Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Road Trip to Napa – Yountville, Calistoga, Sonoma and Trinity Road!
After traveling a day and a half from Seattle, we arrived in beautiful Napa Valley where we were greeted with mile upon mile of vineyards! According to Napa Vintners, there are approximately 700 grape growers in Napa County and 475 physical wineries in Napa County. (Yes, you read that right!!)
We stayed in the beautiful town of Yountville, but it sure looked like France when we dined at Bistro Jeanty. In fact, there are many world-class restaurants in Yountville, many with a French vibe, though some too expensive for us (French Laundry, anyone?)
We started the next day with breakfast in the town of Napa, then took the scenic drive to Calistoga on the Silverado Trail. I was welcomed by this cute sign, with my childhood name, and shopped the many boutiques in town, doing my best to support the local economy.
Afterwards we went to the nearby Petrified Forest, where we saw some of the largest petrified trees in the world, most ancient redwoods. We enjoyed walking the trails through the woods, both new and living, ancient and petrified.
“The Petrified Forest, in Calistoga, California holds one of the finest examples in the world of a preserved ancient forest. This unique site at the gateway to the Napa Valley was created following a violent volcanic explosion 3.4 million years ago. Seven miles northeast of the property lies the remains of an extinct volcano that today we call Mt. St. Helena.”
PetrifiedForest.org
Soon we were hungry and continued to Sonoma where we found a good Mexican restaurant for lunch. We also got a look at some of the town’s historic buildings, including the San Francisco Solano mission, founded in 1823, and Blue Wing Inn, erected by General Mariano G. Vallejo about 1840 for the accommodations of emigrants and other travelers. (I like old stuff.)
After lunch, it was time to head back, which I assumed would be continuing south and around the bottom to complete our loop trip to Yountville. But GPS had other plans. Why not skip the heavy traffic and go directly across the mountains on Trinity Road. No, you don’t see it on the map below, maybe there’s a reason for that??
Who were we to argue? We took the advice and I directed Bob accordingly, up and over a very, windy, twisty mountain road (with no guardrails I might add) where we became those crazy tourists, who held up the little local traffic there was. (Maybe not, as Bob continually pulled over to let them go by.)
I had to laugh when I saw the the route on my phone. Apparently, the speed limit was 55 mph, and we were going 20. After all we valued our lives. 😉 🙂
Fortunately, my husband is an excellent driver and has navigated many a mountain road in his day. Still, we were happy, when we finally began the descent into Napa Valley.
Honestly, I love that we took that road, even after I read stories of GPS sending many unprepared travelers across the white-knuckle drive. But isn’t that what makes travel fun? It’s the unexpected adventures that make for good memories !
We made more memories the next day, when we took the ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco but I’ll save that for a later post.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Such a fun trip, the petrified trees are so interesting!
Yes indeed! Thanks, John.
You’re welcome, Susie! 😊
😆
I took a similar “mountain pass” shortcut, although it seemed like I was the only one on it, which actually worried me more than letting others pass me! A fantastic trip!
I googled the road afterwards and learned that GPS was sending folks across, including truckers who get stuck! (but should know better.) Really bad with icy conditions during the winter! Fortunately, we enjoyed the mountain crossing on a beautiful sunny day. Thanks for your comment. ☺️
Great photos…and yes, it’s very difficult to be a passenger when going over the cross roads…some barely enough for two way traffic!
Thanks, John! We had such a great time, and the windy mountain road became part of the adventure! 😄
I am NOT a fan of those winding CA roads! Glad you made it in one piece. 😉
It was quite a surprise! We had no idea that GPS would take us on a windy mountain road! Even so, it makes for a good story! 🙂
My wife’s old stomping grounds. In fact, her sister still lives in Sonoma. She retired a couple of years ago. She was a manager for Domaine Carneros Winery in Napa.
It’s a beautiful area. She must be very familiar with those narrow roads across the mountains!
Yes, I’ve been on several of them with her.
I love driving those kinds of little roads. Once, when my parents visited, I took a shortcut in the Cascades. Not sure they were thrilled with my choice, dirt road and no guardrails. Look like a beautiful area and, as you say, could be in France.
It was quite a surprise, steep and narrow and windy, but beautiful views and made for a fun end to our day trip. I’m just glad I wasn’t driving!
Looks like a great adventure!
Yes it was!
What an excellent day out! Calistoga looks lovely and I would love that mountain road, as long as I weren’t driving. But my husband, who would be the one driving, would NOT have been pleased had I navigated us that way 😀
It was a great day and all the small towns were so charming and fun to visit! My husband did fine on the windy road, and we blamed the route on GPS!
I might be getting a little too old for white-knuckle mountain roads now, but that was a lovely road trip indeed. Especially with wine at the end of it! 🍷
Best wishes, Pete.
We didn’t know what we were in for, when we took that drive over the mountains! It was GPS run amok! But it made for a fun conclusion of our day trip, and we lived to tell the story! 🙂