Friday, May 28, 2010

Day 148: Quail Mountain Road


While the rest of the world prepares to take advantage of a holiday weekend, I go to work. To make it worse: it is sunny! Being a hospital Nurse means that you (generally) can kiss every other weekend good bye. And also every other major holiday. While the rest of the world recreates, you won't be; You will be working.

At least the money is good.

So after work I ventured out to take yet another single lane road up into the Mayacama Range. Why do I walk these little single lane roads?

Because if I don't, who will? Yes there are two State Parks in the Napa Valley. I've walked all those trails. So why walk these little lanes?

Because I'm curious. It seems a shame to not have SOMEONE walk on them once and awhile; might as well be me! I feel that when I walk on these forgotten little bits of the Napa Valley, I am actually staking a claim for public access. In these most anti-social of days, I want to do something social. To reclaim our public roads for foot power.

I like adventure. You can't just traipse across private property in the Napa Valley---that is an invitation to visit the County Slammer. You have to get out on those little single lane roads to find out what is there. Private land owners get sneaky though. They put up gates at the entrance of a public road to fake you out. They want to make it seem like you shouldn't be there (even though the public does have the right to pass).

Quail Mountain Road has no wineries, I discovered. It is short (only took me 27 minutes to go to as far as I dared to go). There are a couple of decent sized Redwoods. And the road is skinny with lush vegetation this time of the year. Pretty.

And nobody is on it. That is part of the fun---just to see where it goes on my own two feet. To boldly walk where no one has walked before...

I walked as far as I could go on Quail Mountain Road before I came to a massive steel gate. A high fence makes it so you can't go around and continue on. As I looked at the gate, a Stellar Jay cackled at me from the other side as if to say: "Come join me! There is more adventure ahead!"

Briefly I considered crawling over the gate to join the Stellar Jay. But no. Not today Mr. Stellar Jay. I felt envious of the Jay's freedom. Only birds and animals truly have the right to roam.

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