WA Wednesday: Woodinville ~ A Wine Field in the Backyard

Have you ever been startled to find an obvious, but overlooked, travel treasure right in your own back yard?

I was. Just this week. 

And it took a visit from two friends (yes, that’s us on the right) from Yakima, the heart of Central Washington wine country, to lead me to this wine field discovery:

Woodinville Wine Country.


Woodinville borders Kirkland, where Joel and I hang our hats when not traveling. Both cities are east of Lake Washington, part of the greater Seattle Metropolitan area. SeaTac Airport is about 22 miles to our south.

Considering the proximity, I am still asking myself why I waited so long to explore this oenophile oasis that boasts nearly 100 wineries, tasting rooms and wine bars in an area only eight miles (a 15 minute drive) away? 

Exploring Wine Country – Our route

You can’t tour and taste in wine country on an empty stomach.  . .a perfect reason to first lunch at the bistro-style award-winning Barking Frog restaurant.

The restaurant’s name comes from the Native American storytellers use of the Frog as a symbol of wealth or abundance. When the frogs are barking, it is a sign of peace and harmony in nature. 

(The rain threat kept us from using their patio; we’ll try it next time. And kudos to our waitress who knew her wines, made great recommendations and then encouraged our long, leisurely lunch.)


A Monday afternoon may not have been the best time to tour as a number of wineries and tasting rooms were closed. Those we did visit included the sleek modern Novelty Hill/Januik, the French Chateau-style Chateau St. Michelle, and a cluster of wineries housed in and on the perimeter of the old Hollywood School.

We  traveled by auto, but there are 20 wineries/tasting rooms that we could have walked to from the Barking Frog and Willows Lodge with which the restaurant is affiliated. Those folks have prepared a free walking map available for the asking. 

And speaking of maps, for a great overview of the area, there’s nothing better than the map from the Woodinville Wine Country web site which I’ve included below (go to their site and print it off in PDF format before you go):



If you go:
Accommodations:


Willow Lodge, next to the Barking Frog is a luxurious spa resort, 14580 NE 145th St., www.willowslodge.com (Weekends are busy in the summer but mid-week, there's a chance of getting a room – at maybe a better price.)


Dining: 


The Barking Frog, 14580 NE 145th St. Woodinville, is part of Willows Lodge. Bistro style breakfast, lunch and dinners.

The Herb Farm restaurant, on the same property, is legendary for its months-long wait lists. It’s nine-course meals, paired with six wines, continues to make it among ‘the’ places to eat in the Northwest.  Prices are astronomical but then so is the experience (we are told).


‘Wine-ing’:


Get maps, winery and tasting room hours and driving directions from Woodinville Wine Country, (425) 205-4394, www.woodinvillewinecountry.com  Another good site: www.gotastewine.com/woodinville-wine.php

WA Wednesday is a semi-regular feature of TravelnWrite. If this is your first visit to our blog, we hope to see you again tomorrow on Travel Photo Thursday.

Four Seasons: Crescent Moon Luxury and Legacy

Scottsdale, that oasis in the midst of the Arizona desert, is synonymous with ‘luxury living’. Gorgeous homes the color of the leather-tanned landscape are scattered throughout the surrounding hillsides. 

It's a Panoramas-and-Pools lifestyle. The good life.  A dry, warm, sunny good life; a second-home locale for many web-footed Washingtonians like us who are seeking a respite from wet and gray. 

Last year when Joel found the deal -- an interval ownership at the Four Seasons Residence Club Scottsdale for a price too good to pass up -- we joined those desert destined sun seekers. Well, at least for two weeks every year – that’s the way it is with interval ownership. . .and that’s just the way we like it.

Earlier this month we spent our first week at our ‘vacation home’  basking in the luxury lifestyle for which Four Seasons is known.  We were addressed by name each time we approached the front desk. Pool attendants hurried to spread our beach towels over the cushioned lounge chairs, then bring  pitchers of ice-water and regularly check on our comfort level. One lazy morning when we altered our routine and our room attendant tapped on our door to see ‘if everything was okay’.  Another took Joel’s dusty sandals, had them polished and returned them looking like new within an hour. 

