Safari West

We spent Saturday night amid the mating calls of wild birds, ring-tailed lemurs, and assorted African ungulates.



These are the tent-cabin accommodations at Safari West, a 400-acre wildlife preserve and breeding facility in wine country.







We are not zoo-goers. Seeing wild animals in captivity is always a little sad. Unfortunately, animals in the wild, and even in nature preserves, are dying off at alarming rates due to poaching, habitat loss, and other threats. If it's captivity or nothing, I guess I'll take captivity--at least when the captivity is 400 acres of open space with a commitment to promote clean living and healthy reproduction.







Not all the animals share the same open space, but many of the ungulates did.





Most of the visit happens on this Korean War-era safari truck.



There was no touching of the animals or getting off the truck--which is how I like it. The tour guide identified all the animals for us and gave us tidbits. I paid attention, but did not take many mental notes. I took pictures and enjoyed the ride instead. (There were many more animals than you see here. A lot of the pictures didn't turn out well. Read Silke Tudor's lyrical account of her visit here.)







The guys below are Cape Buffalo, ornery creatures considered to be among nature's most fearsome animals. They were recently made famous in this YouTube video where a herd of them drive off a pride of lions



The animals are used to seeing the safari truck and most of them reacted to it with indifference. However the ostriches were more extroverted.



We saw many youngsters





and a few old characters.

Russian River Weekend, Part 3: Cazadero

After Monte Rio, we drove up to Cazadero for lunch.





Some lovely driving around here this time of year. Well, lovely every time of year. But especially now.

(Note: Mute your computer volume first if you want to watch the videos.)





Lovely and charming.





I learned about Raymond's Bakery just recently from Nicole at A Caribbean Garden.







We ate a pizza



and watched the kitty play...

Russian River Weekend, Part 2: Monte Rio

We also took a short walk around nearby Monte Rio, Vacation Wonderland. (Note the neon sign lights up at night. Love it.)



Monte Rio is much smaller than Guerneville, but they have a movie theater in an old quonset hut.



and a fully licensed cafe.



You can see all the cool movies.







Ha ha. This what's really playing right now.



I didn't get a good picture of my favorite restaurant in Monte Rio, the Village Inn. We ate there last night; I had a slab of prime rib with horseradish and scalloped potatoes... YUM. (I can also recommend the Blue Heron.)

So, here is a picture of a different inn.

Little roadtrip

The last two days have been very cold and foggy in San Francisco. We took a little drive north where it was much nicer.

This is the tiny town of Graton in Sonoma County.











Except for a few galleries and informal gourmet eateries, that's basically it! We stopped in Sebastopol on the way to Graton.



Two country highways cross in Sebastopol, the 12 and the 116. The holiday traffic was stressful, and the threat of armed robbery loomed large.



I stopped for coffee and a cookie. The barista took me very seriously when she asked me if I wanted room for cream and I said no. This was after I took a sip and burned my tongue. Too hot!



We found the farmer's market (it wasn't hard to find).









Here you could buy bearded iris cultivars.



Cultured butter.



Fresh pizza.



Mexican fare for locavores.



Wool and gourds.



African market baskets.



Or you could ask the local master gardeners



about this unusual garden bed.



After Sebastopol, we went to Graton, and then decided to keep going. We ended up in Jenner where the Russian River empties into the Pacific Ocean,



And then we drove down to Tomales, by way of Bodega Bay, and back to San Francisco.



(If you decide to click these videos, you should mute the volume on your computer first.)





In Tomales, we stopped at my favorite plant nursery, Mostly Natives, and I bought some plants (mostly natives): Rosa chinensis mutabilis, Juncus tenuis, Phacelia californica, Solidago californica, Verbena lilacina. I didn't take any pictures there this time. See last time.