Cuttings Wharf Rd. - Route 121, Aug. 2, 2010

Walking Distance: 3.5 mi. (1.3 mi. + 2.2 mi.; 2 segments)
Walking Time: 1 hr., 25 min. (2:13 - 2:36 p.m.; and 2:50 - 3:52 p.m.)
Start and End Point: unpaved side of Cuttings Wharf Road, Napa, CA

This afternoon I walked the upper (northern-most) part of Cuttings Wharf Road, in Napa. Along the way, I passed by vineyards, a "Pet Resort," a few horses and ponies in a pasture, and some abandoned buildings near the intersection of Cuttings Wharf and Route/Highway 121. It was a pleasant day for the beginning of August. Thankfully, it has been a relatively cool summer so far.

All was rosy until I saw the owl...

A note about roadkill: Unfortunately, walking along busy roads with lots of fast-moving cars means seeing dead birds and animals occasionally. This afternoon, I spotted a recently deceased barn owl. It was a sad sight, but a beautiful bird; so I'm making an exception and I'm including a picture here. A good reminder to drive carefully if possible.

Wildlife Sightings:
3 little brown jobs (LBJs); 13 butterflies (11 white); 5 dragonflies; 2 mockingbirds; many blurs in the grass/bushes (probably lizards); 2 horses and 2 ponies; 1 crow; 1 turkey vulture; 2 lizards; 1 barn owl (deceased).

Cuttings Wharf, Las Amigas Rd. - July 23, 2010

Walking Distance: 9 miles (3.2 miles + 5.8 miles)
Walking Time: 3 hrs., 39 min. (1 hr., 24 min. (12:03 - 1:27 p.m.) + 2 hrs., 15 min. (2:18 - 4:33 p.m.)
Start and End Point:  Cuttings Wharf Boat Launch Facility, parking lot, Napa, CA; and Cuttings Wharf road/near intersection with Bay View on map., Napa, CA.

It was wonderful to see some glimpse of water/bay again at Cuttings Wharf today, after walking inland for many weeks. I walked up Cuttings Wharf Road, and took a few left turns, which took me to Las Amigas Road (shown as double yellow lines on map). I turned around at 2174 Las Amigas Road and walked back to the car at Cuttings Wharf.

After taking a lunch break at Moore's Landing restaurant, at an umbrella table by the water, at Cuttings Wharf, I resumed my walk.

I expected that I would be walking along Cuttings Wharf road, but followed Bay Trail signs to Stanly Ranch, and walked all the available trails in this area, which included a walk through vineyards -- without any car traffic, a nice break.

There was also a welcome amount of shade, from several stands of large eucalyptus trees, that created a few large shade tunnels. Again, this was welcome relief after walking in the sun, and through one annoying cloud of small black flying bugs in the heat. There was also some beautiful old stone bridge work, dating back from 1902. The north end of the Stanly Lane trail ended near Carneros Highway/Highway 121. The southern end of the trail terminated at the freeway underpass, with a view of mud bird nests (shown).

Wildlife Sightings:
Part 1/Cuttings Wharf/Las Amigas Rd.
10 butterflies; 12 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 dragonfly; 1 turkey vulture; 1 ball; 4 horses; 7 cows; 2 barking dogs; 4 mockingbirds; 1 hawk; and 1 sea gull.

Part 2/Stanly Ranch trails:
12 little brown jobs (LBJs); 6 Canada geese; 3 hawks; 23 blackbirds?; 1 dragonfly; 2 turkey vultures; 8 red-winged blackbirds; 14 blurs in bushes; 1 lizard; 3 butterflies; 1 cloud annoying flying black bugs; 3 mockingbirds; 1 bumblebee; 4 crows/ravens; and 1 (old tennis) ball.