The Residence Club is a small development built around a pool area that features a small restaurant, Ocotillo Grill, an enormous hot tub, quiet pool, kiddies pool and regular pool.  It’s a quick walk to the adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel, where we had access to its pool, gym and spa facilities (even though we had our own pool and exercise room).

Note:  You need not be an owner to stay at the Residence Club – units here can be rented just like the nearby hotel.

East Crescent Moon Drive at Pinnacle Peak – A Legacy of Hospitality


What attracted us to this resort, aside from its reputation for luxury, was its location. Sitting at the base of the 600-foot tall Pinnacle Peak, there are territorial views over Phoenix and Scottsdale and Troon Mountain is just across the street.

The resort’s address is Crescent Moon Drive. One of its restaurants is named Crescent Moon. Both give a nod of tribute to a legacy of hospitality that existed at this location long before the Four Seasons. 

In 1948 George Ellis, a Scottsdale resident who was to become known for his architectural contributions to the area, designed and built Crescent Moon Ranch where the Four Seasons Resort is located.

Crescent Moon Ranch*, a 127-acre property, was owned by cereal heiress Lois Kellogg Maury and her husband. Maury used the  adobe and redwood main house (with a lily pool in the living room), two guest houses and a bunk house as a finishing school for wealthy Eastern debutantes, in addition to renting out guest cottage to seasonal visitors.  

In 1967 it was sold to Gordon Ingebritson, an insurance executive, developer, rancher and philanthropist.

In 1997 the ranch was demolished. In December 1999 the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North opened its doors. 

And are we ever glad they did!
*****
*Historical information used in this post is from Four Seasons Resort and a documents filed with the National Register of Historic Places.


Photos: (in order) Pathway between Residence Club and Hotel; Residence Club library off the lobby; view over pool of Residence Club from our deck; Pinnacle Peak from outside our door, and view from Residence Club.


Four Seasons Resort, 10650 E. Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale, 480-515-5700, www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale

Ridin’ the Rails in Arizona’s Verde Canyon

“It’s not the Destination, it’s the Journey”  they told us as we began our afternoon aboard Arizona’s Verde Canyon Railroad. 

They were right.

The vast open spaces that gave way to sheer canyon walls towering above us, the winding river. . . well, what we had feared might be a touristy outing turned out to be one of the best travel excursions we’ve ever taken in our three decades of travel. 



Two FP7 locomotives – and two of only 10 remaining in North America -- are the horse power for the renovated vintage passenger cars. We chose coach class (and saved more buying at the AAA discount price) although we could have opted for First Class with a glass of champagne or hired the caboose all for ourselves. (All were air-conditioned.)



We’d planned to spend just a portion of the trip in the open-air viewing car but within minutes of pulling out of the station we knew we weren’t going inside . . .the views were so breath-taking we couldn’t tear ourselves away from that railing  – we stood the entire way, moving from side to side trying to see it all. (Yes, it was in the 90’s that day but the viewing cars had canvas covers.)



We traveled along the winding Verde River (verde; ‘green’ in Spanish) from Clarksdale, a one-time mining town, to what was once a train stop – Perkinsville - on the line that served this mining area in north-central Arizona. We passed mountains of slag, the remnants of those bygone mining days as well as cliff dwellings of the Sinagua Indians believed to date back to 600 B.C.



We passed through a 680-foot manmade tunnel and didn’t realize until we came out the other side, just how small that opening was: this is the car behind us as it emerged from the tunnel.



Cliffs towered above us and beside us, sometimes so close we could have touched them as we passed.



The Verde River Canyon was such an enchanting place that we want to do this trip again – and highly recommend it to those who find themselves in the area. (Clarksdale is between Sedona and Prescott). In addition to the daily afternoon trips, they have special holiday excursions and in the summer when the moon is full, or when it's not - under starry skies -- night-time wine tasting trips.  I can’t imagine anything more magical sounding than that. Can you?

I took dozens of photos but will stop here and encourage you to visit other destinations featured this week on Travel Photo Thursday hosted by Budget Travelers Sandbox.  For those wanting more information on Verde Canyon Railroad, schedule and prices, click the link in the opening paragraph to access their website.

A Taste of Travel: Reata Pass Scottsdale AZ

A dust-filled rocky trail once led over Reata Pass just to the north of downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1882 there was a one-room stage station there that served the coaches traveling between Phoenix and Fort McDowell on the Verde River. 

