On the Road: (Pacific Northwest, 2011) Santa Rosa to Reno

Drove the slow route, through Winters on my way east and north from Santa Rosa, heading for the Lake Tahoe area. These are mostly familiar roads. I stopped at Lake Berryessa, near the Montecito Dam to look at the interesting rock formations there--places where sedimentary strata have been turned completely on their side. Stopped here and there to look for birds, but didn't see anything of interest. From Winters I took the freeways, as it was getting late. As it is, I didn't arrive in Reno until about 8:00PM. I had trouble finding a place to eat that was still open at 9:00, which seems bizarre in a casino town, but I found a 4-star hotel room for $27 dollars using Hotwire--first time I've ever done that, but it was brilliant. Had a nice glass of Loire Rosé at an excellent little wine bar called the West St. Wine Bar (148 West St.). Dead on a Tuesday night, but, as a result, had a long, interesting conversation with the man behind the bar, Chase, who had lived and worked in Italy. Very friendly, very knowledgeable. He recommended a restaurant around the corner that serves late, where I had a tasty grilled cheese sandwich--a very late dinner. He told me about an old section of town that I plan to check out on my way out of town--heading north on Hwy 395. The sunflower field below was between Winters and Davis.