Our second full day here in the Calistoga area, included a number of other very interesting, frankly they were amazing stops. Our first stop was at the Petrified forest. This area has a number of tree specimens where trees were impacted by a volcano eruption 3.4 million years ago. The trees were basically turned from cellulose to silicone structure when they were subjected to the effects of the eruption. This location was our first stop for the day, and though admittedly, we didn't know quite what to expect, it was far more fascinating than either of us expected.
Our second stop for the day was the Bale Grist Mill. Dr. Bale built this Grist (grain) mill back in the early half of the 1800's. Dr. Bale was always looking to basically 'Get rich quick' which never seemed to happen for this poor fellow. He did however marry a lady of Mexican decent and after which they were deeded some land and built Dr. Bales Mill. A few years after the Mill was built, Dr. Bale set off to find gold during the gold rush, leaving his wife and 6 children to flounder with a huge load of debt. Dr. Bales estranged wife rose to the occasion however turned the mill into a very successful operation and upon her death, left a great amount of wealth to the 6 kids. This location is a very facinating place to see. The interpretive park ranger was facinating explaining the operation of the mill and demonstrationg the manufacturing of flour. You can even purchase some of the product there. If you are ever in the Calistoga area, this is a must see stop!
After a lot of walking at our first two stops of the day, we ventured to the town of St. Helena for lunch and a little window shopping. St. Helena is a cool little town, with lots of great shops and restaurants. We found that there are a lot of Jewelry stores in this town. We had some great Mexican food for lunch. We must admit however, we think we found the town of Calistoga to be a bit more enjoyable. None the less, the stop here was definitely worth the time. :-)
We drove around the Napa valley a little bit checking out various estates. There is the one that was particularly interesting, The Castello (castle) di Amorosa. This castle, which built by hand in the late 1900's (yes folks 1900's) using materials from the US as well as the Mediterranean, gives you a great look back into what living in a castle might be like. There is a tour and wine tasting. The tour is $33.00 per adult. The castle has a mote as well as a draw bridge. Though we didn't partake in the tour, it appears to be something that would be very interesting to do some time. We fully expect that we will return to Calistoga at some point, and seeing this castle may very well be something we'd like to do.
We also drove through the parking lot of the Culinary institute of America. This is the other CIA which is a cooking school. This facility is on the old Greystone vineyards facility. It was originally built in the 1880's. It was bought by Christian Brothers in 1950 and operated until 1990 when it was closed. The CIA re-opened it in 1995 as a cooking school. The last time Eric was here was in the late 1980's when I was driving one of the 'Blue Devils Booster Club Party barges' on one of their booster club 'Mystery Trips'. I remember this because I had to thread one of the old GMC 4905's through the arches at this winery. I'm glad to see they've re-configured the parking lot so that doesn't have to be done any more! :-)
We returned to camp and this evening I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out the electrical problem with the dash board lights. Though I didn't find the cause of the problem, I did find that it looks like I have a direct short to ground somewhere. Additionally, I found that when Rosie was doing her electrical work under the dash board, that she pulled the wire loose for the spot light. So, I got the spot light working again. I also got a couple of dead wires capped off, but I guess the short on the instrument panel will have to wait for another day.
We are driving home Sunday, with a stop in Yountville, but should be home before dark, so hopefully, we will find the electrical short on Monday, a day we are taking off before we return to work.
Check in tomorrow for information about what we saw in Yountville.
Happy camping! Eric and Carol
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