Reata Pass is now where we have our timeshare ‘home away from home’ at the Four Seasons Scottsdale Residence Club.  So close were we to the summit that from our place we could see the old water tower.

Our location put us conveniently between three wonderful Scottsdale eatery traditions: the Cavalliere family’s Reata Pass Steakhouse (which was closed for the season) and their Greasewood Flat outdoor eatery (click the link to read about it.)

This time – with a whole week in which to explore the area – we ‘discovered’ Pinnacle Peak Patio – and I say that with a smile because the place has been around since 1957 and we’d never even heard of it until last week.  (Have you noticed? There is just too much to discover when you travel!)


Perhaps a bit touristy, but if you want a taste of the Old West – not to mention some good ol’ Western hospitality – this expansive eatery and brewery (Cowgirl Blonde Ale and Gunslinger Stout among the brews) is the place to go.

We made two visits: once to belly up to the bar and sip some margaritas and the second time to fulfill a need for animal protein.

We dined at the outdoor picnic tables (open from April to October) and listened to some country music. Looking to the west we saw Pinnacle Peak and to the east Troon Mountain.

A  post about this place wouldn’t be complete without mentioning “Big Marv” Dickson – ‘a man of many steaks’ – who came to work here back in the 60’s as a dishwasher/landscaper and progressed up the food chain, you might say. He now holds the distinction of ‘having cooked more than 11 million mesquite grilled steaks.” So. . .that might be a tall tale, but with the number of steaks we saw being served we have no doubt it might be true.



This was our picnic table view of  Troon Mountain, elevation 3,478-feet (1,060M). To put that in perspective, the elevation of Washington State's Snoqualmie Pass is 3,022-feet (921M).

If You Go:  North on Pima Road to Happy Valley (you’ll see Pinnacle Peak) Follow Happy Valley to Alma School Road. Left on Jomax to reach Pinnacle Peak Patio (10426 E Jomax Rd. 85262, phone 480-585-1599) or continue on to Greasewood Flat and Reata Pass.

Armchair Adventures: Arizona’s Novel Destinations

“Novel destinations” have enhanced our travels through north central Arizona. Using the recommendations from so many of you, we’ve started some armchair explorations of Arizona. Today I’ll tell you about a few of them as we head out to north eastern Arizona. . .

   . . . land of the Navajo, Hopi, and Hualapai Indian Reservations.


Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal police – a character created by award-winning writer, Tony Hillerman introduced us to the Reservation.  

With the help of the delightful owner, I selected a couple of used paperbacks from a towering stack of Hillerman’s books on display at Bent River Books and Music, 1010 N. Main Street  in Cottonwood, a small town not far from Sedona. 


Thankfully, Hillerman’s  got more than 35 years of writing under his belt and a few dozen more adventures waiting for us now that we’ve discovered this New Mexico author.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that in addition to never having read Hillerman, we’d also not experienced  -- until now --the writing of Louis L’Amour, the author of some 89 novels set in America’s frontier – perhaps his best known being the Hopalong Cassidy series. (Photo is from his website which can be accessed by clicking his name above.)


I chose at random, The Haunted Mesa, from a bookstore at the Phoenix airport. The story based on the disappearance of the Anasazi, or 'ancient enemy’ as the Navajo called them – it is so engrossing that I can barely put it down.  And I’ll certainly be reading more of his books – soon.

I must thank a clerk at Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Scottsdale for suggesting Phoenix Noir, a collection of short stories by contemporary authors set in or near Phoenix. It is not a book I would have purchased had it not been recommended – it is dark.  The stories aren’t those that appear in tourist publications, yet it was one of the best books I’ve read this year because it gave me a look at the ‘other side’ of the city. I read them in short doses and let each story percolate before moving on to the next.



Phoenix Noir is part of a series of books published by Akashic Books; all are noir (dark) short stories and the dozens of cities in which they are set stretch across the globe from Seattle to Barcelona.

This post kicks off a new monthly feature at TravelnWrite – our Armchair Adventures. They require you pack nothing more than a book to your favorite chair.  If you have a ‘novel destination’ to be included in future posts, send it our way.

