Westward ho to California, first int eh Central Valley, then over to the Pacific Coast before starting the eastward trek in Flagstaff, Arizona
Days 8 and 9: Winnemucca, Nevada to Tracy, California
Day 8 on our journey started with us taking leave from Winnemucca and the impeccable hospitality of Sean and Andrew. They have an amazing place there out in the middle of nowhere, ten miles outside of town. They have put a ton of their own skill and effort into building a collection of small buildings that come together into a cozy home. I look forward to visiting them again sometime soon to see what the next phases of construction bring!
The drive from Winnemucca westward on I-80 was quite pretty, as always. Once I hit Reno, the highway started ascending to Donner Pass (elevation 7,056 feet/2,151 m). There is a pleasant rest area at the top, where I was able to get photos of Charlie commemorating our visit there, including a peaceful pond just off the rest area.
From the pass it was a sharp downhill grade at 80 mph almost the entire way. Exciting! And at times slightly terrifying! I met up with Sturgis outside of Sacramento for lunch at a place called University of Beer. The beer selection was quite good, and the food was as well! The place is very dog-friendly, something Charlie and I appreciated.
From there it was on to our destination for the next two days: Tracy, California, in the Central Valley. My friends Baja and Didge were kind enough to put us up at their hang-out/project house, a cute little house (and garden, and workshop, etc.) with all the comforts of home, including an especially comfortable bed! After unloading and unpacking, we headed over for dinner with Brophey, Rasslor, Karwood, and DracoKnight. Dinner was delicious (especially Didge’s smoked brisket!), made even better by catching up with some wonderful friends.
After a much-needed slow start to the morning today, Didge and I kicked around ideas for breakfast. I found one of this random little gems from Yelp: Besito’s Fine Cuisine. This is an odd little place, a shaded patio tucked behind storefronts in old downtown Manteca, that is only open from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturdays and Sundays only. I was blown away by how good the food was (I had the friend chicken and biscuits with gravy, which was enormous and tasty) but even more so how friendly and helpful the staff were. When I walked in with Charlie I was immediately greeted with someone asking if they could bring him a bowl of water and a bowl of bacon. Charlie adored the bacon, of course, and when he had eaten it all, they offered to refill with more bacon! (I declined, in the interest of his digestion). The atmosphere was very laid-back, and it was just such a good experience all around.
From there Baja, Didge, and I started the day’s brewery tour. We stopped at Dust Bowl Brewing in Turlock. The place is huge (“What is this, a brewery AND an amusement park?”) but their service and the quality of their beer were both lacking, so we decided to move on. Next stop was Contentment Brewing in Modesto, where Rasslor and Karwood joined us. Contentment has a very relaxed and inviting taproom, dog-friendly inside and out. We walked in and they let us know that there was a grill fired up just outside and we could choose one of four kinds of hot dogs and grill it ourselves. The presentation of their flights was top-notch as well.
As for the beer…well, the taproom was relaxed and inviting. ANWYAY…
Our final stop was short distance away in downtown Modesto, 18Seventy Brewing. Again the dog-friendliness of the place inside and out was appreciated, and the staff was very nice. The beer was certainly…beer. Ah well, can’t win them all. On the bright side, we were able to commemorate Charlie’s visit to Modesto!
We closed out that day hanging out back at Brophey, Rasslor, Karwood, and DracoKnight’s place, getting some take-out Mexican, and chatting for several hours. It was a nice low-key way to wrap up a very busy week.
One last thing to wrap up the day: I get updates from the person watching Nora every couple of days, accompanied by photos. It looks like Nora is having a great time hanging out with other dogs at their house, which makes me very happy.
Day 10: Tracy, California to Sunnyvale, California
The drive from Tracy to Sunnyvale without traffic is a little over an hour…if you want to be boring and take the interstates. Instead, I used my tried-and-true method for finding interesting drives through mountainous areas: “Oooh, that looks like a really squiggly line! Let’s take that one.” That is how I wound up taking California Highway 130 from Patterson to San Jose through California’s Diablo Range.
