For about 20 years we've been coming to the Napa Valley and staying at the same place in the town of Calistoga. Dr. Wilkerson built his motel back in the 1950's, and along with plain clean rooms they sold health cures like mud baths and steam baths. And other old treatments you probably didn't want all that much. This was long before the Napa Valley was a fancy wine destination. The motel exterior looks pretty much the same and so do the warm mineral swimming pools, but of course the rooms have been updated over the years.
We used to look forward to seeing Dr Wilkerson sitting in the lobby or taking a nap out in the patio. He passed away not long ago and was well into his 90's, which says something about the healthful life here not to mention the chiropractic lifestyle. His family continues to manage the motel, and to be honest not much has changed. How can you improve on perfection?
When we stay here I always make an appointment to have "The Works" package in the spa-- which means a mud bath, mineral whirlpool, steam room, blanket wrap. Saying "mud bath" brings to mind some sort of outdoor wild wallowing, but it's pretty civilized. First of all, ladies in one spa area, gents in the other. The mud "bath" is a large cement tub you lower yourself down on slowly, then the bath attendant piles the steaming hot heavy mud all over your body. There you lie for 10 minutes as "toxins are removed, arthritis is eased and stress is removed from the body." That's how it feels, anyway. When that part is over, you pull yourself out of the sucking mud (not pretty but they've seen it all before) and then lay back to soak in a big bathtub of mineral water. Cucumbers are put on your eyes and an icy cold washcloth on your forehead. After that, you head to the steam bath where you can stay as long as you like-- again more cold cloths and cold water to drink. Finally, the attendant takes you for a quiet rest and covers you with a flannel sheet to "cool off" for a half hour. A final shower and out the door. How do you feel? Extremely clean! Must be the lack of toxins.
(Not me, but could be)
OK, maybe you are wondering does John ever do the mud bath thing? As he will tell you, he was "tricked" once into having a mud bath when I came across a two-for-one coupon and forced him to use it. The attendant at the man spa told him that the coupon thing "happened all the time to husbands." He's never done it again, but if you ask him he will tell you all about it in detail and personally I think he enjoyed it. Now he likes to dash around the county visiting wineries while I have my "treatments."
Oh well, he doesn't do spa treatments but he's one heck of an IT man on the road so I can blog. More later!
Napa Valley vineyards are beautiful in every season even though there isn't anything too exciting about watching grapes grow. But things really heat up here in late September and early October as the "crush" begins. The valuable grapes are harvested by hand and the fields are suddenly full of farm workers filling big plastic bins. The busy highways are even busier with speeding truckloads of grapes rushing to the waiting wineries. Of all the tricky points in the tricky grape growing season the weather is critical now. Napa Valley wine-making is obsessively technical, but in simple terms rain can be a disaster at harvest because it swells the ripe grapes and dilutes the sugar content. The jury is out on this 2011 vintage because northern California has had a cool summer. But whatever the harvest, you can bet the wineries will put a bright spin on their vintage.
The white grapes are harvested first. This picture is from the Clos du Val winery where we stopped yesterday. It's on the Silverado Highway not far from the city of Napa. The employees below are sorting out the big sticks and leaves before the fruit is dumped in the crusher. The juice is then pumped into the winery tanks to begin the painstaking transformation into expensive white wine-- probably Chardonnay or Savignon Blanc. With luck we'll be back in a few years to taste it.
If you're interested in the technical side of harvesting and the fearful prospect of rain, John recommends this article from the Clos Pegase winery blog.
California has just about everything nature has to offer, including an Old Faithful Geyser just a few miles outside of Calistoga. They say this location at the north end of the Napa Valley is one of the largest geothermal areas in the world. But only a few places have geysers that "perform" at regular intervals. Most geysers erupt whenever they feel like it, making them poor tourist attractions. Who wants to pay $10 for a geyser show that may or may not happen?
For about 20 years we've been coming to the Napa Valley and staying at the same place in the town of Calistoga. Dr. Wilkerson built his motel back in the 1950's, and along with plain clean rooms they sold health cures like mud baths and steam baths. And other old treatments you probably didn't want all that much. This was long before the Napa Valley was a fancy wine destination. The motel exterior looks pretty much the same and so do the warm mineral swimming pools, but of course the rooms have been updated over the years.
We used to look forward to seeing Dr Wilkerson sitting in the lobby or taking a nap out in the patio. He passed away not long ago and was well into his 90's, which says something about the healthful life here not to mention the chiropractic lifestyle. His family continues to manage the motel, and to be honest not much has changed. How can you improve on perfection?
(Not me, but could be)
"Just Joey" rose at sunset
