Getaway time! April 2026

 

Jimmy and I believe in "Zooming away on Wild Adventures," but this was more like slipping away on a mild escapade, 120 miles from home southwest to Napa.  April is such a lovely month to be Out and About.  I checked the weather in advance and the week of April 21-24 looked clear ... till a few days before we left, then rain entered the picture.  Harumph.  I changed our dates at Skyline Wilderness Park to the 22nd - 25th.  Okay!  We packed a couple changes of clothes (layers, doncha know) and some grub in Tergel and took off.  Wincing at today's $5.59 average gas p/g prices, we thanked our lucky stars that we'd filled Tergel's gas tank before arriving home when we left the desert in early March!

Skyline Park is an 850-acre wilderness area at the southeast corner of Napa.  We've camped here before (check Skyline label at left) and really enjoyed ourselves.  With over 25 miles of trails for hiking, (mountain) biking and horse riding, there's plenty of room for everyone.  This time of year, green is the dominant color, which mixes harmoniously with blue skies and cotton-candy clouds, above.

We did a recon walk-about our first afternoon, looking to see where the trails began and checking the grounds.  Lots to do here.  The RV park wasn't crowded and I had great access for bird watching from our dinette window.  Our site had W/E.

The next morning (Thursday), we set out on the Skyline trail, a sort of arduous climb to the top of the park -- but, oh the views!  Jimmy, above, is all set to go.  We had plenty of water, our hiking sticks, and granola bars.  We didn't hurry; the trail was too steep.  Leeching rainwater formed little rivulets on many parts of the trail.

Spied a number of these cuties.

Huff puff!  Half-way-plus, it was instant recognition when we came to the old rock wall.  "Hey, I remember this!"  And we also recalled a hole in the wall/fence where we could step through and look south with its fantastic vista, as you see below:

Wow, how's this -- the Napa estuary and San Francisco Bay beyond, with Mt Tam poking into the sky.  I think it's Mt Tam.  We could faintly make out a city skyline with binocs, which we thought was either Oakland or San Francisco.  This is one of those places where "you can see forever."

And, looking north, we had sweeping views of Napa Valley and beyond, to surrounding mountains and possibly even to Alaska (just kidding about Alaska).  The trees in the park are a sight in themselves -- the venerable sturdy Coastal Live Oak, California Buckeye (above, in flower), and California Bay (laurel), etc.  My bay leaf jar at home was empty so I picked bay leaves, enough to last, uh, quite a while. 

We made it to the top!

At 1630’ elevation, Sugarloaf is the highest point in the park.

Elevation gain on this trail was many hundreds of feet, but in this photo, the ground appears level.  Short-sleeve shirt day!  We dodged all the Poison Oak in the park, successfully, I hope.

Overlooking Napa green-green vineyards.  We found a bench on our trek down (photo below), where we ate our granola bars and split a Gatorade, all the while admiring this picturesque scene.  Our Tergel is parked at the yellow checkmark.  Obviously, we still had a way to go before getting down to our "home."

What a nice picture, and a fine spot for a most welcome bench!  Steep trail!  We had to be careful where we placed our feet even on the downhill.  I'd say we were in shade a third of the time, but the day was so fine, we were never too hot nor too cold.

I wouldn't tire of the view.

Discovered this "guy" scampering across the rocks on our return, not far from Tergel.  While it may look fierce, it's a Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar.  We named it "Bob."  And we left it alone!

In early April, Jimmy and I walked the Buttermilk Bend trail near Nevada City when wildflowers were covering the hillsides, along with a multitude of Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies.  So, the caterpillar morphs into this beauty. 

Getting closer!  Howdy, Tergel.

Between the Acorn Woodpeckers, above, probably making another hole in the pole, California Quail, and Anna's Hummingbirds, we never lacked for entertainment!  Quite a large variety of birds here.

Oh, and these fellas, too.

Each morning we heard gobble, gobble, gobble.

A four-mile hike was enough for us, considering the elevation gain, and we napped a bit in afternoon.  After dinner we scouted around on foot, found a large archery range, two disc golf courses, and more.  Back at the ranch, a weather check showed rain on Saturday.  Phooey.  We didn't want to drive home in the rain, so we decided to leave Friday.  April may be lovely, but she's capricious!

After a leisurely morning, we checked out, but left Tergel on the grounds.  Smartie took us to Gott's Roadside in Napa where we used a gift card from Matt and Jen for a delicious burger lunch.  The restaurant was packed with a waiting line when we got there and likewise when we left!  Because of the crowd, we shared our booth with two ladies from Redding, Cathy and Bobbi, which made lunch all the more enjoyable.  Good company.

Home before dark and before predicted rain.  Short and sweet getaway.

Autumn in California -- October 2013

It may not rival The Catskills or Connecticut, but that's all right.  This time of year, after a long hot summer with little or no rain, the grass on the hillsides is dun-colored, almost a silver or even golden in certain light, and it's handsome in it's own way.  When the winter rains begin, those hills will green again.

