BACK IN CIVILIZATION

We are back to civilization, in a big way: the San Francisco Bay area, Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa, CA. As we drove down from northern California, the traffic thickened, the quality of the road surface deteriorated, and the air quality changed from crystal clear to light smog. By the time we hit the Napa turnoff from Interstate 80 heading to San Francisco, I couldn't WAIT to get out of the traffic!

Wine country. Even better, Napa Valley wine country. World renowned, beautiful. All the sophisticated amenities that go with such a place: great restaurants, innovative chefs, gourmet food stores, boutique wine shops... When we lived in Sacramento, a long weekend in Napa or a daytrip to Sonoma was a special event that revolved around upscale shopping and eating; now that we bring our own home, it is just another beautiful place to spend time.


We settled in at Skyline Wilderness Park, a huge, wild tract of land with a small campground, lots of trails, and wild animals! A flock of wild turkeys strolls through the campground twice a day, deer peek out from the oak trees when we hike, and signs along the trails alert hikers to the possibility of a mountain lion encounter. For $25 a night, we get to "live" here in the beautiful heart of the famous Napa valley - how can you beat it?

I took a very short walk last night as the sun was about to set, looking out towards the surrounding hills and vineyards, to take this photo. Now, as I write this, a rain squall is moving through. We have a day of chores planned - yes, while wine buffs around the world dream of a trip to Napa, we who are here are doing laundry, thoroughly vacuuming Scoopy to remove a summer's worth of dust, visiting the grocery store! Ho, hum.