Wow, that was exactly as advertised! It was a really fun drive with lots of beautiful views. If you aren’t comfortable with twisty roads with hairpin turns, steep dropoffs, and no guard rails, this is NOT the route for you! I enjoyed it, though. Charlie was utterly unfazed by all of the mountain driving, happily dozing in the back seat.
I checked into the Wild Palms Hotel in Sunnyvale, a quirky indoor/outdoor hotel that is part of the JdV by Hyatt brand. The layout is odd, but the rooms are nice, on par with a Hyatt Place. I had time to kill, so on Latte’s recommendation I sought out my favorite way to pass the time:
(Four of them were pretty good, but the raspberry pastry stout was kinda gross.)
For dinner, I was able to meet with Doug (Hakei), Ryu, Tauvix, and Res. My gosh, that was a fun evening! I enjoyed swapping stories and learning more about everyone. We even managed to go two hours before Tauvix, Doug, and I descended into deep MFF geekery discussion. Still, even that was rewarding, and it was great to get a better picture of how our Software Engineering and Infrastructure (SEI) and Registration departments are progressing. Charlie was of course his usual charming self, making several new fans (including someone who bought some jerky just for Charlie), then sleeping happily next to us as we ate.
Day 11: Sunnyvale, California to Bakersfield, California
After fortifying myself with some tasty coffee from Voyager Coffee, I hit the road from Sunnyvale around 8:30 AM. The drive to Santa Cruz was surprisingly short and we arrived to our first big stop of the day. Charlie has met Lake Michigan, and last year in Nova Scotia met the Atlantic Ocean. Today he met the Pacific Ocean!
Like his previous experiences with large bodies of water, he started barking at the waves, because they should really stop making all of that noise!
From there it was a drive down through the Salinas Valley. There are so many farms, and so many people working out in the fields. It was also neat to pass all of the trucks hauling huge amounts of produce. When we reached Paso Robles I stopped for lunch. Trying to keep things slightly more healthy I opted only for a salad and a Diet Coke. Yay, I’m virtuous! (Or something)
Next it was a short trip down the road to something I had spotted on Google Maps that looked intriguing: Tin City, a collection of breweries, wineries, cideries, and other food purveyors. I started out with Barrelhouse Brewing (quite a good blonde ale), then moved on to Tin City Cider. They specialize in ciders that are more on the dry side, and I liked them quite a lot.
(Not shown: me dumping two of the glasses of cider down my front. Ugh. Glad I had a change of clothes handy!)
Did I mention there was a distillery too? I tried their gin, their rye whiskey, and their pre-mixed Brandy Manhattan.
Alas, I prefer more juniper in my gin, more bite to my rye, and rye in my Manhattans. Still, it was fun to try!
I took a break from the booziness to check out the craft ice cream at Negranti Creamery.
They had some amazing flavors there, but I chose the Lemon Sheep Milk (tasty, but grainy) and Rosemary Blackberry (subtle, but quite nice). My last stop was at a winery for a glass of their red blend (61% Mourvèdre, 22% Syrah, 16% Grenache and 1% Viognier), which was also nice, but not something I needed a bottle of to take home. They had a lovely shaded tasting patio that I really enjoyed, though.
Finally it was time to resume our journey. We headed east for the first time! drove through the Polonio Pass into the Central Valley. “The pass is surrounded by grassy plains.” Yep, that about covers it. Not particularly exciting a drive.
We ended our drive at the Hyatt Place Bakersfield, which seemed OK, but I started to wonder as I checked in.
Me: “Where is the best place to park to carry things to my room?”
Front Desk Clerk: “You’re probably best to park in front, it’s most secure.”
“But which door is closest?”
“The front parking lot is well-lit at night.”
Ah. OK, I see. Parking out front it is. This may also be one of the few Hyatt Places I’ve stayed at that requires a room key to get in the front door after 9 PM. Huh.
