Photo: This is the general area indicated by Bob Streich Sr. of where Henry Heidhoff fell to his death in the 4500 block of Redwood Road. In Redwood Creek Canyon I was riding in the backseat of the Streich’s car, sitting on the passenger side behind Bob Streich Sr. His son Bob Jr. drove us slowly…
Author: Robin Lewis
“Hillside Farm” Resort: Visiting the Ghost Buildings of a Former Napa Getaway
Subscribers: For better layout and larger images, please click on the article title above to be taken to the actual website page. Resorts in the Napa Redwoods area During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, there were several small resorts in the area of the Napa Redwoods west of Napa, mostly on Mt Veeder. One…
Current Events: The Great Redwood Tree Massacre of 2018
Two PG&E contractors cut down these redwoods next door to our house up at the end of Redwood Road—supposedly to clear the power lines—but it’s a travesty, and probably not their only butchering around here. I was at work while it was done, and my wife and I thought they were trimming back limbs of…
Current Events: Burned-Up Former Home in the News
Photo above or at left: The yellow popcorn rose at the front corner of our former house. Before the Nunn Fire came to our current home, our former home burned in the Partrick Fire. We found this out by checking with our old neighbors (who live in the “Fairview” house I wrote about here). Our…
Current Events: Losing the “Mother Tree”
Photo above or at left: The “Mother Tree” amid periwinkle vinca blooms last spring. We have a bit of survivor’s guilt about the Nunn Fire because we were very lucky in that our home did not burn, and so the loss of one tree should not be that much. But this laurel (aka: bay, pepperwood)…
Current Events: In the Hills After the Fire
Photo at top or at left: a fern sprouts from its roots in the middle of once was a manzanita thicket near Maggie’s Peak. More Nunn Fire Images: Here is a few images and a couple videos from Maggie’s Peak in the Archer Taylor Preserve on the Napa-Sonoma County line. “Before” Video: Here’s…
Current Events: The Nunn Fire arrives
Photo above or at left is of what turned out to be the early stages of the Nunn Fire. Every bit of land and vegetation visible in this photo is now burned. Here are four short videos that show what we saw when the Nunn Fire arrived at our house around 1 p.m. on October…
Current Events: The Yellow Jeep Burns in the Nunn Fire
Because rides with Warren Kubler in his yellow WWII-era jeep (above) have been featured in a few articles here I thought I would update you on their status after the fires.
Snippet: Harvard Regrets
It long pained Rudolph Jordan Jr. that he had not been able to continue past his freshman year at Harvard University. Harvard listed its classes by the date students began attending the university, rather than by the date they graduated, so even though he had had to quit after one year, Jordan was still considered…
A Hilltop Home called “Fairview”
Even though the property is well above Browns Valley proper, “Fairview” was popularly considered to be part of it. Oscar and Adeline became fixtures in the Browns Valley agriculture community.
Exploring the Padre Trail – Part IV: A Jeep Ride with Warren Kubler
We reach the Padre Trail After my encounter with “sudden oak death” syndrome, Warren Kubler and I descended a long steep hill that ended at a T with another jeep road. This was the Padre Trail. To the left led down to Carneros Creek and the Napa River, and to the right led down to…
Exploring the Padre Trail – Part III: A Jeep Ride with Warren Kubler
After all the research, I wanted to start exploring parts of the Padre Trail, to figure out where it was, in hopes of one day hiking the whole thing. It all still exists, but nearly every bit of its path has been improved, and later bulldozed, into ranch roads and fire roads. I asked Warren…