Highway 121/Arnold Dr. - Aug. 3, 2010

Walking Distance: 1.4 miles
Walking Time: 29 min. (6:55 - 7:24 p.m.)
Start and End Point: The Fruit Basket, Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA

I've skipped a few stretches of busy roads/highways that are part of the Bay Trail, because these areas are generally less fun and relaxing than dedicated walking trails. This is especially true of roads with 12 inches or less of road to walk on in a few places. Today I returned to finish one such segment mid-week, in the evening before sunset, when traffic was lighter. Waiting until traffic died down made for a very pleasant walk. 

I walked from The Fruit Basket, a conveniently located roadside stand with fresh produce and other grocery items, first north and then south -- as far as the entrance to Viansa Winery. Along the way I passed the Jacuzzi Family Winery (and The Olive Press), and the Cline Winery, and watched lots of birds fly overhead (some of them shown at right).

At the south end of the walk, grapevines started to yield to pasture land, with signs out advertising fresh eggs and grass fed beef. All over Sonoma County, there are signs for fresh eggs -- a few with instructions to come around back to purchase or pick them up. I'll miss seeing these signs as I work my way south and east.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 white butterfly; 137 little brown jobs/unidentified songbirds; and 4 blurs in the bushes (probably lizards)

Fremont Dr., 8th St. E. to Ramal Rd. - July 11, 2010

Walking Distance: 4.26 miles (2 segments combined)
Walking Time(s):
1.) 49 min. (7:01 - 7:50 p.m.)
2.) 38 min. (7:57 - 8:35 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking near The Fremont Diner, 2698 Fremont Drive, Sonoma, CA

From The Fremont Diner, I walked west on Fremont Drive, to 8th Street East, passing a dairy along the way (see image of one of the two cow figures that were stationed at the dairy entrance). Then I walked back (east) to South Central Ave.


I'd planned to eat at The Fremont Diner (with the old truck parked in front, at the intersection of Fremont and South Central Ave.), but diner hours were 7 a.m. (breakfast) to 3 p.m.; so I'll have to plan a return visit, earlier in the day next time. 

So, I decided to do a second walk, by continuing down South Central Ave. I took a left turn on Dale Ave., then a right on Ramal Rd., before returning back to the car. While Fremont Dr. was quite scenic, it also had quite a bit of car traffic. It was nice to wander down quieter roads.

One of the first interesting things I saw when I turned down S. Central Ave. was a large, golden-colored alligator lizard stretched across the road. (See image at right.) There were also the sounds of crickets and birds than I haven't heard much on the highways where I've been walking lately in Sonoma. Those sounds in the grass were nice.

Wildlife Sightings:
5 blackbirds; 37 little brown jobs (LBJs)/songbirds; 10 little black and white cows; 3 swallows; 1 mockingbird; 3 doves; 1 golden-colored California alligator lizard; 12 sheep in distant pasture; 1 domestic cat; 1 crow; and 1 rusty screw.

Highway 121, Schellville/Sonoma - July 10, 2010

Walking Distance: 1.2 miles
Walking Time: 37 minutes (4:23 - 5:00 p.m.)
Start and Stop Point: Parking at CornerStone, Sonoma, CA

Today I walked along Highway 121 (also known as Arnold Drive), and stopped at three different establishments: 1.) Angelo's Wine Country Deli (for homemade turkey jerky); 2.) CornerStone (shops, galleries/artworks, and Roots wine tasting); and 3.) the Sonoma Valley Airport to see about a bi-plane ride in the future. All interesting things to do.

I'd finished my last walk down Highway 121 at Angelo's a few days ago. The store had a nice (fake) cow in the roof; so it's relatively easy to find. They made several meat and condiment items themselves.

At Cornerstone, a group of three statues (shown at right) caught my eye, in the outside area behind "A New Leaf Gallery." There was also a tree that had been covered in blue forms, giving it a surreal appearance.

The airport was a small airport and the "RIDES" banner out by the highway got my attention. They had already put the red bi-plane away for the day; but I did gather some information about possible future rides.


I did not see much in the way of bird or wildlife (with the exception of a few crows squawking around a tree -- one is pictured at right); although there were a few fun-looking visitors from different parts of the world at CornerStone.

Crows are smart birds, and this seems to be one reason why they have
multiplied greatly in the past few decades. The photo of a crow (at right, sitting on a tree branch) is a bit small to make out its expression; the bird was cocking its head and looking at me (from a fair distance away), thinking....Well, I can only imagine.


Wildlife Sightings:
4 crows, 1 little brown job, 1 rusty screw

Fremont Dr. - Arnold Dr., Sonoma - July 7, 2010

Walking Distance: 3.3 mi.
Walking Time: 1 hr., 11 min. (7:04 - 8:15 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parking lot at the corner of Arnold Drive and Fremont Drive, Sonoma, CA

I walked from the Schellville Grill (near Broadway and Fremont Drive) to Angelo's Wine Country Deli (23400 Arnold Drive). Unfortunately, both establishments were closed for the evening by the time I arrived. However, it was a very pleasant night for a walk.



I crossed over Sonoma Creek, and it was good to see some water on its way to the San Francisco Bay. (Most of the current Bay Trail in Sonoma County is along rural roads north of the Bay.) I passed berry bushes, a tile shop, old rusting trucks and farm equipment, and the Vineyard Inn. However, most of the land was relatively undeveloped and much of the open land was devoted to agricultural use (primarily grapevines and some hay).

Wildlife Sightings:
14 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 crows; 2 doves; 1 yellow and black bumblebee (?); and 1 rusty screw.

