Saturday, April 7, 2012

Flat Tire and Flat Out Tired

After we left the hotel in San Rafael we were in good spirits with fresh legs. Josh wrote down our 70 turn by turn directions determined that we would not get lost. Googlemaps was very good to us, taking us down some obscure bike paths, strange highway underpasses, through hospital parking lots, and it would have gotten us all the way to our destination but it tried to lead us through private property on a large cattle ranch with no road to speak of over a huge hill. Long story short, an extended detour over very hilly and windy conditions along with a flat rear tire led us to camping on the side of busy road in the shelter of a tall grove of trees. All hardships aside, it was a very beautiful, enjoyable, and sunny day.






After a long night sleep with a lot of scary sounding animals singing lullabies not soothing to the human ear, we quickly packed up camp before we became too visible. The early morning ride through Sonoma and Napa county was spectacular despite some busy roads. Most of the ride was through rolling hills filled with grape vines.


We took a shorter day and arrived at our destination at 11am -- Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa. We set up our tent and unloaded our gear and then hopped back onto the bike. Without all the extra weight we felt like we were floating on air. Needless to say, we got some motivation to send back extra gear in the mail tomorrow. After some lunch, we headed down "Silverado Trail", one of the better known wine routes in Napa Valley. Our plan was to visit for wineries along the way, but after a wonderful free wine tasting at Hagafen Vineyards, we were were very content and headed back to town to get some groceries for a protein filled dinner. Nowadays when we are grocery shopping we are calorie counting in reverse, trying to maximise our intake, it is quite liberating.


It would be wonderful to stay at this Campground for more than just one night because it is really great. There are many miles of hiking trails we haven't explored, as well as a disc golf course, and a phenomenal native garden which we only briefly walked through. However, in order to get closer to Davis, Sacramento, and eventually family near Lake Tahoe, we must hit the road tomorrow bright and early.


P.S. We would like to extend a word of appreciation to our dedicated followers (we have 527 views...most of which are probably our moms') :)

Location:Napa Valley

5 comments:

  1. I have no reason to complain about the (possibly) imagined mouse that kept us company in the cabin when we were visiting you guys, compared to the larger animals whose territory you were in....

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  2. Wow! Beautiful scenery. It looks like you are going to have an amazing trip.

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    Replies
    1. I can say that this mom has checked for updates often!

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  4. I have your blog bookmarked and check it every day. Your adventure is fascinating; I'm living vicariously though you. Thank you for documenting and sharing it! :)

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