TPThursday: A Sonoran Spring

The temperature hovers at 100-degrees, the sky is a cloudless blue.  We’ve been in Arizona for just a bit more than two weeks; we now understand its most apt nickname of “Arid Zona”.

A highlight of our time here  has been discovering the beauty of a Sonoran Spring:
 

The local newspaper, The Arizona Republic,  has a daily column that features a historical highpoint of the date, a chuckle for the day and also a prayer.  Today’s prayer couldn’t have been more appropriate for this post: “Lord, We thank you for the beauty that surrounds us. Amen.”



This barrel cactus is one of our favorites.



These delicate blooms adorned for several days the thorniest of cacti outside our unit at the Four Seasons Scottsdale.



It doesn’t require any strenuous hikes into the desert to find these beauties, most of the photos were taken either along roadsides outside Scottsdale or near parking lots.



Next week’s posts will include a garden tour with the Landscape Supervisor for the Four Seasons Scottsdale and some road trips in north central “Arid Zona”.  Today is TPThursday so head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for other shots from around the world.

High Plains Drifters, Mad Dogs and Englishmen

June 2012 arrived Friday in Phoenix/Scottsdale with a sizzle:  113-degrees was the prediction ~ it felt hotter. Like a sucker-punch-to-the-stomach-hot.

We like hot, dry climates. And that is good, because that’s what we’ve had since arriving in the Valley of the Sun.

Fellow travel blogger, Dick Jordan, (whose Tales Told From the Road is worth a visit) reminded us that there’s a reason for the saying, “Only Mad Dogs and Englishmen travel to ‘Arid Zona’ between baseball’s spring training camps and Thanksgiving” and that reason is the weather.

We arrived during a ‘cold spell’ by locals’ standards. It was 89-degrees. The heat kept rising until Friday and is now back to a more comfortable ‘hovering at 100 or so degrees’.

Don’t be put off by the weather report though, because mornings and late afternoons are great for poolside lazing.

We are loving “Arid Zona” and if you haven’t yet planned a summer getaway give some thought to heading to America’s Southwest. Hotels are offering some great deals (and rooms are air conditioned). Those resorts, like the Four Seasons Scottsdale where we are this week, are offering some great deals in their spas – also air-conditioned paradises. (That’s a photo of the Four Seasons pool with Pinnacle Peak in the background.)

If that isn’t enough to bring you here, then let me tell you there is no better reason to sip a margarita than to cool yourself after a day in the sun.  We’ve been on a quest for the perfect one since arriving in the state – we’ll tell you where to find ‘em in a future post.

(These tasty treats were consumed in Prescott, AZ right after we hit town.)

Right now, I’m headin’ off to quench my thirst. . .again!

TPThursday: Mascota Mexico Magic

While we are traveling through Arizona this week, we are taking you back for a final look at Mascota, Mexico's magic with some of the photos we took earlier this month in this small town in the Sierra Madres.



The church towers over the town’s square, its bells call out the time and bring the faithful to prayer.  Off to one side of the church  there is the shrine shown below of Father Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, a Catholic priest who was executed on June 25, 1927 as part of the conflict between the church and the Mexican government. He was beatified in 1992 and canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul.  He is considered a son of this small town.



The Robles family runs one of our favorite hangouts in town, the Napoles Bakery and Café, a few blocks from the church. Fr. Jose was a member of this family and his photo, articles about him and tributes have been on display in the bakery since the first time we visited 10 years ago.



We made repeated trips to this sweet treat only a couple blocks from our hotel. . .afternoon coffee, dinner that night and breakfast before we left.  There is a warmth about their hospitality that we’ve found irresistible.  (Not to mention good food and drink!)



We watched afternoon turn into evening from a park bench in the zocalo, the town square.  Actually we watched the man high in that church’s tower pulling the ropes to ring the bells and announce the start of the evening’s service. . .these days the Catholic Church is alive and well here.



Just a few blocks from the square are the remains of the Templo de la Preciosa Sangre (Church of the Holy Blood).  This 19th Century church would have been enormous – it simply was never finished.



That's it for Mascota. If you make it to Puerto Vallarta give yourself a couple of extra days and head to the hills.  For now it is Travel Photo Thursday and time to check out the photos on display at Budget Travelers Sandbox.







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