Town Covered By Water...

Sunny and a little breezy as I head off to the laundry. Ken went to check out the trail down by the creek and I took a chair and sat in the sun and read. Ken got back just in time to canvas the neighbors to buy some quaeters from. You can't believe how important quarters are on the road! They were more than happy to help out... that's how RVers are.

We spent some more time just relaxing and I finally finished the book I've been reading since last summer! Now we're restless so we hopped in the car and took a ride up to the Monticello Dam which sits above the RV park. The lake is beautiful but it has an unusual history.

Monticello was a town erected within Rancho Las Putas, a Mexican land grant of 35,516 acres in 1843 given to the Berreyesa family. The grant was enclosed in a river valley with Putah Creek running through it. By 1853, the Berreyesa’s had sold minor parcels of Rancho Las Putas, to pay gambling debts. Soon sections of the family’s holdings were auctioned off.

In 1866, the developers holding the majority of land in the valley divided Rancho Las Putas into smaller parcels to sell to farmers, and a town called Monticello was born. Within a year, the valley was filled with farmers who enjoyed mild winters and bountiful harvests, especially of wheat.

Four years later Monticello contained a cemetery, a general store, blacksmith shops, hotels and various other businesses. A former toll road through the valley was opened to become a public road. The town continued to grow after a large oil strike was found.

In 1906, proposals were made to dam Putah Creek to form a reservoir, but no proposal was acted upon until 1947. The Solano County and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation together formed the Solano Project, a combination of water plans which included the Monticello Dam. Residents of Monticello protested, but the California Governor and Solano County promoted the dam as necessary for the economic and agricultural growth of the surrounding area. Residents started leaving the valley to find homes elsewhere.

Construction of the dam began in 1953. Vegetation in the valley was chopped down, fences torn down and buildings demolished down to their foundations. Monticello Dam was completed in 1957, Lake Berryessa was formed, and the site of the settlement of Monticello lies beneath it.

Back at camp we got ready for the St Paddy's Day Dinner. We sat with Joe and Lela, who we met at Bingo the night before. Dinner was great with Corned Beef and all the fixins. At 7pm the Rubber Band Band played. They had a good mix of music and did some really nice Blues.

It was a fun night and we really enjoyed our stay at Canyon Creek.

Pictures: Lake Berryessa, View of campground from dam

Jelly Belly Fun

Well the weatherman was right..it's raining... so we piled in the car and went to explore Rte 128 W. This is the road we plan to take as we head north so we wanted to check it out to be sure it's OK to drive the coach over. This road is really windy and somewhat narrow as it works it's way through the hills of the Puntah Creek Wildlife Area. Just up the road is Lake Berryessa and the Monticello Dam. Even in the clouds the views are out of a picture book. We climbed over the Yolo Rocky Ridge Mountains and just enjoyed the rolling hills and budding lavender dog wood trees.

Continuing down Rte 128 we talked about when we were in the Napa Valley during my San Francisco work assignment in 1996. We remembered a little family place on a backroad called Nichelini Winery, but couldn't remember where it was. About 15 minutes later we came to the sign for it! Unfortunately they were closed.

Rolling through the valleys, around hairpin curves, and over mountains we came down into the spectacular Napa Valley. We decided the route would be ok for us to take when we leave on Sunday - we just have to go slow. Now on the Silverado Trail we are passing field after field of vineyards and wineries, but we're not tasting today. Some of the wineries here are amazing buildings nestled in trees or on top of hills overlooking the vineyards. Some look like castles with beautiful iron gates and long driveways, others are small and rustic with welcoming patios and gardens. Today we just enjoyed the views.

As we drive through the outskirts of Napa we found the Black Bear Diner and decided to stop for lunch. What a find this was. The food, service, and price was out of this world. The place was packed, but they made you feel like you were the only ones in the place. The history of how the diner grew from one restaurant to the family they have today was really interesting.

