napa valley

Petrified Forest in Calistoga

 in Fitness / Travel  tagged calistoga / family / hiking / hiking gear / lifestyle / napa valley / outdoor fitness / staycation by

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Our family loves the outdoors, and hiking! So, when I was researching hiking trails in the Napa Valley, I came across The Petrified Forest located in Calistoga. I had no idea we had one here in the Bay Area! This sounded amazing, and like something we needed to check out. We are so glad we did!

The Petrified Forest in Calistoga features petrified redwood tress which are frozen in time. They fell over about 3.4 million years ago, you read that right, 3.4 million years ago! The trees were knocked down forcefully by a volcanic explosion from a volcano located behind present-day Mount Saint Helena. It is no longer a mountain, and it is dormant; buried behind our current mountain. The explosion was so forceful, it toppled a redwood forest filled with trees which have been aged at over 2000 years old at the time of the explosion. Can you imagine? Trees which were already 1000-2000 years old, toppled over by a volcano, then preserved under the ash for 3.4 million years! It’s incredible!

We took the 11am guided tour which was incredibly interesting. Our tour guide taught us so much about petrified wood and the history of the forest. He was incredibly nice, and so informative! We really enjoyed the tour.

The tour is also a hike, so if you go, wear a good pair of hiking shoes or boots. My hiking boots were perfect for the terrain. Also be sure to allow enough time for the tour. It was roughly 1.5 hours which was not only a good hike, it was a lot of time to learn a ton of information from our guide. We loved it!

You can learn more about The Petrified Forest on their website.

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Have you seen a petrified forest before? What did you think?

XOXO
Cathy

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Family friendly winery in Napa Valley

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Travel  tagged family / inglenook / napa valley / outfits / staycation / travel style / vacation outfits / winter 2020 by

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wearing: blue and silver earrings / lipstick / long sleeve tee / winter cardigan sweater / blue scarf / belt / bootcut jeans / Chloe bag / nail polish / charcoal boots /

Well, one cannot visit the Napa Valley without visiting at least one winery, right?! Of course, this may sound easy in theory, but if you are traveling with kids to the Napa Valley, many wineries will close their doors to you; after all, you have to be 21 to drink in California.

We are not a big drinking family. We just wanted to tour a winery, relax, and have one glass of wine to taste. After quite a bit of research, I discovered Inglenook Winery offered the upscale aesthetic we were seeking; plus, they were kid friendly. Win/win!

Inglenook Winery has a rich history in Napa Valley, not to mention they have really good wine! So we were really happy to find they were set up for families to enjoy their winery setting. I called ahead and got on the “guest list,” which is essentially making a reservation for the Bistro. The Bistro is great because they offer food, non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, and wine by the glass. This isn’t wine tasting, which is in a separate room, and kids are not permitted. The Bistro is like a little cafe where you can get snacks, and buy your drinks.It’s perfect if you have kids.

We decided to sit outside with our baguette, cheese plate, Coca-cola and water for kids, and one glass of wine each for my husband and I. It’s winter, so sitting outside was a bit chilly, but worth it! Outside the Bistro, kids can play with wooden boats in a giant fountain. There are also Bocce Ball courts, benches, tables, and a relaxing vibe. My kids felt grown up playing there, even though they were drinking soda and water. It was great!

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There are certain parts of the winery where children are not permitted, but we were allowed to tour the facility ourselves. Inglenook has a fabulous museum on-site which shows, and tells, the history of the winery. Since Francis Ford Coppola is the current owner of Inglenook, he also has a movie museum on-site which has an incredible collection of old film projectors, and other movie memorabilia. It’s really interesting. My whole family enjoyed it!

We also enjoyed touring the beautiful and historic building the museum, Bistro, and gift shop are located in. I was awestruck by the beautiful chandeliers; I’m a huge fan of ceiling light fixtures. Outside, we toured the grounds, and saw the beautiful vineyards, as well as olive trees used for producing olive oil. I am kicking myself for not getting a bottle of olive oil while I was there.

We really enjoyed visiting Inglenook Winery located in Rutherford, in the Napa Valley. Next time I am in the Napa Valley, I will definitely visit it again!

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What is your favorite winery to visit in the Napa Valley?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

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Old Faithful Geyser Calistoga

 in Travel  tagged family / napa valley / outfits / staycation / travel style / vacation outfits by

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One of the must-see’s when visiting Napa Valley is Old Faithful Geyser. While admission is a little high, you cannot go through life living in the bay area without seeing this geyser at least once. It’s one our local natural wonders!

We visited Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga right after Christmas, so there had been plenty of rain during the holiday season to fuel the geyser, and temperatures were quite chilly. The conditions allowed for the geyser to erupt every 5-10 minutes. Under normal weather conditions, it erupts roughly every 45 minutes. According to information provided by the geyser museum, the geyser slows eruption to every two hours about 72 hours before an earthquake within 150 miles. That is incredible information for local geologists!

Since it was really chilly outside, with temperatures in the high 40’s and low 50’s, the weather wasn’t conducive to an outdoor picnic. In my opinion, the best time to visit Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga would be the fall or spring seasons. Temperatures will be mild, and it will be comfortable for spending half a day, or an entire day, on the geyser grounds. They have plenty of picnic areas, bocce ball, and other activities to keep you busy while you enjoy a picnic; perhaps even some local wine you bring in! This is a bring-your-own-picnic type of place. They do have a little convenience store within their gift shop, but I would recommend bringing in your own picnic.

In addition to an Instagram-worthy picnic area, the Old Faithful Geyser grounds offer farm animals and a relaxing fountain to enjoy gazing at. This would make a really relaxing, slow day in the spring or fall months. We definitely need to go back when temperatures warm up! You can learn more about visiting here.

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Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for more from Napa Valley!

XOXO

Cathy

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