Summer 2011 Road Trip: CO/UT/NV/CA

Wednesday was a gorgeous day in Colorado! We slept in a little bit, since we hadn’t the past few days, then walked into downtown Frisco and had breakfast at the Log Cabin Café. From there we went on a hike called the North Ten Mile, which has its trailhead right off of I-70 exit 201, at the end of Frisco’s downtown strip. We probably hiked about two miles up, then had to turn around because there was still so much snow on the ground!

 The reason we had to turn back.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. We cooked dinner, watched a movie, did some laundry, repacked, and rested for our drive to Salt Lake City on Thursday.

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This morning we left Frisco around 10:00 and spent most of the day driving. I-70 West from Frisco is a beautiful drive! We wound through Glenwood Canyon in Western Colorado, where there is a huge natural hot spring! 

We also drove through the mesas from Grand Junction, CO, and into much of Utah. 

We also saw these ridiculously huge windmills while driving through Nevada. Each blade looked to be more than 50 feet long.

When we arrived in Salt Lake City, we spent about a half hour at the Great Salt Lake Marina. It is quite a majestic sight, surrounded by so many snow-capped mountains.

We’re camping in Salt Lake City tonight, then driving all day tomorrow to visit my family in Berkeley, CA.

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Camping in a big city is much different from camping in a nice remote area—and much less preferable. Our tent was ten feet from a city road with a bus route and about a mile from the airport. It was not fun, but at least we didn't have to pay for a hotel room. Plus, it wasn't 35 degrees.

Friday was spent driving about 10 ½ hours through Utah and Nevada and across California to Berkeley.  We saw the Morton Salt mills and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and it was otherwise mountain views until we got to California.

 Morton Salt Mill

 Bonneville Salt Flats

 We made it!

We got to Berkeley around 6:00, and my aunt had made a delicious Mexican style soup with meatballs for dinner. We visited a bit and went to bed.

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Saturday was very low key. We relaxed around the house and went shopping. While we were out shopping in the Fourth Street district, we stopped at a place called the Pasta Shop where they were having olive oil tastings, which was a new and fabulous experience! We tried samples about ten different olive oils with bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, roast beef. We even got a taste of vanilla ice cream drizzled with our choice of olive oil and sprinkles with sea salt. That was a combination of flavors I would never have put together, but it was delicious! After we shopped, we went to Vik’s Chaat Corner, a local Indian restaurant, for lunch. We had been itching to go back to this place since we’d visited last August. We had a masala dosa and a bhature cholle—fantastic! Saturday night we went with my aunt and uncle to a party in Oakland Hills, where we had a great time meeting several architects whom my aunt went to school with. On the way home we stopped at Ashkenaz, a music and dance club, for about an hour. My uncle knew the band who was playing that night, Baba Ken and the West African High Life Band. They were excellent!

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Today we got up and had breakfast with my aunt and uncle—my aunt had made a delicious blueberry coffee cake. We decided to spend the day in Napa Valley. We went to V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, which is four generations old. It is quite a large operation, but they do not distribute in stores or in restaurants because they sell all of the wine that they produce at the winery or through online orders.

We toured the wine cellar, where they had displayed some of their antiques—grape crushers, corkscrews, old bottle labels. We also visited their meat and cheese deli, which was absolutely amazing. The moment we walked in, I was engulfed by the most delicious aroma I have ever smelled! They had a huge counter full of imported cheeses, they also sold Italian meats, baguettes, and a variety of dipping sauces and spreads. They had free samples of several cheeses and sauces, as well as some fudge.

The tasting bar was in the next room and was quite chaotic, considering that our salesperson said that today was not a busy day! We both had a tasting of six wines, starting with a sauvignon blanc. We also tried the Sattui Family Red blend, the syrah, one of their cabernet sauvignons, a Madeira, and I tried the 12-year-old Port while Eric had the Pinot Noir. It was a fun experience—one of those that makes us feel fancy! We bought a bottle of the syrah and one of the cabernets, as well as some French cheese and a baguette. We enjoyed the picnic area while we munched on our bread and cheese. We’re saving the wine for our collection!

 

 

 You have to get the aromas

 

Our selections

On the way back to Berkeley we stopped at Rutherford Grill. The wait was over an hour, but we snagged a couple of seats at the bar. Since we’d already snacked at the vineyard, we shared an entrée of fried shrimp and coleslaw. The food was very good and a nice end to our day in Napa Valley.

Tonight my cousin came up from San Jose to visit for a couple of days, and I helped my aunt make sausage and polenta for dinner. We had a great time relaxing, eating, and visiting. Tomorrow we’re spending the day in San Francisco.