Highway 29 - N. Kelly Rd. - Aug. 18, 2010

Walking Distance: 2.8 miles
Walking Time: 57 min. (4:35 - 5:32 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Ristorante La Strada restaurant parking lot; 6240 Highway 29; American Canyon, CA

This afternoon, I stopped at Ristorante La Strada (shown), on the Bay Trail, on Highway 29. The Highway is shown as double yellow lines on left side of map). After a late lunch, I headed North, walking along Highway 29, until I reached the intersection with Jameson Canyon/Highway 12.

Even though this stretch of Highway 29 had a shoulder that was wider than some, setbacks along highways are not my favorite type of trail; and there were three sections of Highway 29 with guardrails (narrowing the walking area further) from the restaurant to Jameson Canyon (Highway 12).

There was no easy pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Highways 29 and 12, and so instead of continuing to walk along Highway 29, I decided to head East on Jameson Canyon/Highway 12, to North Kelly Road (shown only as a white line on map above Jameson Canyon). Later this evening I would return to walk N. Kelly Road -- a road that parallels and then joins Highway 29 further North.

The only other human I encountered on my walk up the Highway was a man in a car who asked if I needed help or a ride. I appreciated his concern, but assured him I was out walking by choice.

On the animal and bird front, I walked by a cow pasture. I've found that cows are pretty wary of pedestrians. They're not used to seeing humans walking along highways, and they usually have kept an eye on me until I pass by. (See cow pictured at right.) I also was able to see two kites (birds), and was able to photograph one perched on top of a utility pole (see image at right).  My apologies to the crickets I bothered, when I walked too close to the dry grass on the side of the road, causing them to leap by me toward the highway (not the smartest move they could have made).

Wildlife Sightings:
15 cows; 10 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 crickets; 2 crows; 3 screws; 2 white butterflies; 1 snowy egret flying overhead; 2 kites (engaging each other briefly in mid-air); 2 blurs in the grass/bushes (probably field mice).

di Rosa Art Preserve - Aug. 18, 2010

Walking Distance: .2 mi. (estimate)
Walking Time: N/A - 1 hr. stop
Start and End Point: di Rosa Art parking lot, off Highway 121, Napa, CA

Before I left Napa area, I decided to drive back to Highway 121 to visit the di Rosa Art and Nature preserve, which had been closed when I passed by there previously. The entrance is modest, and it was a surprise to discover an impressive collection of artwork from local/California artists, located a few paces from the Bay Trail (across the highway from the intersection of Duhig Road and Highway 121/Highway12 -- close to the point where the double yellow lines meet the white line on map).

If you are interested in visiting the di Rosa Preserve (an area that contains the former home of Rene and Veronica di Rosa, a Gatehouse Gallery, lake, as well as art -- sculptures, paintings, an art car), I recommend making reservations ahead of time for a tour, so that you can see some of the roughly 200 landscaped acres.

The last tour had already departed for the day when I arrived this afternoon. However, it was possible to see the art in the di Rosa Gatehouse Gallery, where the check-in desk and gift shop is also located. The grounds and lake looked beautiful, from what I could see.

Wildlife Sightings:
N/A - although the fake sheep on the hill above the parking lot were fun.

Highway 29 - Napa to American Canyon - Aug. 14, 2010

Walking Distance: 2.6 miles
Walking Time: 43 min. (7:18 - 8:01 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Unpaved shoulder, near 5555 Highway 29, American Canyon/Napa, CA

After pausing to speak to a police officer, who pulled over to find out if I needed any assistance, or if my car had broken down, I walked as far South as 5455 Highway 29 (aka Napa Vallejo Hwy.) near a waterfall/pond supplies company. I passed an auto salvage yard and other commercial businesses along the way, and watched a crescent moon rise in the sky.

