Glory hole, mustard grass and a lot of twisties...

[RPondaRoad]

California has had above average rainfall this year.  There goes my excuse for drinking beer. 

 

The wet weather finally gave us a break this past weekend and I took the opportunity to ride with the sun on my back on Sunday.  I left my home in the Sierra Nevada foothills outside of Sacramento and headed for the city of Davis which is home to one of our Universities and is also where Yolo County Road E6 / West Covell Blvd begins.  E6 is a farm road that heads directly into the Vaca Mountains which form the eastern boundary of the Napa Valley wine region.  Eventually E6 becomes Hwy  128.  The first 25 miles are pretty flat but the surrounding orchards, farm fields and nut growing operations make the ride go by quickly.  Once past the small town of Winters, famed for it's Buckhorn Steakhouse, the road starts to meander left and right as it follows Putah Creek toward Lake Berryessa and the Monticello Dam.  What most people find interesting about Berryessa and the dam is that the lake's outlet doesn't spill across the face of the dam.  It funnels through a "Glory Hole".  If you've never seen one of these when a lake is full, it's pretty amazing.  It appears as though there is a bathtub type drain out in the lake.  It's not something that you'd want to swim around!  

 

While taking a few photos of the glory hole I met some other BMW riders who had stopped for the view.  They told me that they were part of the River City Beemers club and were on their way to lunch at the Cucina Italiana restaurant at the Spanish Flat resort.  We chatted briefly about BMW stuff, tires, our different bikes and about how good the food was at the restaurant.  A couple of hours later when I got really hungry I thought about them having a great lunch while I was eating mini-mart cuisine!!!  

 

Once on my way I continued on Hwy 128 and turned right to stay on it at Moskovite Corner.  Hwy 128 is just a beautiful 2 lane country road to ride on.  It is one turn after another with diverse views ranging from manzanita covered hillsides to oak tree laden grasslands.  Much of the road travels beneath a canopy of trees.  The road climbs and drops, but the final descent takes you onto the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley where the more rustic scenery gives way to vineyards.  In the late winter/early spring, many of the fields are full of not only grapevines, but colorful mustard grass as well.  Seems as though the grapevines thrive when the mustard grass is mulched back into the soil.  Looking out at the Napa Valley seemingly covered in yellow flowers was the primary reason for my trip.  I enjoyed riding the Silverado Trail southbound, but picked up Hwy 121 as it began it's climb back toward Lake Berryessa.  But, at Wooden Valley Road I made the right turn and followed this hidden gem into Fairfield.  Once in Fairfield, I connected to Highway 12 and continued on to the town of Rio Vista in the Sacramento River Delta where I would find Highway 160 which runs along the river.  The sun was still with me, it was a nice and warm 75 degrees and I enjoyed taking the river road back toward Sacramento.  One can ride along either bank of the river, but I prefer the western side.  There is less traffic and the road is good.  From Rio Vista, once you're on Hwy 160, just cross on the first bridge and follow the road down to Freeport.  Cross back to the other side unless you want to go into West Sacramento on a bumpy road.  For those doing this for the first time, I recommend the eastern side of the river.  It goes through the towns of Isleton, Walnut Creek and Locke.  The Chinese history in Locke is well known in the Delta and although small, it's a popular tourist place to visit.  

 

So, a nice day spent riding the twisties, visiting the Napa Valley, meeting other BMW riders and "...rollin' on the river".  When our area is baking in the 100 degree summer sun and rides like this of over 225 miles seem like more of a chore than fun, I'll think back to how nice this spring day was.  

 

The Glory Hole at Lake Berryessa

 

A small vineyard off of Napa Valley's "Silverado Trail".

 

[Bill_Walker]

Nice ride!  I went to school at UCD, had a girlfriend (now wife of 37 years) who lived in West Sac, and access to a ski boat kept on the Mokelumne River about five miles east of Rio Vista, so I know most of those roads quite well, albeit many from only a 4-wheeler perspective.  I've ridden 128 through the Napa Valley, and have ridden 128 past Berryessa on a rented Harley (long story) in addition to driving it a number of times, but I've only driven 160 as the route between West Sac and Isleton.  And I've never seen the glory hole draining.

[longjohn]

One of the guys at ADV droned the glory hole.  I'll try to find the thread.

[Whip]

Sounds like a good ride. Thanks for taking us along 

[longjohn]

The ADV thread is in jo momma which is restricted to members I think.  Here is a youtube vid of the glory hole:  

 

[RPondaRoad]

That drone video of Lake Berryessa puts the Monticello Dam and the Glory Hole in  perspective doesn't it?  Don't you think that video like this is changing the way we experience our surroundings?  Having just been there two days ago and then seeing this high quality aerial view is amazing!  I'm really glad that you added this to the conversation...

[dba]

I've seen the pipe there when I've ridden by, but the lake level was always so low, I never paid attention to what it could be for.  Now I know.  Amazing footage.  

[longjohn]

3 hours ago, RPondaRoad said:

That drone video of Lake Berryessa puts the Monticello Dam and the Glory Hole in  perspective doesn't it?  Don't you think that video like this is changing the way we experience our surroundings?  Having just been there two days ago and then seeing this high quality aerial view is amazing!  I'm really glad that you added this to the conversation...

 

1 hour ago, dba said:

I've seen the pipe there when I've ridden by, but the lake level was always so low, I never paid attention to what it could be for.  Now I know.  Amazing footage.  

Yeah, it’s amazing isn’t it?  The spillover happened in ‘17+’19, but before that it had been decades.  

[RandyShields]

Nice report.  I've never seen one of those glory holes.  Thanks.  BTW, my wife and I had to cancel a trip to Napa in October of 2017 because of the fires.  From your photos, it looks pretty nice.  How has the area recovered?

 

Randy

[RPondaRoad]

5 hours ago, RandyShields said:

Nice report.  I've never seen one of those glory holes.  Thanks.  BTW, my wife and I had to cancel a trip to Napa in October of 2017 because of the fires.  From your photos, it looks pretty nice.  How has the area recovered?

 

Randy

The towns of the Napa Valley along with the wineries, vineyards and the roads that I've traveled on since the firestorm seem to be fine since the Atlas Fire.  There are stretches of burned out hillsides that are visible from some roads, but most of the damage was done in the mountains above the valley.   For the most part, the beauty of the Napa Valley remains.  Make new plans to come out....they're still making wine and want you to come back!!!   

 

The Tubbs and Nuns fire, different parts of the same firestorm, burned into many residential areas as well as into the vineyards and mountainsides of the Sonoma Valley.  I haven't been there since a few weeks after the fires so I can't tell you how the recovery is going there.  

 

There is so much to do and see in this area...the most rugged part of the California coast with it's quaint small towns like Bodega Bay and Mendocino, the redwood forests, and the beautiful City of San Francisco with it's bridges and bay.  Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains are only 3 hours from Napa and once there it's a quick jaunt to Yosemite National Park.  

 

Unlike during the immediate aftermath of the firestorm, you can rest assured that you won't be part of a problem.  Instead, if you come out you'll be a welcome part of the recovery...  

[RandyShields]

Excellent!  Thank you.

[Charles]

Nice report and amazing photos!

[longjohn]

5 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

I'm very surprised that some crazy kayaker hasn't eyed that hole yet. 

There are reports of a cormorant being sucked down into it and surviving.