On the trail of John Muir; the road runs through Stockton and UOP!



From top, down: John Burroughs on left, and John Muir, Yosemite, 1909; John Muir “Squirrelville letter” from the UOP archives, written in Sequoia ink, made from bark from the majestic trees (John Muir papers, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacifid Library, copyright 1984 Muir-Hanna Trust); Muir’s writing desk and cluttered study is left as the writer would have left it during a long writing stint; A small portion of the Muir peach orchards, with a period-correct horse-drawn sprayer; Drawing of Yosemite Valley in one of Muir’s field notebooks (John Muir papers, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacifid Library, copyright 1984 Muir-Hanna Trust); Muir home in Martinez, open to the public at no charge; and University of Pacific head of Special Collections Michael Wurtz with one of two Muir bookcases at UOP.

John Muir, the world's first conservationist, father of the National Park Service and cofounder of the Sierra Club, spent his adult years in nearby Martinez, California and more than occasionally traveled through Stockton. The largest collection of his papers, research and writings are archived in University of Pacific's climate controlled archive, open to Stocktonians.  His travels through  Stockton make him almost a native son!

Join us on the trail of John Muir – with nearby exciting opportunities to learn and explore!
Muir was born in 1838 in Scotland and immigrated in 1849 with his family to a farm in Wisconsin.

After reaching adulthood, starting university and then a factory job in a carriage works, an eye injury almost cost Muir use of his eye and led to his decision to begin a life of wanderlust.

In 1868, he traveled to California and quickly  visited the sights in Yosemite. He then spent three years living in Yosemite, much of it as a shepherd, built a small cabin and recorded his adventures in notebooks and journals. Muir always professed a difficulty in writing up his travels, but would become his era’s best known conservationist and champion of preserving our wild lands.

In Yosemite, he met and toured with Ralph Waldo Emerson; inspired by that author, Thoreau and others he began writing for Overland Monthly magazine in 1872, the same year Yellowstone National Park was established.

For The next 10 years, he traveled throughout the west, including many visits to Yosemite and the Sierra and several trips to Alaska before settling in Martinez.  There he would tend the fruit ranch owned by his father-in-law. His ongoing work to preserve and expand Yosemite, incorporate Sequoia as a park and interaction with President Theodore Roosevelt would lead to the establishment of the National Park Service.

During the late 1880s/early 1890s, he would campaign for Yosemite National Park, explore Muir Glacier in Alaska, and help found the Sierra Club and was elected its first president.

From 1882 to 1890, he lived in a nice home in Martinez; upon the death of his father in law, he and his spouse moved into their grand Italianate Victorian home on 2600 acres on the edge of Martinez.
In 1893, his first book was published, The Mountains of California.  In his lifetime, he would publish six volumes; four additional books were published after his death in 1914.

Muir also apparently traveled frequently through Stockton, one of the main jumping-off points to the middle and southern Sierra. He befriended at least one Stockton family, that of Edward Hughes, a Stockton teacher.

Hughes and Muir camped in similar Yosemite campsites, and Hughes worked to befriend Muir by taking the train to Muir's Martinez home.  Muir, in turn, would visit Hughes home in Stockton (since demolished) and letters between the two attest to their friendship and his visits to Stockton.

Muir's grand home is open year-round in Martinez, only an hour from Stockton, and is a wonder of his life and work. His study is preserved just as he left it, with this writing desk and many of his papers, and 300 of the estate's acres (once with over 50 varieties of peach trees) remain surrounding the home.

The home is testimony to his writings and life work; his writing study literally resonates with his indomitable outlook on wild America: “God never made an ugly landscape.  All that the sun shines on is beautiful, so long as it is wild…”, he wrote in the Atlantic Monthly, January, 1869. 

Later he would continue his strong advocacy for protecting America’s great places, noting in 1895: “Government protection should be thrown around every wild grove and forest on the mountains, as it is around every private orchard and the tress in public parks. To say nothing of their value as fountains of timber, they are worth infinitely more than all the gardens and parks of town”.

