Napa Valentines Day, or We Heart Wine

Honestly, we never celebrate Hallmark holidays, but this year, we treated ourselves to a Valentine's Day trip to wine country, and we have to admit that it's a pretty romantic place.

We're staying in a new, farmhouse-style home in the Napa Hills that is as beautiful inside as the views outside it. Here are some highlights:

The first vineyard we visited was Charles Krug, founded in the 1860s by one of the valley's first winemakers. In St. Helena, the vineyard is rich in history, including family drama surrounding a fight between two of the Mondavi brothers, who bought the winery in the 1940s. Krug is still owned by the Mondavi family and apparently the younger generation has mended ways.

Krug is known for its old vine cabernets, which were served to us in a private wine library alongside a plate of cured meats, cheeses and housemade olives. I've never drank so much wine before noon! 

After leaving Krug, we drove south on the Oakville Grade. It's a beautiful drive over the Mayacamas mountains into Sonoma. Sadly, we passed acres and acres that were burned in the October 2017 fire -- the same fire that prevented us from coming up here last fall en route to San Francisco. It's nice to see some homes are already being rebuilt after such tragic loss.

The highlight of of Valentine's Day wine tour was Hanzell Winery, a boutique vintner specializing in chardonnay and pinot noir. This gorgeous vineyard sits high in the hills above Sonoma, with awesome views all the way to San Francisco.

Hanzell uses sheep and small pigs to graze the wild mustard, barley, lentils and other plants between the rows of grape vines. Chickens follow behind the larger livestock, all of which fertilize and break up the soil.  The original building that once housed the grape processing machinery and wine cellar now serves as a hospitality center. 

Today, the cellar is built into the mountainside, where wines are kept cool as they age in French oak barrels. Each barrel costs about $1200-1300. As they say in the wine business, it takes a large fortune to make a small fortune.

At Hanzell, we enjoyed two vintage chardonnays and two pinot noirs while we looked out over the beautiful landscape. One bottle is coming home with us to celebrate another special occasion and remind us of this great day!

Creede Fall (and a surprise!)

We've been in Creede for one week now and have watched the mercury bounce and the aspen leaves fall and blow away in the prairie wind. It's been a busy, fun week setting up the cabin and taking in the sites from a new, October perspective.

Among the highlights of the week were wildlife encounters, including moose tracks in the mud and this stunning red fox who we caught napping outside our window Wednesday morning:

The streams are filled with fish...

 ... And the trees with magpies and vireos (below).

We drove the Bachelor Loop on a spectacular sunny day to see the ruins of the old silver mines, starkly beautiful against the crisp blue sky.

 

And surprise! Patrick and Randy made a last-minute trip to visit and celebrate the new cabin and Randy's birthday. We had a great time with a birthday meal at the always-scrumptious Arp's, eating birthday cake (GF, of course), exploring Creede by truck and on foot, talking about fly fishing, shopping for SmartWool socks, and catching up on their trip to Ireland. We're so lucky to have good friends who venture to visit us, no matter how remote the destination.

That's all the Creede news for now, as we take the next few hours to winterize the cabin and then head west again to San Francisco to celebrate another special occasion with the extended family. Thanks, Colorado, we can't wait to see you again!

The Cabin

As of October 1, John and I are the proud new owners of a log cabin in Creede! We're hoping you come visit, but in the meantime, here are some pix from our first day settling in.

First, the cabin, below. It's D-log construction with full-length porches on two sides and lots of windows to enjoy mountain views in all directions. It also has a detached two-vehicle garage in back, with room for the teardrop and a workshop.

The neighborhood is called Bristol Head Acres for the mountain to the north that we can see from our living room. An equally beautiful feature is the Rio Grande River, below, a short walk from the cabin. As homeowners in this neighborhood, we have access to river angling and some of the best trout fishing in Colorado.

We closed escrow just in time for the peak of fall colors. The aspens are bright yellow.

The interior is quintessential mountain cabin with exposed tongue-and-groove pine walls and a wood-burning stove. A floor-to-ceiling pine tree post to the roof peak is a centerpiece of the living room.

Log stairs lead to a second-floor loft and master bedroom.

The loft is a great place to read or take a nap.

And a rustic log bedroom set perfectly complements the pine pitched ceiling.

The guest bedroom is ready for your arrival!

Wildlife encounters

Here in Creede, you never know who you're going to meet.

This guy was one of three deer on our front porch in the morning. 

He was as curious about us as we were about him.

While driving to a trailhead just outside of town, we encountered some cowboys, a border collie and a herd of cattle being moved from one pasture to another.

As you can see, some of the cows wanted to cross the road in search of greener grass.

Or perhaps the cows wanted to cross the road to get to the udder side.

Labor Day weekend

After the labor is done, Creede knows how to play, and so do we. 

Here we are at the 105-foot Treasure Falls between Pagosa Springs and Wolf Creek Pass. 

Waterfall is relatively light this time of year, but still impressive and a fun, short hike.

The highlight of the weekend: Creede's Gravity Derby. 

Check out Johamy in her #9 racer, El Caballo, and her competition.

And El Caballo zooms down Main Street...

... only to lose in every heat she raced. But it was fun to watch!

Show pix

After a month in rehearsal, we've finally launched ALBERT PORTER: BOY EXPLORER. Here are some mediocre pix from Day 1 of the tour. Note that we hope to do most of the shows in the round, but this first day was in a proscenium theatre. Anyway, they should give you a flavor of the show.