Redwoods... and red faces
Frank Barrett discovers fantastic forests, wonderful wine and some very risqué hobbies in California
CALIFORNIA’S Silicon Valley isn’t a valley, and nor is there any silicon to be found there. The silicon refers to the manufacture of semi-conductors, a staple of the computer industry. Until Mr Hewlett and Mr Packard got together in a Palo Alto garage in 1938 and helped start the computer revolution, people in this area made a living from growing fruit. The man from Delmonte still has his headquarters here.
But while high-tech has replaced agriculture in San Francisco’s South Bay area, in the less-visited country north of the Golden Gate, most communities still earn a rich living from the land.
We began our week- long California stay in Guerneville, a small town on the Russian River and about 90 minutes from Oakland Airport. The town is almost lost in a vast sea of steepling 300ft redwood trees. Our lovely rental property was situated right in the forest, permanently bathed in a glorious scent of fresh wood.
In the 19th Century, Guerneville was at the centre of the lumber industry (it was originally called Stumptown!). But eventually the daughter of the one of the biggest wood traders helped mount a campaign to preserve the giant trees.
BY THE end of the 19th Century, it was estimated that about 85 per cent of the redwoods had been felled. As each tree can live up 700 years, the wholesale destruction of the forests was eco-vandalism on a vast scale.
Guerneville is a microcosm of the extraordinary social changes of Californian life. In the 1960s, the town was popular with San Francisco’s flower-power children, who came here to live in communes.
The hippies were soon displaced by Hells Angels, who in turn were replaced by gay San Franciscans escaping here from the city during the 1980s AIDS epidemic.
Until recently, farmers grew apples and plums. Now every available acre is a vineyard: grapes are rapidly colonising the Russian River area, producing wines which appeal to the growing number of wealthy Californians who have holiday homes here.
Surprisingly, the Californian coast north of San Francisco is almost entirely undeveloped. Cold sea currents do little to encourage seabathing but t here are l ovely beaches here, even if the scenery is a little bleak. It’s not unlike the North Cornish coast.
East of Russian River is the Sonoma Valley, which has an even greater proliferation of wineries. We had a fine lunch and a tasting at Jordan’s, a lavish estate built in the French style. There are some lovely towns in this area too, including Healdsburg and Sebastopol.
Until recently in Sebastopol, the rail track used to come down the middle of the main street. I was