It's in the University of Pacific's archives – open to the public – where Muir's work really comes alive. I arranged a tour with UOP head of Special Collections Michael Wurtz, who arranged to show me many of his original writings and sketches.

I delighted in seeing several of his letters, written in Sequoia-ink, and his research books showing his sketches of Yosemite Valley, just as it looks today in photographs. The University contains the vast majority of Muir's writing and research notes, his original writing desk, and two bookcases full of his books.

Read several of Muir's works; a favorite, available in paperback or at the library, is ‘The Wild Muir’, which profiles many of his hair-raising adventures.  Typical of his matter-of-fact writing is this example; in 1875 he and a climbing partner were caught near the top of Mt. Shasta at 14,000 feet, he scribed:

“…down the ridge and past the hissing fumaroles, the storm became inconceivably violent.  The thermometer fell 22 degrees in a few minutes and soon dropped below zero.  The hail gave place to snow, and darkness came on like night.  The wind, rising to the the highest ;pitch of violence, boomed and surged amid the desolate crags,,,”. 

Muir and partner hunkered down amidst the fumaroles, alternately freezing and getting scorched, but survived the ordeal with only moderate frostbite!

Take the 60 mile journey to the beautiful Muir home in Martinez, and spend several hours touring his home and wandering through some of the peach orchards that remain. Just a mile away is historic downtown Martinez, itself a worthy side trip with stately Victorian homes and classic downtown.

Then arrange a tour of UOP's archives – or go online, - where you can see most of his recorded works so arduously scribed by the old conservationist more than 100 years ago and deposited with the university by his descendants, some of them UOP alumni.

The collection includes over 7,000 items of correspondence from 1858 to 1914, including from such luminaries as Emerson, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft and others.  Also included are 300 sketches by Muir and about 3,000 photos taken of landscapes or portraits of the author.

For more info: For U0P's archives, contact Michael Wurtz, 209-945-3105, mwurtz@Pacific.edu.  Many of Muir's writings and sketches are also available, online: go.Pacific.edu/special collections – and the University is seeking volunteers to help transcribe many writings not yet transcribed. For more info on the John Muir National Historic Site, 4202 Alhambra Ave., Martinez, CA 94553 go to www.nps.gov/jomu; or call 925–228–8860.  Muir's home is open daily, no charge, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays.

For additional travel destination inspiration, see my blog: http://LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com; to contact me, tviall@msn.com. 

Happy travels in the West!

Favorite Western Streets: Stockton, CA's Miracle Mile is nostalgic shopping, dining mecca!

Stockton’s Miracle Mile, a stretch of Pacific Avenue running from Harding Way on the south to the University of Pacific on the north, was Stockton’s first suburban shopping center.  The Stockton Empire Theatre opened in 1945, and a host of shops and restaurants surrounded it.  Today, it remains a quaint, interesting, robust and nostalgic shopping district.

Many shops line the one mile stretch, from specialty shops, antique shops, florists, home improvement shops and many more.  The 10 block portion, from Harding Way north to Castle, is eminently walkable and full of surprises; just right for strolling and finding that special gift or treasure!

Some of the city’s best and locally-owned restaurants and night spots are located on “The Mile”.  Here’s an incomplete list, running generally from south to north, of our favorites: Manny’s, Taste of Korea, Saigon (Vietnamese), Whiskey Barrel Tavern, CoCoRo (Japanese), Centrale, The Ave, Whirlow's, the Abbey Trappist Pub, Mile Wine Company, Valley Brew, La Palma (Mexican), Sam's Café and Siamese Street (Thai). 

Take the time to tour this slice of Americana; for more information, go to the Miracle Mile Improvement District, www.stocktonmiraclemile.com, or call 209.948.6453.

For additional travel destination inspiration, see my blog: http://LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com; to contact me, tviall@msn.com.

"The Stockton" was Stockton's first suburban theatre, opening in 1945 and anchoring the town's first shopping center beyond downtown.  It was remodeled into a four-screen multi-plex in the 70s, and renamed the Stockton Royal Theatre. 