In 1851 a gold prospector by the name of Sisson fell in love with the Strawberry Valley at the foot of Mt. Shasta in northern California. He opened an inn overlooking wild berry patches which were frequented by black bears and people alike. Tired travelers soon became aware of Sisson's great hospitality and the inn became a favorite stopover. In 1995 the Manley's and their partner Bruce Dean opened the first Black Bear Diner on the site of the old inn. They were determined to rekindle the hospitality received by the earlier guests. They wanted to remind today's guests of a simpler time where service and quality were the cornerstones of business. Today the restaurants have expanded to a widespread family of Black Bear Diners along highways and byways of the Western, United States. If you see one of these in your travels - we highly recommend you stop and enjoy a simpler time.

After lunch we drove east to Fairfield, California - home of the Jelly Belly Candy Factory. This was our planned destination for today. Two young brothers imigrated from Germany in 1869 to begin the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Today the 5th-generation descendants are still making candy. In 1976 the invention of the first gourmet jelly bean brought the company international recognition. However, the company got a big boost when in 1980 news stories reported that presidential candidate Ronald Regan was a fan of the new generation jelly beans. It seems they couldn't start a meeting without first passing the glass jar of jelly beans around the cabinet table. Now the whole country wanted to taste a Jelly Belly jelly bean.

Stepping through the doors you are met by Jelly Beans hanging from the ceiling and pictures of famous people, like Elvis and President Regan, made out of Jelly Beans. We took the walking tour and had a birds-eye view of every step in the process. Walking through the factory the aromas of berry, cinnamon, and others wafted through the air. We tasted the new Honey Jelly Belly and saw why it takes up to 20 days to create each Jelly Belly jelly bean. With our sample bag in one hand and candy scoop in the other we went through the store and picked up some favorites.

Leaving the factory we took backroads through the Suisan Valley - which we didn't know existed - back to camp. We must have passed a hundred wineries and beautiful houses. The rain has let up some and it's suppose to be nice tomorrow.

Back at camp we had the Red Snapper for dinner and it was yummy. Then we went off to play BINGO. It was just a small group but lots of fun. Ken was "king" for the night - something new - he picked a number and everytime it came up he got a dollar. I won the 50/50 raffle for $11 so it was a good night.

Back home at 9pm we watched TV and then crashed. We are getting reacclimated to the time change again. The stars were out when we came home. It will be a good day tomorrow.....

Picture: Jelly Belly Lobby

Little Towns and Backroads

The trip home was great and the flight back to Sacramento was uneventful. Stepping off the plane was like stepping into a botanical garden. Everything is so green and there are trees in bloom everywhere. We picked up the coach and are on the road again.

Driving north on Rte 99 we soon turned onto I50/I80W traveling through the Yolo Valley. This is a rural agricultural region which centers around a multi-billion dollar tomato industry. The Yolo Valley dominates 90% of the canning and processed tomato market in the U.S.

Turning onto Rte 113N we are on backroads again. Thankfully a farmer was thoughtful enough to put a sign at the front of his orchard saying "Walnuts". Now we can identify the trees by their grayish white trunks. Crossing onto Rte 93a we come into the town of Winters. Cute little town with a cobblestone main street, cafes, and a good size market. Picking up Rte 128 W out of Winters we travel beside Puntah Creek. The road is narrow and curvy and follows the creek through a magnificent spring green valley with rolling hills rising above us on both sides. Jagged outcroppings of granite jut from the sides of the hills and cattle graze on the ridges.

Nestled in these hills next to Lake Berryessa is Canyon Creek Resort where we will spend the next 3 nights. We chose this area because it was a short distance out of Sacramento and would be a good place to get the coach set up for our trip. The Puntah Creek runs along the property and has good trout fishing. Unfortunately we're a little early as they don't stock until April 1. We got settled into our site and have beautiful views up the valley. We watched 2 mule deer roaming on the side of the hill just above our site.

It's a gorgeous day, cool breeze and warm sun. We need to restock the coach now after our trip home so we drove back into Winters to do some shopping at Lorenzo's Market. Pretty good little market and we got some fresh Red Snapper which we love and can't get at home very often.

Back at camp we don't have cell service or wifi but there is internet access in the lounge. Wow it was like stepping back in time - you needed a network cable to get access - no wireless here!

It's good to be back on the road again. This area is amazing and makes a great start for our new adventure.

Picture: View from our campsite into the valley