I walked as far North as La Strada (Italian) restaurant, just north of the intersection of Highway 29 and Tower Rd. I look forward to stopping at La Strada next time for lunch, as a starting point for the final leg of Highway 29 (parallel to N. Kelly Road and part of S. Kelly Road).


On the walk back to the car, the sun was low in the sky, painting the hills a nice rosy color. After the walk, on my way home, I stopped to treat myself to some ice cream at the Country Creamery, in between Safeway and Starbucks at the American Canyon Market Place/shopping center.

Wildlife Sightings:
4 rusty screws; 11 little brown jobs/songbirds; 1 fairly large flock of Canada geese; 8 snowy egrets flying in a group.

Highway 29 - North from Broadway Market - Aug. 9, 2010

Walking Distance: 5.8 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 33 min. (6:42 - 8:15 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking lot in front of Broadway Market, 3915 Broadway Street, American Canyon, CA

This evening I fueled up at the Broadway Market (cheddar cheese and Fritos -- a childhood favorite combination, and water) before walking North on Broadway/Highway 29 (double yellow lines on map at right). I breezed past the big Walmart Supercenter on Napa Junction Road, and walked over the bridge/overpass, stopping only to examine, and step over, the remnants of several little (six-inch long) blue plastic bicycles with tiny black tires , strewn around on the side of the road. (I could write a book about all the interesting items that end up on the side of the road, but I digress.)

I turned around at 5455 Highway 29 (a waterfall and pond supplies outfit). As I walked back, still feeling energetic, I took what I thought would be a shortcut. I turned Right on Green Island Rd. and then left onto a frontage road (Paoli Loop) that paralleled the highway. I thought it might lead me past a place I'd spotted earlier that had a sign advertising "honey for sale."

Well, you know the rest...Never take a shortcut (especially a road with "loop" in the name), unless you have a detailed map with you, or you've researched this in advance. I walked about a mile more than I needed to by taking this loop road, but it was pleasant and scenic. It eventually took me under the overpass (picture lower right) that I'd walked on earlier (pictured above right), and then looped back to where I started before I took the shortcut - so I got to go over the overpass one more time, on the other side.

Walking by the Napa Junction/Walmart more closely this time, I noticed that they had a nice broad asphalt strip (shown below right) for walking and biking in front of this development. Nice. 

Note: the gray dotted line (on map) was not the route that I took when I got "lost." (Please, people, give me some credit.) Instead the dotted line is a planned/proposed right-of-way, that may be approved as part of the trail system at a future date.

Wildlife Sightings:
33 little brown jobs (LBJs)/songbirds; 3 blurs in the bushes; 1 snail (brown shell) hanging out near the highway; 4 sea gulls; 8 doves; and 2 swallows.

Broadway St./Highway 29 - American Canyon - Aug. 8, 2010

Walking Distance: 1.7 miles
Walking Time: 46 min. (8:45 - 9:31 p.m.)
Start and End Point: American Canyon Marketplace shopping center parking lot, American Canyon, CA

It was dark, but I still wanted to walk further this evening before making the long drive back to the South Bay. So, instead of finishing up Highway 221 in Napa, I skipped a few segments, and I drove further south to American Canyon -- to an area where there were enough lights to walk along the highway. Not perfect, but not pitch black either. (My apologies for the blurry night shots.)

From American Canyon Road (where double red lines meet double yellow lines on the map above right), I walked North on Broadway Street (Highway 29), crossing Donaldson. I turned around just North of the intersection of Broadway and Poco Way, near the Broadway Market and Caffino coffee stand.

As I turned around to walk back, I thought to myself: Am I really seeing a very large gorilla over there? The answer was yes....And a bit further, there was a T-Rex too.

If you squint very hard, you might be able to see these figures looming out of the darkness too.

Wildlife Sightings:
It was too dark to see anything; I saw the dim silhouettes of a large gorilla and a T-Rex dinosaur (large metal sculptures at a garden center). I listened to the sounds of a few birds and then crickets, along with lots of cars whooshing by me.