Today's Stockton Empire Theatre is both a theatre and a performing arts center and anchors the shops and restaurants of the Miracle Mile District!

Happy travels in the West!

San Joaquin Historical Society and Museum in Micke Grove Park, Lodi, CA

History comes alive in Micke Grove Park!  Nestled in the 258 acre county park just south of Lodi, California is the San Joaquin Historical Society and Museum. With eight large exhibit buildings packed with Native American, pioneer, Gold Rush and agricultural history, and four historic buildings including the Charles Weber Cottage dating to 1847 and the Calaveras School, 1866, it's one of the state's best historical museums.

A class of third graders, taking part in the summertime ‘Valley Days’, receive a day’s education just as it was offered in the 1880s (here they enjoy lunch on the grass)

This 1859 prairie schooner stands more than 8 1/2 feet tall, is made of New England hardwood and was loaded with 1600 pounds of household goods and food for the five-month trip across the United States to California

 

Blue farm wagon, built by Truscott and Sons of Stockton in 1910, it cost $250 and was used by the Brassesco family to haul fruits and veggies to markets in Stockton and Lodi

The museum has literally scores of vintage tractors, crawlers and Caterpillar tractors

Pacific Fruit Express refrigerated rail car: this car was built in 1957, an ice-cooled steel car which could haul 80,000 pounds of produce to markets in the East. Mechanically-cooled cars would not come into production until the 1960s

 

Huge dredge bucket towers over two kids: this huge dredge bucket was used on the San Joaquin Delta to dredge waterways and build the levies that held back the San Joaquin River And Delta

Here a docent works with a young visitor in helping her make a corn husk doll during the Festival of Trees

Within the large park you'll also find the stunning Japanese Gardens, the Fun Town Amusement Park and the Micke Grove Zoo, surrounded by lots of picnic areas placed amongst stately Valley Oaks. The park offers so many options in addition to the museum, you'll spend a long day, or return, time-and-again.

Inside the museum's ongoing exhibits are many examples of early pioneer and Gold Rush transportation. Included in the collection is an original prairie schooner, one of only several left in existence, dating to 1859, many farm wagons, buggies and all manner of early farm equipment. The museum is rich in old farm implements: plows, harvesters, tractors, Holt and Best crawlers, Caterpillar tractors, John Deere tractors and many more.

Wander through the museum's exhibit buildings and get a sense of life in the 1860s through the early 1900s, or picture life on the prairie crossing the US to California. Life on the farm is clearly depicted from more than one hundred years ago; the exhibits clearly paint a picture of life that was then a bit harsher than what we enjoy today!

A large contingent of historically-correct docents are available to give you tour tips and interpretive information. Of special interest for kids, coming on Fridays and Saturdays, March 7-24, is the Critter Corral, offering a petting corral with a variety of farm animals! On any given day, docents will help bring history to life for kids from 5 to 95!

Directions: the museum is located inside Micke Grove Park, at 11793 N. Micke Grove Rd., Lodi. From Interstate 5, go east on Eight Mile Road, then left on Micke Grove Road. Admission: Just $5 for adults, seniors (65+) and teens are $4 and kids (6-12), only $2. The park also has a vehicle admission fee. Winter museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 4 PM.

For more information, go to www.sanjoaquinhistory.org, or call (209) 953.3460. For additional Weekend Getaway ideas, go to http://LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com. Take the family and make a fun day at Micke Grove Park and the museum!

Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant and Park in South Sacramento County

Towering 300’ into the sky in south Sacramento County are the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant’s twin cooling towers and Rancho Seco Park, complete with swimming, fishing and camping in a pristine setting. Just 25 miles from both Stockton and Sacramento, the old nuclear plant is worth a visit and the park’s amenities will bring you back for recreation throughout the year!

