Blogs from Calistoga, California, United States, North America

A Series of Underwhelming Attractions: The Geysir of Calistoga

North America » United States » California » Calistoga May 3rd 2018

I’ve been to the fountain head. Literally. Ten years ago on a visit to Iceland I was fortunate enough to witness the Great Geysir in the Hauladalur Valley as part of the classic Golden Circle tour. A fifteen minute period of apprehensive underground brewing was rewarded when a huge plume of water erupted with attendant billowing clouds of steam. The shock of the thing makes you take a couple of steps backward. An automatic salute is stimulated as you shield your eyes to get a better view of this amazing spectacle. And then on to this. The Geysir at Calistoga is undoubtedly the poor cousin it’s more famous namesakes in Iceland, New Zealand and Yellow Stone. It rather resembles a superior ruptured garden hose or burst water main. However, what is lacks in size it certainly ... read more

Wine Tasting in a Castle

North America » United States » California » Calistoga June 12th 2015

Castello di Amorosa

tinyisgreat

Geo: 38.5788, -122.58We started off the drive north by heading to Calistoga. My friends had visited this winery designed like a castle- Castello di Amorosa. It looked neat. I was worried it'd be gimmicky but I actually thought they were subtle enough. And the wine cellar was really neat. The staff was very good. They gave us history and sang to Arya while pouring our flights.We tried to get lunch in Calistoga but everywhere was packed with tourists. We finally just walked to the closest empty looking place just because we were hot, starving and tired of waiting. Turned out to be a really good pizza place that served Affogatos- Chris' favorite ice cream coffee drink! SOLD. We were once again energized and refreshed. =DWe drove back towards the coast to Petaluma, and met my parents ... read more

Small town California

North America » United States » California » Calistoga July 8th 2013

Super Bowl 34 Trophy

bmwratsontour

Today we went to Calistoga to do the touristy thing. Selected a route that looked interesting and yes, it included a bit of road construction. I discovered that California had a "Petrified Forest" and stopped by for a viewing. It seems that an volcanic eruption 3.4 million years ago created the onlyredwood petrified forest. There is a short, winding trail on a hillside where you can view the trees. I have been to the Petrified Forest N.P. and this is quite different. There is shade on the walk!Then on to Calistoga in search of a local brewery and other interesting sights. Right off the start I found the brewery closed for remodeling after a fire. So much for the first plan. Right across the street was the Vermiel wine shop. Familiar name, and yes, it was ... read more

Relaxation Day

North America » United States » California » Calistoga October 8th 2012

Pool Day

Sweetie and Assholes Big Adventure

Woke up this morning and decided "we need one more day in Calistoga"! That is the beauty of this trip - flexibility. Decided to chill out by the Mineral Pools at the hotel. They have four (4) natural mineral pools with varying temperatures - 80, 90, 100 and 104. People start getting in at 8am and spend the day soaking in the pool and lounging nearby in the sun. We have been blessed with this weather - 73 and sunny - both of us got a little sunburned. Note to self - don't drink Pinot Grigio and take a nap. Calistoga Spa and Hot Springs rates high praise from us both. Not fancy but homey with kitchenettes and grills and ample picnic tables. A bunch of guests are grilling out and enjoying al fresco dining. It's ... read more

Naked Napa and other Gems of Northern California

North America » United States » California » Calistoga December 18th 2011

Sunset Capitola

D MJ Binkley

Since our return from magical Morocco a few weeks ago, we have spent many weekends busy exploring the sights within a couple of hours of San Francisco. Read these vinettes as we take a look at Napa Valley, Santa Cruz, Monterey and the lively city of San Francisco, plus, details of the Travel Blog San Francisco holiday gathering. Naked Napa Glad we caught your attention. It’s amazing that the turn of a phrase can grab the eye. There is an eerie hush of quiet in the Napa Valley as winter sets in. The days are growing shorter as the winter solstice approaches. The tourists are gone and the locals can take a deep breath and enjoy the relative tranquility of the off season. The green from the vines are gone, they are dormant--- and the vines ... read more

Calistoga and more wine country

North America » United States » California » Calistoga October 18th 2011

Calistoga Wine Country

gypsywomantravels

Calistoga has always been one of those places I wanted to visit. Not because of the wineries, but because I often heard about it while growing up in the 70's in California. It was one of those places that everyone was going to just like Mendocino. Kenny Loggins was singing about it, it was all the trend....and I never got there. Calistoga is a small town with an old western feel to it. I am still rather surprised about all the small towns north of LA. LA is so large and different to anything we are discovering along this trip. Seems like once you get up and out of LA, everything is small and unique unto its own. Calistoga was no different. We walked the little town and then headed out to visit a winery. We ... read more

Day 6 - Palo Alto and More Wineries

North America » United States » California » Calistoga May 11th 2011

Me at Peet's

Changes in Latitude

Nancy's Entry: It was a beautiful, sunny morning today. We got up early and drove a few miles into Palo Alto, home to many of the silicon valley geniuses such as Steve Jobs. We drove past the beautiful Stanford University campus and had breakfast at a diner catering to the university crowd. Then we walked through downtown Palo Alto and visited the Apple store. On the way back we stopped at Peet's coffee rather than Starbucks, and I got a raspberry mocha coffee. Peets is our favorite brand of coffee; we order it from Seattle and make their Arabian Mocha Java almost every morning at home, so it was fun to be able to visit their cafe instead of Starbucks! After we were done in Palo Alto, we drove to Calistoga and visited the Chateau Montelena ... read more

Brief history of United States

Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the origina...more history

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