated to the California State Parks.

Then, eureka, we reached the town of Eureka where we were to overnight. The hotel seems to have it all. A glass of sparkling wine on arrival, the room has another hot tub, and to top it all it had a bear in the room. So Ted is made up.

Just one night here before we head to Mendocino, but not before we take a look around Eureka which seems to have some interesting architecture.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We only popped out for the day. Three hundred miles later we returned. There is very little within a short distance in the USA. Our journey was to Crater Lake in the southern-central part of Oregon. Someone we met when in Romania suggested we visit the lake when in the States, and it did not disappoint.

The first view of the lake in all its glory is breathtaking. So are some of its walking trails, at least in the physical sense with its steep inclines. However, today was scheduled for admiring the lake rather than incorporating a workout.

The lake is situated in a volcanic depression, called a caldera. The depression formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 ft volcano, Mount Manama, erupted.

The oral traditions of local tribes parallel known geological details today, indicating that tribal ancestors witnessed the eruption. The area became a ritual site for the tribes and this remains today.

In the late 1800s European gold prospectors came across the lake and several names were given to it, until 1869 when a group of explorers called it Crater Lake. A later visitor in 1885, William Gladstone Steel, recognised its importance and campaigned to protect it. In 1902 his efforts paid off with the creation of the Crater Lake National Park. Entrance today to this extremely large site is $25, which covers visits for a week.

Streams do not run into the lake. It has been filled by centuries of rain and snow. (Forty-four feet of snow falls in the area each year.) Rain and snow, balanced with evaporation and seepage, maintains a constant level of water. The water is said to be so pure that clarity has been recorded 140 feet down from the surface. The lake is almost 2,000 feet deep and the maximum width is 6 miles. The drive around is 33 miles with plenty of stopping points.

Visitors can take a 2 hour boat ride around the lake’s only island, Wizard Island, accessed by a trail the equivalent of 65 flights of stairs down… and up! The boat trip is very popular and was sold out by the time we arrived there.

What is striking is the beautiful blue colouring, and the weather today could not have been better – clear, about 70F, with a gentle breeze. Life exists in the lake. A submersible found thick mats of bacteria thriving in the absence of light, and thick bands of moss stretching around the edges to a depth of 400 feet. The lake has also been stocked with rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon.

So why was our trip out so long today? Crater Lake was a considerable distance from our hotel but I thought it would be a good idea to take in the Klamath Lake. A mere 60 mile detour, but it too was worth it.

Tomorrow we leave for Eureka on the California coast, driving down the scenic highway 101.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We hugged the Pacific shoreline a little longer this morning to enjoy the views before we headed to the Interstate 5 Highway to break the back of our 300 mile journey from Depoe Bay to Medford at the southern end of Oregon State.

One hundred and sixteen junctions of the Interstate may seem daunting, but they did go fairly quickly and we passed the time being intrigued by some of the place names we saw along the way. These included the town of Drain (named after politician Charles Drain who donated land for the railroad in 1871. Current population 1,000); Wilbur (which brought back childhood memories of a pig in the wonderful book Charlotte’s Web); Hardscrabble Creek (a once popular area for early Indian tribes including Cheyenne and Sioux), and the unfortunate Jump Off Joe Creek (which refers to an accident of a young trapper in the 1830s). It was surprising how many National Park areas we passed through and the amount of greenery, especially trees in this logging region.

To add some inspiration at the end of this long trip we headed to Jacksonville. Not the well known town in Florida, but Oregon. This developed following the discovery of gold deposits in 1851. But when the gold ran out in the 1860s so did the economy. Today, this is designated a National Historic District. Some 100 of the original buildings remain, although most along the main strip are rather touristy in their content.

Jacksonville buildings are preserved as part of this National Historic District

The City Hall

We did, however, have our best meal yet in this town. An eclectic menu but, for once, not a chip, burger or battered fish in sight.

Then it was off to our hotel. We wondered why this is the first residence providing earplugs. We are based right next to a lorry/trailer park. Rather than Sleepless in Seattle, we are hoping we will not be Sleepless in Medford tonight.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

It was a change of scenery today as we continued our journey south some 100 miles to Depoe Bay on the Pacific Ocean. Busy towns gave way to wine growing regions, logging, hills, coastal views and, bizarrely, a full-size car hanging in a tree.

En route we passed through McMinnville which proudly stated on a road sign that its population was 33,810. It struck me that it must be somebody’s job to raise or lower that figure on quite a regular basis. The town is the home of fine wines, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, and an annual UFO festival. It would have been interesting to stop, but alas Depoe Bay was awaiting us.

First thing to hit us upon arrival at Depoe Bay was the sea mist, looking like a cotton wool blanket over our hotel, which is situated a short distance from, what is claimed to be, the smallest harbour in the world.

Depoe Bay, the mist and its small harbour

The next thing we noticed was that this is a tsunami zone. Just 30-70 miles off this shoreline lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone, one of the largest active faults in North America. As our room overlooks the sea we would not have a chance if an earthquake happened and the resulting tsunami did arrive, so I think we would just have to enjoy (to our surprise) the secluded hot tub and champagne that awaited our arrival at our hotel, The Channel Inn.

A stroll along the coast soon revealed this is a whale watching region, the Gray whale breaching and blowing as it feeds on Mysid shrimp found at the edge of kelp beds along the shoreline. We took advantage of one of the many hour-long whale watching sailings. Well it was more of a very enjoyable boat ride for although the crew worked hard to get near to the whale these mammals teased us with just puffs of water. That is until we were about to dock and a huge Gray whale welcomed us back ashore. It was a lovely boat ride on calm seas, beautiful sunshine and a mild breeze. It could not have been much better.