The300' tall twin nuclear cooling towers are visible from miles away 

The containment building that housed the nuclear reactor on left, with the cooling towers at right

An aerial view of the nuclear plant, from SMUD web site

Rancho Seco Lake, and Park, with the cooling towers in the distance

Nuclear plant: Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) bought the property in the 1960s, and built the nuclear plant, which went on-line in April, 1975. In March, 1978, a power failure in the plant’s instrumentation led to a steam generator ‘dry-out’, a precursor, had other failures followed, to a nuclear near melt-down like the Three Mile Island nuclear plant on the east coast.

After operating at a reduced capacity until 1989, a public vote lead to the closing of the plant. It was decommissioned and the nuclear equipment was removed. Today, a gas-powered plant produces electricity on the same lines that the nuclear plant used; nearby SMUD has also developed solar-generation facilities. At about the same time, a Stanislaus County nuclear plant was proposed by PG&E, but was cancelled in 1979. Over 60 US nuclear plants were cancelled in the late 1970s, as public confidence in their safety reached a low point.

Rancho Seco Park: The 160 acre Rancho Seco Lake was developed as an emergency source of water for the plant; today it is a stunning public park, offering swimming, fishing, hiking, bird-watching and camping. A nice public beach offers warm-weather swimming, while fishing goes on year-round (sunfish, catfish, trout are found in the lake, and non-motorized boats are welcome).

The nearby Howard Ranch Trail and the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge are the latest additions to the park. The trail offers a seven mile hike in rolling valley foothills while the refuge offers superb viewing opportunities to see geese, hawks, ducks, blue heron, occasional bald eagles and migratory birds in the winter months.

Camping on the lake shore offers 25 tent sites and 18 RV sites with electric and water hookups. Plenty of picnic options, including group picnic sites, are available throughout the park. Near the park recreation room, WiFi access if also offered!

Getting there: Rancho Seco Park is located at 14440 Twin Cities Road, in Herald, CA 95638; from either Interstate 5 or Hwy 99, go east on Twin Cities Road.  

For more information: Call 800-416-6992 for park info; or see the web site, www.smud.org/en/about-smud/community/recreational-areas/rancho-seco-lake.htm. For additional weekend getaway destinations, see http://LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com!

Festival of Trees makes December perfect time to visit San Joaquin County Historical Museum near Lodi, CA

Anytime is a good time to visit our county’s spectacular historical museum in Micke Grove Park south of Lodi, but December is the “put it on your calendar” time! In December, the museum complex comes alive with both Christmas cheer and the stunning Festival of Trees!

Pictured from top to bottom, Festival of Trees visitors are treated to bright and festive displays and uniquely decorated Christmas trees inside the San Joaquin County Historical Museum’s Erickson Building; Jack Johnson of Lodi and other San Joaquin County Historical Museum docents wear pioneer and Victorian costumes to put a historic flair to the Festival of Trees every year; Visitors can hop on the trackless train, rest their weary feet and get a tour of the San Joaquin County Historical Museum grounds during the annual Festival of Trees; and, the Museum Mercantile is packed with unique items for that perfect stocking stuffer or present under the tree (photos courtesy of San Joaquin County Historical Society).

With more than 70 beautifully decorated unique Christmas trees, the San Joaquin County Historical Museum’s 22nd annual Festival of Trees is Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum (located in Micke Grove Park south of Lodi about one mile west of Highway 99 and south of Armstrong Road).

Visitors will be greeted by docents in vintage Victorian and pioneer clothes, lending a feeling that guest have stepped back in time to celebrate Christmas! The museum’s exhibit buildings will overflow with scores of festive trees, each decorated according to a unique theme by different individuals and groups from throughout San Joaquin County.

The festival also features holiday exhibits, entertainment, model trains, and many activities including vintage craft demonstrations like wood carving, woodturning, jewelry making and quilting. Children can partake in numerous hands-on activities including decorating cookies, making cornhusk dolls, dipped candles, and punched tin ornaments. A nominal fee is charged of $1 to $3 for children to make the crafts. Kids will be able to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, and families can purchase photographs of their children with Santa.