The good news is that Caifornia Highway 58 east of Bakersfield to Barstow appears to have reopened after being shut down by flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Hillary. That will cut a couple of hours off tomorrow’s drive to Flagstaff, but that is still going to be a long one.
Day 12: Bakersfield, California to Flagstaff, Arizona
Today was driving. A LOT of driving.
I grabbed a bagel sandwich from a cute little mom-and-pop place near my hotel in Bakersfield, then I hit the road. With stops, it worked out to be over 8 hours. On the bright side, though, at least California Highway 58 through Tehachapi was open, otherwise it would have been closer to 10 hours.
The drive was pretty unremarkable, although the mountain ranges and variations in the land through the Mojave Desert were surprisingly interesting. We stopped in Kingman, Arizona for a late lunch and a chance to check out a dog-friendly brewery, Black Bridge Brewery. Wow, what a great find! The beer was excellent and the vibe of the place was chill, a nice respite on a hot day. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich from the BBQ place across the street for takeout, but the first time I picked up my order I found they had given me a half-rack of ribs. I took it back and they apologized profusely, then offered me the ribs anyway, free of charge. Sure, why not? A group of folks had been doting on Charlie at the brewery, so I offered the ribs to them and they very happily accepted (sounds like they were good ribs, too!). Side note: I was amused by the Pepsi machine at the BBQ place. I’m not sure if it was still working, though.
From Kingman, it was a little over two hours to Flagstaff. I encountered several rainstorms along the way, but nothing too bad. I had no problem getting to my AirBnB, but I unfortunately had not anticipated the many (and uneven) steps leading to it, which made navigating up and down them difficult for Charlie. Not much to do for it now, unfortunately.
The place itself isn’t too bad, particularly when weighed against a standard hotel room (it’s way cheaper per night too!).
Unfortunately, the rain has stuck around Flagstaff all evening, putting the kibosh on any plans to eat somewhere with Charlie since that requires outdoor dining. I sat staring at restaurant options for way too long and finally said t’hell with it, went to Safeway to pick up some things I’ll need here and at the other AirBnB’s on this trip, and skipped dinner. On the bright side, I now have a nice little list of places I want to check out while I’m here!
I’m staying in Flagstaff through Sunday, working remotely tomorrow and Friday. I still hope to get out and wander around a bit and find interesting things in the evenings, though! We’ll see what I come up with.
Day 13: Flagstaff, Arizona
Today, for a change, we didn’t have to drive for hours and hours. Damn, that felt nice! That doesn’t mean I didn’t get up early, though. I set my alarm for 6 AM, which worked out well because my AirBnB has a couple of huge skylights that allow plenty of morning light.
I worked remotely, which was surprisingly stress-free. I had kept up with work emails over the last week and a half so there there no nasty surprises waiting for me when I logged in. Despite the two-hour time difference (Arizona doesn’t do DST, which confused me at first!), there were no stupid-early meetings or phone calls, so that was nice.
I was able to get lunch at a lovely French-inspired cafe called Forêt. They had a nice little patio out front and Charlie was welcome. I had a tasty spin on avocado toast (with fresh fennel and rye bread) and a “Keke Palmer” – lemonade/iced tea/kiwi juice.
Afterward we wandered the town a bit and got some stereotypical tourist photos.
Later, I decided to check out a couple of the local breweries, starting with Mother Road Brewing Co. What a great place! They were extremely dog-friendly, with multiple staff members coming out to say hi to Charlie (and give him hugs), and they brought him a bowl of water and some dog treats.
Next was Dark Sky Brewing, which had a huge patio with good tent coverage – perfect for when a brief downpour came through! I was really impressed with their beers, with unique offerings like a smoked fruit sour ale and a Grodziskie (a Polish ale style) brewed with jalapeno and poblano peppers that somehow had a perfect balance.
