Bothe - Napa Yurtin' (Nov 7, 2014)

Napa Bothe is located a few miles south of Calistoga on Hwy 128.  The park is unexpectedly beautiful!  Towering redwood, clean campsites, and (the reason we went there...) they have yurts! These do come at the price of abundant poison oak, so it's best to keep a close eye on the kiddos (as far as I know our crew escaped unscathed...) AND.... from Memorial day to Labor day there is a public pool (which I hear is really COLD due to the water being piped straight from a spring)... but it does get HOT up there... like triple digits... so that'd be fun.

There are plenty of trails here, and the bay area ridge trail currently cuts through this park and  dead ends at the far boundary... but I hear the connection though private property to Sugarloaf Ridge SP has been proposed...
map of the park

Nikko... trying to eat the window.  What a food monster.

the view from your bed...

Kimbo... really enjoying her leftover pizza...

We arrived Fri night, and after a really short hike,  we went to the closest restaurant for dinner.  The Farmer and the Fox. I yelped it to make sure it was kid-friendly... but the place is very nice.  When you enter it doesn't look like it should be kid friendly.  Anyway, the food, the service... amazing.  And the fountain outside kept Kai busy for a good 15 min.  

the next morning caught these two eating powdered donuts...

we had 5 boys on this trip... so most of their time was spent with trains ... 

after a really slow morning, we got motivated to go on a short hike/strider ride.  

/shoulder ride

with two technical creek crossings... 

Kate and Kai hiding... "boo"

we made it to the Hitchcock estate.  An old summer home in the park.  And what summer home doesn't have a fountain?

Amy caught red handed, trying to steal Kai's ride.  

The Chariot... living up to it's name.  

The rest of the trail was quite bike/stroller/hiker friendly surrounded by beautiful redwoods.  Not what I was expecting... 

Hoeft's jogging stroller face...

Kai wanted to go "fast"

what an intimidating crew!

especially this guy...

hi Max!

up the hill!

in all my years of beer opening, I've never seen the glass pop off and stay in the cap.  

Lot's of fungi!

Kai was done riding his "Jitensha" now he wanted a "Kata-guruma"

rock art

Trametes versicolor (aka. Turkey Tail)... a possible anti-carcinogen

So there was actually some really fun MUNI riding here.  The trails said no bikes... but didn't mention unis... The Ritchey Canyon Trail was really fun, I'm guessing South Fork and Coyote Peak trail would be as well... Lots of hikers here.

Nikko can't wait to hop on a strider!  First, you've gotta start walking!

The food monster going after Max & his chair...

on Sunday, we hopped on our tandem to go pick up our standing order at Vincent Arroyo. 

where the kiddos ran amok!

Nikko was hired as the greeter at Vincent Arroyo.

by the time we got back to our van, the kiddos were out cold.  

Next time...

• Get the other yurts by the campground - these were a bit noisy from hwy 128, and last minute campers could easily join us (although 2 of the 3 yurts appear to be ADA access only.)... hmmm....
• Go check out the mill
• http://napavalleystateparks.org/local-activities-attractions/
• http://www.yelp.com/biz/bale-grist-mill-state-historic-park-st-helena
• do another hike
• http://www.weekendsherpa.com/stories/redwood-hike-in-bothe-napa-valley-state-park/
• http://www.weekendsherpa.com/stories/hike-napa-coyote-peak-and-reverie-vineyard/
• Oat Hill Mine Rd - either mtn bike, or hike
• Mt. St. Helena... still haven't visited this peak... 
• MUNI again... really fun spot for it...
• Check out some of the other wineries!

Surfskiing!

I lightly tweaked my ankle a few weeks ago.  I think it's my posterior tibial tendonitis flaring up again... playing too much soccer, and barefoot running.  I really don't think barefoot running is good for overpronators.  At least more than a mile or two...

Anyway.... so now I've been biking and kayaking more.  I can't get out as quickly or easily, but I do enjoy those activities more anyway... so it's been working out.

So a few weeks back, when the tides were right, I doubled the number of surfski commutes to six.  And slowly and steadily, my average speed has been creeping up.  PROGRESS!!!

I've been paying attention to maintain a better paddle stroke... arms straighter, leaning forward more, and get proper rotation... requires more core.  My paddle stroke needs a bit of work... http://tcsurfski.com/surfski-technique-videos/

But the most fun part is returning from work when there is a slight breeze and there are some waves to catch.  I'm not very good at it, but I'll be working on that for sure... I wish I could do downwinders all day.  The basic concept of catching a wave (paddle hard), then easing off (to stay on the wave), and maintaining speed to catch the next wave (skill required here...) is what I try to focus on.  Right now, I'm not good at catching waves, and am not even sure if the conditions are good enough to catch a good downwinder, so I'm just trying to spend more time on the water to become more familiar with my boat....
http://tcsurfski.com/2014/07/11/downwind-surfski-paddling-elation/#comment-1375
http://tcsurfski.com/downwind-surfski-videos/

Oct 28th - portview park, tried out the chest mount (on movie mode) on the way back... good to analyze my paddling... not very good for timelapse.


Oct 30th - from portview park after dropping Kai off.... fell in 2x on the way home...

big boat...

Nov 4th - from signal beach

sayonara Kai chan!

the wake from Hyndai

too close to the bridge?  sorry...