Entertainment fills both days and includes the dancing of the Unique Vision Dance group, holiday harmonies of the Stockton Portsmen, and bagpipe music of the White Hackle Pipe Band. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. In addition to all the holiday festivities and decorated trees, visitors will enjoy the museum’s historical exhibits. The county museum features one of the largest collections of tractors, agriculture equipment and tools west of the Mississippi.

General admission tickets are $10, and $1 for children 2 to 12 years old (kids under 2 are admitted free). Tickets may be purchased at the event or in advance at the Music Box in Stockton and Lodi or by calling the museum at, (209) 331-2055 or 953-3460. By getting tickets in advance, the $6 parking fee into Micke Grove Park is waived.

For more information, call the museum or go to www.sanjoaquinhistory.org. For additional Weekend Getaway destinations, see http://LittlePlacesIKnow.blogspot.com.

Sutter Creek, CA; rich in Gold Rush history

Two years before gold was discovered at Coloma in 1848, John Sutter sent out a party from Sacramento in search of timber. They found a grove rich in sugar pine and named one of the nearby streams Sutter’s Creek. Soon placer mining was in full swing, quite a village had sprung up and deep rock mining of rich ore deposits soon followed.

Photos, from top down: Hotel Sutter/Bellotti Hotel, Knight's Foundry, Methodist Church, one of many old homes surrounding downtown Sutter Creek, and Main Street looking southeast.

Incorporated in 1854, Sutter Creek was home to several hotels, saloons, dry-goods shops and churches. Today, just off Highway 49 and north of Jackson, Sutter Creek is one of the best-preserved of the California Gold Rush towns. Quaint Main Street (part of Highway 49 until a bypass skirted traffic around the city five years ago) offers a walkable stretch with a wealth of historic buildings dating from the 1850s.

Some of the more impressive include the Hotel Sutter/Bellotti Inn. Opened in 1860, it is one of the oldest hotels still in continuous operation in the state. The American Exchange Hotel preceded the Bellotti on this site, opening in 1858 and soon replaced by the Bellotti.

Two blocks south, Sutter Creek Methodist Church was constructed 1861, under leadership of Rev. I. B. Fish, and incorporated in 1862; the steeple was added in 1976 (church located at the corner of Main and Church). Main Street offers scores of historic edifices, many of them marked by plaques offering historical anecdotes – all of them home to busy shops, restaurants and wine-tasting rooms.

Just three blocks east of Main on Eureka is the old Knight Foundry. It was the only water-powered foundry in the US, that, until a few years ago, was in continuous operation since 1873. Sam Knight designed the water wheel which was used world-wide, often powering early hydroelectric plants throughout California, Utah and Oregon.

Seven-foot versions of the Knight water wheel powered the big stamp mills in gold mining days. The 42 inch model, used on Sutter Creek on the south side of the foundry, helped in manufacture of the heavy dredge buckets used on the San Francisco Bay, San Joaquin Delta and Seattle harbors, then hauled by freight wagon and mule teams to the railroad and shipped to their destination.

Sutter Creek is home to a baker’s dozen of bed and breakfasts and motels, with scores of quaint shops and restaurants.  For a great resource, go to www.suttercreek.org; the site also offers a host of annual events, such as the November 9 Winefest on historic Main Street! Take a day or weekend trip to Sutter Creek soon and revel in Gold Rush history!  For other quaint California and western getaways, go to http://littleplacesiknow.blogspot.com/.

Weekend get-a-way by bike, or by foot, in Stockton, CA!

Ready for an “in-city weekend adventure”? Dust off those bicycles, and let’s hit the trails right here in Stockton!

Photos, from top down: DeRosa University Center is heart of a UOP biking or walking adventure; depending upon the season, adventurers may see a UOP athletic team in practice or readying for a Big West match (UOP Women's Tennis Team); for explorers to downtown Stockton, tour the Promenade around the Deepwater Channel, home to the new Waterfront Marina and much more!