Dinner was an effort to check out the “local specialties”. I ordered elote (because that’s always good) and a “Native Taco” (Fry Bread Topped with House Chili, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Green Chiles and Sour Cream). It was…a lot. The flavors were good, but lordy that fry bread was so greasy. It tasted good in a “this is gonna make you so fat” kind of way.
I ate maybe a third of the Native Taco and put the rest in the fridge. Whether I go back to it later is yet to be seen.
Days 14-15: Flagstaff, Arizona
On Friday I finished out the week working remotely, though as always by noon on a summer Friday afternoon (10 AM my time) everyone was out of office. Fine by me! I was still able to catch up on a lot of work and answered some pressing emails, so it was time well-spent.
Charlie and I walked around the neighborhood a bit in the afternoon and admired the views. One thing I did not consider when I booked this Airbnb is the number of steps (and uneven steps at that) involved in getting to and from the place. Charlie doesn’t do well going steps as it is, and with unevenly-spaced steps it’s a bit more of a challenge.
He’s managed OK, but I’ll be glad when we move on to more-accessible digs. I felt like a total out-of-shape flatlander after carrying my stuff up the steps in when we first got here, until someone pointed out that Flagstaff is 7,000 feet (2,130 m) in elevation. Oh yeah, that could affect things a bit.
Even at the elevation we are, there are still plenty of mountain peaks around, including Mount Elden, visible from the parking area.
It’s 2,400 feet (730 m) above Flagstaff, but add in the surrounding elevation and it’s more like 9.400 feet (2,860 m). By all accounts getting to the peak is lovely but strenuous hike. If I were local that would definitely be a goal!
After wrapping up work for the day, Charlie and I walked down to Wanderlust Brewing Company, only a couple of blocks away. I swear I didn’t book this Airbnb because of that, but it was a happy accident! Wow, what a find this place was! They host a local pride festival, have pride flags and merchandise, and the staff is very friendly. Not a lot of beers on tap, but what they had was quite good. As often happens while hanging out with Charlie, I got into some great conversations with locals while I was there. I chatted with husband and wife Mike and Susan about the area, places to check out, and road trips in general for about an hour (I enjoyed some shrimp tacos from the Lobstar food truck while we chatted).
As I was leaving, I stopped to say hi to a very excited whippet mix puppy. It turns out that she was part whippet and part Alaskan husky. In a weird coincidence, her owners have a dryland sprint dog kennel and go to dog races all over the country, including the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth, MN. We chatted about dog racing, the Iditarod, and races up by me (Doty Dryland and the UP200), and they mentioned they would be going to an event in Rhinelander, WI soon. Hmm, I should check the calendar!
This morning I took it easy, even if I did wake up at 6:15 AM. When Charlie and I finally got motivated, we drove over to Walnut Canyon National Monument, only 10 miles away. (Side note: given the entry fee is $25 per car, between the Badlands, Craters of the Moon, and this, my National Parks Service Annual Pass has paid for itself!) The canyon was gorgeous, and there was a nice, wide trail along the rim where Charlie would walk easily. It was fascinating to see the cliff dwellings in the canyon walls (which, surprisingly, only date to 1100 CE).
From there I decided to grab an early lunch (a tasty chorizo-and-potato omelette), then head back to the Airbnb and relax for a bit. Later int he afternoon we made the rounds to a couple more breweries, Historic Brewing (really nice folks, and I got some pointers on place in Albuquerque to check out) and then Grand Canyon Brewing & Distilling, which turned out to be more sports-bar like. I just had their beers. Meh. The patio was nice, and Charlie enjoyed the blowing on him.
In addition to the other mountains in the area, right Flagstaff is Humphrey’s Peak (12,637 feet / 3,852 m), the highest point in Arizona. I drove out that way to see the views and wound up driving up to the Arizona Snowbowl ski area. Not much going on in the summer, though they have a nice scenic gondola. I settled for walking around a bit and admiring the views.
After that I grabbed a salad for dinner (because holy cow the food gets heavy on these road trips!) and crashed back at the AirBnB for the evening.