Summer Tales – Sonoma and Napa Valley

I am recapping the three weeks of fun that I had with my family this summer.
See all related posts under the category:  summer tales.

After a good night’s rest, we got up early today (8/10) to explore the Wine Country. Being a geologist, I had to – of course – take my family to the Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga. We first stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park with a remarkable collection of petrified trees. The petrification process started over 3 million years ago, when a volcano erupted in the northeast, which knocked down everything in its path, covering it all with pale, yellow ash. Giant redwood trees lay buried under the ash, slowly turning into stone.

Just in time for an eruption, we arrived at the  Old Faithful Geyser of California in Calistoga. The geyser  is one of three geysers in the world with the designation “old faithful.” These are the geysers that perform at regular intervals. About every 30 minutes,  there is an eruption of steam and scalding water spraying 60 to 100 feet in the air. The eruptions are recorded and monitored. A change in the eruption pattern usually foreshadows an earthquake within a 500-mile radius.
The eruptions last about 5 minutes and it’s a really fun thing to watch.

After witnessing the eruptions twice, we got hungry and decided to drive to St. Helena and get some lunch at “Dean & Deluca”, an exquisite delicatessen grocery store. We bought some baguette, cheeses and deli meats and had a picnic in the shade of a tree.

In the afternoon, we went wine tasting at the Beringer Winery, the oldest winery with German roots in Napa Valley. The Beringer grounds and gardens were beautiful.

We made it back to our hotel just in time to take a quick dip into the pool and then headed out to dinner at “Cricklewood” Steak House.

… stay tuned.