Center of our focus, the Calaveras Bike Trail and University of Pacific, right in middle of the trail. From home, you can bike (or walk) to the Calaveras Trail, or drive to UOP and park on campus to start your adventure. The Calaveras Trail runs (on the west) from Buckley Cove Park, at end of March Lane, all the way east to Cherokee (overall, about 9.3 miles, end-to-end).

The beautiful UOP campus is right in the center; a pedestrian/bike bridge carries you across the old river to the DeRosa University Center, open most weekends for drinks or lunch. From UOP to Buckley Cove, it is about 4.5 miles each way; to Cherokee going east, about 3.8 miles each way – scenic, quiet, and no traffic, good for newby riders or walkers!

From UOP, riders can also take a route south on Kensington and Baker to reach the downtown Stockton waterfront, the Stockton Ballpark, Stockton Arena and other downtown attractions. These are wide, shady boulevards, with light traffic, and this route shows off some of the city’s finest old residential architecture!

For a good map of these trails and other Stockton “safe routes for cyclists” go to: http://www.stocktongov.com/files/BikewaysExistingMap.pdf. The UOP campus also offers a number or easy biking/walking routes, away from traffic. Lot’s of attractions, and depending on time of year, you might see one of UOP’s athletic teams practicing, or, about to face Big West competition!

And, mark your calendars: the next ‘Second Saturday Family Bike Ride’, Saturday, Sept. 14, 11 AM, starting and finishing at DeRosa University Center at UOP. This event will cover about six miles, heading south on Kensington and Baker from UOP, then west on Rose to Victory Park and the Haggin Museum. Riders should bring a picnic lunch and bike lock; after a lunch discussion of family bike safety, riders will get a tour of the Haggin Museum, with free admission for youth. Before hopping on those bikes, check them for “working order”; helmets for both kids and adults are highly recommended.

Enjoy a scenic, energetic weekend right in Stockton! For more insight, contact Tim Viall of the SJ Bike Coalition, tviall@msn.com, or call 209.969.3875.  And, for more weekend get-a-ways, go to: www.LittlePlacesIKnow@blogspot.com.

Copperopolis, CA offers glimpse of old copper and gold mining in Sierra foothills!

While Copperopolis, CA, just 30 miles east of Stockton on Highway 4 in the Sierra foothills, is best known as a copper producer, gold was discovered here in 1858 - two years before the copper discovery.

By 1974, the Madame Felix Mining District, just north of town, had produced over 200,000 ounces of gold. In the 1980s, the Meridian Gold Company re-started the mining operation, and produced another 300,000 ounces of gold; all told, gold worth $800 million at today’s prices!

Start your tour at Copperopolis Park on the O’Brynes Ferry Road in the heart of old town, with a wealth of old mining machinery from the late 1880s to the early 20th century and outdoor displays that explain the history of the copper and gold mining days. You’ll see old photos and history of the Old Corner Saloon, the Congregational Church, old Armory (now home to Copperopolis Olive Oil), Copperopolis Hotel and other Gold Rush-era buildings, all of them still standing.

At the south end of town (O’Brynes and Telegraph intersection), see massive tailings, the remnants of the huge copper smelter that operated here until 1929. Then take Telegraph Road 3/4s of a mile west to the new Town Center, where a new Town Square commercial center was built five years ago. In the heart of the center is a cute bandstand, surrounded by interesting shops and good food options such as Panini’s Italian, Griff’s BBQ, Cruisers Ice Cream and Snaps Coffee and Wine Bar. This is a great place for kids to play on the village green and adults to window shop!

From town, scenic Lake Tulloch is just six miles south and Saddle Creek Golf Course just four miles for those golfers seeking challenge. For a scenic route back to the San Joaquin Valley, take the Rock Creek Road north to Salt Springs Reservoir, with nice park and picnic area on the west shore, and continue on the road, where a one-lane, bumpy but scenic road drive brings you out at Milton in the low foothills. Watch for wild turkey sightings on this drive, and, maybe bobcats or coyotes if you are vigilant!

For more insights into N. and Central California, go to my blog: LittlePlacesIKnow@blogspot.com.