Napa Rd., Sonoma/Vineburg, CA - July 1, 2010

Walking Distance: 2.6 miles
Walking Time: 57 min. (6:36 - 7:33 p.m.)
Start and End Point: unpaved/dirt area at intersection of 5th St. E. and Napa Rd., Sonoma, CA

I walked from 225 Napa Road down to 8th Street East, and down 8th Street a bit, before turning around and returning to 5th Street, where I parked the car -- once again walking in a loop, as I usually do. This diverse, but pleasant landscape was made up of houses, and a few vineyards, a few commercial properties, and with a little hayfield and some sheep pasture thrown in for good measure.

Some mailboxes along this relatively rural route showed evidence of creative handiwork.  (See small truck with flag, atop white mailbox, shown at right.)


There was also a mailbox the looked like a painted, black scotty dog. Seeing these little flourishes made me hope this area will not disappear under a wave of development. It reminded me of the area where I grew up in the South Bay, now packed with homes, with no room for fun like this.

I snapped a picture of a deer trying to hide in the shadows near the sheep pasture area. I had intended to take a picture of the sheep on my return trip back to the car, but by the time I returned to this point on Napa Road, the sheep were in an area hidden from view. I heard lambs and sheep bleating, but couldn't see them.

I could see the ladybug on the flowers (shown at right), but the breeze kept preventing a sharply focused picture. So, I took some artistic license with this image, instead of discarding it.

Wildlife Sightings:
4 little brown jobs (LBJs); 1 mockingbird; 4 blurs in bushes; 1 deer; 5 sheep; 2 rusty screws; 1 lizard; and 1 ladybug beetle.

Missed Segment on Arnold Dr., Sonoma - June 16, 2010

Walking Distance: .5 mile
Walking Time: 10 min. (6:13 - 6:23 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Mission Drive, Temelec - Sonoma, CA



This tiny segment of Bay Trail map (at right) is not really helpful in describing where this make-up walk (of a missed segment) took place. These double yellow lines are meant to represent a stretch of Arnold Drive -- between Almeria Drive and Mission Drive.

Yesterday, I mistakenly saw a Temelec neighborhood sign (at Almeria Drive) and thought I had reached the point where I'd left off yesterday (Mission Drive). Both streets had the same Temelec signs facing Arnold Drive. Anyway, I walked north along Arnold Drive, and walked back/south on Temelec Circle.

The Temelec development looked like it had been planned, perhaps in the 1950s or 1960s. It included different types of housing units. It looked peaceful, and in some ways frozen in time. Where I live, older houses from this era are being made-over and ripped down, being replaced by multi-story, high-density housing. While there are crows and squirrels in the suburbs where I live, lizards and many other wildlife species have vanished.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 crow

Leveroni Road, Sonoma - June 15, 2010

Walking Distance: 2.43 miles total
1.) 1.7 mile
2.) .73 mile
Walking Time: 51 minutes total
1.) 34 min. (8:30 - 9:04 p.m.)
2.) 17 min. (9:17 - 9:34 p.m.)
Start and End Point(s)
1.) Side of the road, on 5th St. West, Sonoma, CA
2.) Parking lot, on Broadway, near Salsa Trading Post, Sonoma, CA

Tonight was a pleasant evening to walk. As I made my way down Leveroni Rd. (heading East), the rural feel and vineyards gradually shifted to a more developed area. I was happy to see some sidewalks again, after teetering on the edge of country roads -- between the traffic rushing by on one side, and dry grass and brush on the other side.

I passed by Tex Juen Park and Vineyard with lavender bushes loaded with purple flowers, and the intersection of Leveroni Rd. and Broadway. The buildings were attractive, designed with mission-style architecture.

The Salsa Trading Post had a mission bell on a pole, used to mark El Camino Real (the royal road). A nice crescent moon was rising in the background.

I walked until the sidewalk disappeared and it became rural again, and it was so dark (no streetlights) I could no longer see where I was walking. Some of the last things I saw included a cow-shaped fund-raising sign, and an "eggs for sale" sign.

Wildlife Sightings:
14 little brown jobs (LBJs); 5 swallows; 1 cloud of bugs near Sonoma Creek -- then it got dark, and I didn't see anything else.

Arnold Dr., Sonoma, p. 1 - June 14, 2010

Walking Distance: 3.8 miles
Walking Time: 1 hr., 20 min. (6:45 - 8:05 p.m.)
Start and End Point: Parked on Watmaugh Rd., near intersection with 116 E (Stage Gulch Rd.), Sonoma, CA

Tonight was a very pleasant evening for walking. I walked out to 116 East (Stage Gulch Rd.) and proceeded West. However, soon the road narrowed and the shoulder walking area disappeared (plus there were construction barriers which made walking impossible further West). So I turned around at Champlin Creek Road, and headed the other direction, to the intersection of 116 East with Arnold Drive. I turned left on Arnold, and enjoyed seeing fields and tractors across the street. I walked as far as Mission Drive (Temelec), and then turned around to walk back to car, via the other leg of Watmaugh Road.


My favorite part of the walk was seeing quail running in fits and starts along the ground -- trying to stay out of view behind trees. I hadn't seen any quail for months. While they are more common in the North Bay, I don't see them where I live. I also felt I was really in the country when I read the eggs for sale signs in the area.

Wildlife Sightings:
1 partial lizard sighting (small-med-light brownish) + 9 suspected lizard blurs in bushes/grass; 16 red-winged blackbirds; 6 blackbirds (orioles?); 20 swallows; 2 horses in pasture near road; 12 cows grazing; 1 mockingbird (very pretty song(s)); 3 doves; 5 crows; 3 unidentified flying bugs; 22 little brown jobs (LBJs); 2 dead birds (one w/ blue in tail feathers); 1 screw; 2 starlings?; 3 quails; sound of frogs toward vineyards