This is my time of year.  These Indian Summer days are the best nature has to offer.  Sunshine abounds in a marvelous big blue sky.  Spent leaves, painted gold and red, ease from branches and drift lazily to the ground, twirling slowly in the still air.  Daytime temperatures are that perfect balance between not too hot and not too cold, and nighttime temps are cool enough to warrant two blankets and comfortable snuggling.  The days feel still, relaxed, perfectly content.

After leaving Salt Point St Park, Jimmy and I drove to Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa.  We spent two heavenly days there before going home on Saturday.  We were surprised when the manager told us the park was booked, but we could camp in their overflow area.  Well, that was fine with us.  We didn't have any hookups at Salt Point either.  Looks like we didn't need to bring that electric coffee maker!  

 

We actually liked it better up on this rise close to the shedding walnut tree.  Great views.

This grapevine near Tergel offered a striking display.

Napa was a riot of colors:  Each vineyard seemed to post acres of yellows, reds, golds 'n greens. 

 

Two fearless black-tailed deer, out for a morning saunter.

 

Jimmy on the cool and shaded Bayleaf Trail in Skyline.  We gathered some bay leaves!

We've seen these small trees.  All around.  But what are they?  We pulled one off a tree and smashed the hull with a rock.  Inside was a creamy seed, similar to a horse chestnut.  Strange-looking.

Just by chance, on Facebook of all places, I found out the tree is the California Buckeye.  The tree sheds its leaves early and looks dead by the time these pear-sized fruit appear.  One of the websites says the California Buckeye is "as common as dirt."  Maybe we can grow one, too.

Amazing changes took place during the week we were gone.  The native dogwood outside our dining room window changed into this beauty!

All the dogwoods in Nevada City are displaying brilliant or muted reds this year.  These are in our side yard.  We had a terrific week on the coast and in Napa, but coming home made us HAPPY!

A Napa CA jaunt - 10/28 - 10/31 2012

Napa is a great place for a change of scenery! And it's only two-and-a-half hours from our Nevada City home. We filled up Tergel with the necessities, and took off on a warm Sunday morning, aiming to stay at the Napa Elks Lodge RV campground, recommended by friends. Our plan was to stay three nights and do some sight-seeing and hiking. One objective in particular was a return to hike in Skyline Wilderness Park, specifically the rugged Skyline Trail. Skyline Park is an 850-acre wilderness area, at the southeast corner of Napa, with lots of wildlife, including deer and wild turkey, and a variety of birds.

Monday: Skyline trail winds up-up-up thru golden grasses, oak groves, and affords wonderful views of the Napa Valley, wetlands south of the city, and as far away as San Francisco Bay, Mt. Tamalpais and Mt. Diablo. Once the fog burned off today, we saw all this! We spent the entire afternoon hiking and admiring views from every angle; we were in no hurry. Several runners passed by either coming or going, reminding us of the days when we trained to run in road races, and speed was paramount. No longer!

The elevation gain/loss was about 900 feet, which gave us quite a work-out! Our route eventually took us past a collapsed miner's cabin down to Lake Marie. We sat there on a bench for a spell, resting and sharing an apple, watching coots swim across the tiny lake. We returned to our car on the lower Marie Creek Trail, an altogether different experience, green and lush, steep in sections, with lots of boulders to climb over or around.

Our total hike today was approx 7 miles. And we picked an excellent day, cool with plenty of sunshine.

Looking toward Napa.

Acorn woodpecker, filling the holes with - of course - acorns!

One of several large piles of rusted cans. ??

High on the ridge, taking in the view.

Closer shot of the above photo.

Two different views of the Skyline Trail, above and below.

Some sections were easier than others!

We paused often to admire the scenes around us.

I've looked online every way I know to find out information on the miner who had the cabin here, but find nothing. The chimney is brick and rock.

Lake Marie. Small, but serene.

The Marie Creek Trail includes four creek crossings and plenty of boulder scrambling as we worked our way through the narrow moss and fern covered box canyon. Initially the creek was dry, but seep water finally made a tiny flowing creek.

Everything was covered in green moss. I can testify: It was soft.

Back in the chaparral, this inquisitive doe didn't mind us.

This looked like someone began hacking thru the rock in the hopes of treasure? The hole only went in about 15-20 feet. I didn't go in any further.

One more vista to behold.

Watch out, ladies, Thanksgiving is coming!!

The orange color stood out, begging for a photo!

Click on any photo to enlarge.

An extraordinary hike on a lovely fall day. Tomorrow: NO hiking!!

Wed, 5/6 - Skyline trail hike

A cool morning, an early start, and you have the beginning of a most beautiful hike. We walked out our RV door and for three hours we hiked on a dirt path over hill and verdant dale with no one else in sight. A few brown-tailed mule deer seemed more curious than startled. Birdsong kept us company. Trees and rock walls were thick with velvety moss. The path took us so high we found ourselves in a soft mist that gathered along the ridges like a summer blanket. The photos are not in any particular order, but each one shows the beauty of Skyline trail. Lucky us!