Copperopolis historic park tells tales of the mines and features old mining equipment, picnic area

Huge old winch once worked in the copper mines around the city

Copperopolis's new Town Center offers quaint shops, fine restaurants and weekend activities in pretty city park in front of the new Town Hall; it's just a half-mile from old Copperopolis!



Wine, beer, classic cars, good eats; it's Lodi, CA

Wine, beer, classic cars, good eats…it’s Lodi, CA, of course.

And, Fall is the perfect time to visit! It’s the wine grape harvest season, the Lodi Road Trip Passport is back for its second year (more, below) and the weather is at its finest! But, add beer, good food and classic cars and you have reason to visit for several days, or several different trips!

Food can include a number of great stops. For breakfast, chose the iconic Richmaid Restaurant on Cherokee, serving Lodians since 1938! For lunch, try Phillips Farms Café and Michael David Winery on Highway 12 just west of Lodi. Lodi Beer on School Street offers a varied selection of award-winning beers and always tasty food for lunch or dinner in a classic brew-pub setting.

If classic cars are your interest, check out the Vintage Reserve Garage on Cherokee, right across the street from Richmaid! This new “Gasoline Alley-style garage” (in beautifully remodeled space, formerly a Salvation Army location) shows off about 50 antique, classic or muscle cars from the 1920s to the 1970s; these stunning specimens like the 1939 Ford convertible pictured are timeless treasures.

The Lodi Road Trip Passport is back for its second year. This September 1-30 event features Lodi Appellation’s vintners with fun activities like cycling and vineyard tours, grape stomps and barrel tastings, live music, winemaker dinners and many more reasons to visit the 45+ participating wineries and a host of restaurants! Passports are currently on sale for $20; visit www.lodiroadtrip.com, or call the Lodi Wine & Visitor Center at 209.365.0621.

Also, download the Lodi Wine app for your smart phone, LoCA, which will feed you steady updates on all the glorious happenings throughout Lodi in the fall. See you at a wine tasting!  For more ideas for getaways in central California, see LittlePlacesIKnow@blogspot.com.

Classic 1939 Ford convertible is typical of 40+ cars at the Vintage Reserve Garage on Lodi's east side

Michael David Winery and Phillip's Farm Cafe are just west of Lodi on Hwy 12

Lodi wine appellations are gaining a world-wide following for quality and tasty wines

Little places we know, with Scotty trailer in tow...

I am a recently retired fellow whose spouse, Susan, also just retired. We have set our own personal sights on regular travels, targeting the United States and Canada (since we live in the former, and are not that far from the latter), and can reach all those myriad destinations by auto, or, auto and small travel trailer. Small trailer; you may wonder what that means. For us, that means Serro Scotty travel trailers, some of the lightest (read "good gas mileage") and most compact of all the retro travel trailers. For the past six years, we had toured California destinations in a Kit Kamper teardrop, so we knew the simplicity of towing, and living out of, a small teardrop camper. In mid-2012, I decided to upgrade to a slightly larger Serro Scotty, popular in the late 50s to 70s, and found a "rebuildable candidate", a Scotty Sportsman 13 footer, in Oceanside, CA, for which I paid $900 and towed home with my then Nissan 300ZX. That little trailer is tucked into my garage, in process of a complete rebuild (I have purchased virtually all the needed new parts, and have begun the disassembly). After retirement, I had long planned a bicycle tour of the Gettysburg battlefield and other Civil War stops with my brother John and four others, for late June, 2013. While planning for this trip, I saw a beautiful little Scotty teardrop advertised on eBay, and purchased a two-year-old reproduction 1958 Scotty Sportsman Jr., a true teardrop camper, built by a high school shop teacher in W. Virginia. Just before arriving in Gettysburg in June, we picked up and then towed this smaller Scotty all the way to Long Island, NY, then retraced our steps across the US, back to California (that is builder Tom in the photo). With the smaller Scotty, Susan and I can tour (currently targeting California and the West) while I regain enthusiasm for rebuilding the '64! I will plan to post regular updates of our favorite destinations as they unfold for us!