Our bike ride around Coyote Hills was exciting and beautiful. The trails we rode were paved but that didn’t stop me from picking up a nasty goathead which flattened my tire. If you’re keeping track, that’s four out of four tires that have gone flat on our new bikes. Bleh.
We still enjoyed the scenery on our way back to camp to fix the tires.
We secured a spot at the new Dumbarton Quarry campground in Fremont, CA for 10 whole days! We wanted to spend some quality time with friends and family in the area and this was the perfect location.
This is a great campground, 2 years old with full amenities, having been rennovated from an old quarry which excavated rock base since the 1950s. It’s the first urban campground built in the SF Bay area in over 30 years, and it’s adjacent to the terrific Coyote Hills park with tons of hiking and biking trails.
Hiking around the park led me to peaks overlooking these salt evaporation ponds and the entire southern part of the San Francisco Bay. For a campground right on the highway and within spitting distance of both SFO and Oakland’s airport, it was fairly quiet.
We saw tons of wildlife - the ground squirrels drove Mack bonkers! The rabbits came out at night, along with the owl. Lots of birds chirped all day long. The East Bay Park District has planted drought-resistant trees and shrubs including my favorite hardy rosemary.
I spent a day with my cousin, her daughter and my aunt and uncle at the nearby Ardenwood Historic Farm. The farm has been continuously working since the late 1800s, and on this day, the staff dressed in period costume and gave a fun tour. We fed the chickens and the goats and sheep corn which was grown on-site.
Can’t wait for our next East Bay trip!
I could drive through vineyard country all day. The geometry of the land is so pleasing…
Calistoga was a short motorcycle ride and Dan got to experience his first mud bath. The mud is mostly peat and hot water, mixed with some volcanic ash. There is a bathtub full of the stuff and you could probably just lay right on top of it, but to get the most benefit, you have to wiggle and jiggle yourself into the muck. It was hilarious! The mud has been touted as having healing properties for ages, so we laid in it and found some zen.
We also visited the Petrified Forest which was excavated after being covered by a volcanic explosion around 3 million years ago. The forest itself was discovered in the 1800s and has been owned by the same folks since the early 1900s. There’s a great trail around the park, interpretive signs and maps and even a naturist who will tell you about the history of the area. In 2017 a fire raged through the area, marks of which are quite evident today.
We escaped the rainy redwoods and headed south into wine country along the Russian River. Grapevines grow wild along the river, but they’ll never produce fruit. Did you know a grapevine only produces grapes when it thinks it’s dying? We prune the shit out of the vine, the plant thinks it’s dying, so it produces grapes to propagate and send its seed off in hopes of survival. Wild.
When you are literally surrounded by vineyards but don’t drink wine, the next best tasting is olive oil! Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill has a terrific sampling menu of various olive oils with sourdough bread bites. From the mild Manzanillo to the robust Tuscan and the flavored Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon, we enjoyed our olive oil journey. The shop carries local artisan fudge made with their olive oil, so of course we enjoyed that, too!
Our luck with the weather allowed us to take a quick motorcycle ride around Crescent City. We walked the length of the B Street Pier and watched people stuff raw chicken into traps for later treasures.
The Battery Point lighthouse is old timey and open for tours - but only at low tide. We walked along the jetty for a bit, watching the waves crash against the hill supporting the lighthouse. Tons of birds, mostly seagulls, kept us company.
Dining at Elise’s Eatery was delightful! The best burgers and mountains of curly fries and onion rings! The mural on the wall depicting the lighthouse and the waves was really groovy, too.
While it was wet and rainy in the Redwoods, we were uninspired to go out on the motorcycle or ride our bikes outside of camp. Luckily, there was a fun walking trail around our campground we explored. Lots of gorgeous ferns and moss-covered trees. Oh, and ‘shrooms!
We spent a very rainy week in the redwood forest right on the Pacific Ocean. We got two great days at the beginning of the week and took full advantage with a motorcycle ride through the redwoods and a bike ride to the ocean.
Our campground was incredible - towering redwoods and super quiet underfoot. It felt like nymphs could be around every tree and gnomes in every crannie.
Our time in South Dakota was splendid, catching up with friends and enjoying long motorcycle rides. We camped in Spearfish and saw our fri...