So now for the hot tub and that Champagne, while we watch the whales and boats come and go. But we must keep a clear head. Tomorrow we travel 300 miles south along the coast and inland to Medford.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We went on the Portland downtown walking tour today which started in Pioneer Courthouse Square.

As our guide said, Portland, the city of roses, is not very innovative in naming its places so, Pioneer Courthouse Square was in front of, you’ve guessed it, the Pioneer Courthouse.

The Square has been a controversial issue in Portland and had only finally been built in the 1980s with the help of public donations. Those donating had their names immortalised on the floor of the square in the bricks.

Unlike most cities in the United States, the blocks of Portland are small so walking from 1st to 10th is not too arduous. The centre of the downtown area was moved from beside the Willamette River, further south and at that time the sidewalks were altered so that they were wider. This gives Portland a feeling of not being crowded even though there were many locals and tourist in the downtown area. Compared to London, it was pleasant not having to dodge around people.

As part of a regeneration plan for the city, builders are charged a 2% levy to support the arts, which has resulted in many sculptures being erected on buildings and along the streets.

We visited the Portland Centre for performing arts, the Oregon Historical Society and the City Hall. In the middle of the downtown area near City Hall are park areas which were originally separated so that the women had a park and the men had a park for recreational purposes. The reason for this was that in 1800 there were 12 men to each woman so this gave the women a bit of breathing space from male harassment.

Around the downtown area are themed litter bins with even a litter bin that has a solar panel to help recycle the trash that is put in it. There were charging points for electric and hybrid cars which were free to charge if you paid to park there.

The area by the river is now the Tom McCall Waterfront Park with the original buildings (that were occupied when the river was used for commerce) having been knocked down. Between 1st Avenue and the waterfront park is Portland’s, and probably the world’s, smallest official National Park which is literally a few feet across called the Mill Ends Park.

Portland downtown is nice and worth visiting although it does seem to have a very high number of homeless people on the streets. The city also stretches across the river and the total population is circa 650,000.

For those who saw the recent BBC show by Louis Theroux about polyamory, our walking tour guide was surprised that Portland was such a hotspot and thought that this was more likely to be practiced down the coast in Los Angeles or San Francisco. We were kept well away from the strip clubs, mentioned yesterday, on this tour. In fact the town has a very pleasant look and feel about it. There is also quite a lot to do on the outskirts, but we must move on. Tomorrow we are on the road again on our way to Depoe Bay on the Pacific Coast.

Rather than drive a direct route from Mount Rainier to Portland, some 135 miles, we decided to take in some scenery on the way. The Windy Ridge Viewpoint sounded attractive and seemed around half way to our destination. What we did not anticipate was that this site was up some very long and windy roads taking us a good few hours to reach. But the journey was worth it.

Windy Ridge has an elevation of 4,200 feet above sea level and looks out over the devastation caused by Mount St Helen’s volcanic eruption on 18 May 1980. The north face of the mountain collapsed sending searing avalanches of hot rock, gas, pumice and ash, killing everything in its path up to 17 miles from its centre. An estimated 520 million tons of ash spilled out from the volcano, enough to cover a football field 150 miles high. An ash cloud circled the globe for 15 days. Homes, bridges and roads were destroyed. Towns further afield were instantly put into darkness, and people lost their lives including David Johnston, a geological survey volcanologist who continued to take readings of the activity seven miles away at his observation post. Following the disaster and in recognition of his dedication an area was named after him, Johnston Ridge.

The Mount St Helen’s National Volcanic Monument, in which Windy Ridge stands, was established by Ronald Reagan in 1982 as a place for research, education and recreation as a result of the devastation caused. Today much of the land has been left as it stood after the eruption, while other areas are gradually being replanted. What surprised researchers was how nature has managed to re-establish itself. Some of the evergreen trees managed to survive having been buried under snow. Its Meta Lake was covered in ice at the time which protected its ecosystem. On slopes facing away from the eruption some plants and animals were protected by ridges and snow, all of which helped recolonise the landscape.

Our many photos taken today show some of that devastation as well as breathtaking views, making the extremely long detour (doubling our mileage) a trip worth taking.

Tonight we are in Portland and getting ready for a walking tour of the town in the morning.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We walked with giants today or at least under them at the Mount Rainier National Park. The 1.2 mile Grove of the Patriarchs’ trail leads visitors through one of the least arduous walks within the park. Giant trees, many 250 feet tall and some considered to be 1000 years old, tower above hikers. The tallest include Douglas Firs (named after Scottish botanist and plant hunter David Douglas); the Western Hemlock conifer; Red Elder with its attractive ash grey bark; and Cedars. Adding to the attractiveness of this trail is the crystal clear mountain waters of the Ohanapecosh river. Again we will let the photos do the talking.

Incredibly tall trees, and …

Mount Rainier National Park is huge, comprising almost 400 square miles, 97% officially classed as wilderness. Visitors can drive through the park (a $30 car charge lasts a week), call off at various visitors’ centres, picnic, stop off for photo opportunities at designated areas and trek along the many trails designed for all levels of fitness, including mountain climbing. The glacier-covered Mount is actually a volcano and when covered in cloud or not, offers many opportunities for photographers.

Tomorrow we head 150 miles to Portland. All I know about it comes from Louis Theroux’s TV programme last week where he focused on polyamory. I shall let you look that up, but basically the consensual sharing of partners. It seems Portland is the capital of this way of life, and also is said to have the largest number of strip clubs per capita in the country.