ROAD TRIP: Safari West

"In wilderness is the preservation of the world."
                                   - Henry David Thoreau                          





The phrase "well kept secret" is one of those two-edged swords. On one hand it connotes that it's somehow something special and something that deserves attention. On the other hand, "secret" isn't exactly an ambition for most of the people who are promoting a thing.

So it is with all due respect and admiration that I refer to Safari West complex outside Santa Rosa, in northern California, as a well-kept secret. It is deserving of as much attention as other facilities of its kind, but as a traveler and seeker of adventure I like the fact that it isn't overrun with tourists and daytrippers who are looking for nothing more than cotton candy and animals in cages.


First, few of the animal...well, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Safari West, nicknamed the Sonoma Serengeti, is a large wildlife park located in the hills between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, neatly positioned between the twin wine regions of Sonoma and Napa. It is a research complex which funds a lot of their work through tours and safari-tent overnights on the grounds.

Taking their own description off their web page:

"Safari West serves two important functions: first and foremost, we are a wildlife preserve, with several important ongoing projects such as:

• The propagation of endangered species. Safari West is the home of zebras, giraffes, cheetahs and many more exotic creatures.
• Under the directorship of Nancy Lang, Safari West is breeding several endangered bird species.
• Several Research and Conservation programs are ongoing: Conservation through Education.

But Safari West is more than a preserve. We are dedicated to raising awareness of our exotic neighbors and promoting understanding through in-person contact. That's why we offer safaris year-round. If your only experience with a zebra or giraffe has been at a zoo, you should see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. You owe it to yourself, and to them."

And therein lies the key difference between a zoo and Safari West, and that is the experience of visiting an operating preserve, and touring through open-meadow grasslands and semi-rugged terrain visiting truly wild animals in what passes for a natural environment for them.

The park itself is some 400 acres, with more than 900 different animals (everything from large secretary birds to predatory cats to giraffes and zebras).

Again, their words:

"Come through our gate and be transported into an exotic, new world. A captivating tapestry of raw sounds and earthy smells; a magic place with the sights and sounds of the Serengeti where the air is filled with melodious chirps from the aviary, squawking calls from gregarious parrots, and a occasional lemur screech. An African style oasis where guests experience a rare sense of freedom and gain renewed inspiration. "

A couple of the cabin-tents at night.

So the park is unique and fascinating, but the best adventure of all, particularly for younger ones, is a night or two inn the relative comfort of your own luxury safari tent. The accommodations are excellent, with a comfortable bed and good sized room -- the only drawback during our stay was a midnight call to the bathroom, which is located outside of the very cozy center part of the tent. This also made the shower a bit of a cold versus warm challenge requiring a swift drying off and dash through the canvas door back into the warm main room of the tent. (The bathroom is attached and completely enclosed, but outside of the area well-heated by a space heater.) If you're going during the off season be prepared for this very little bit of roughing it.

The tour itself, on board a safari vehicle, is excellent. The driver conveys a lot of good information about the animals without becoming overly academic. If you're tempted to sit on the upper deck just be aware that giraffes drool. A lot. One poor visitor didn't wear her raincoat and the sounds from the upper deck (we were seated below) were cringe-inducing in a Monty Python sort of way.

The tour lasts three hours, and is certainly worth the side trip if you're electing to stay in either Santa Rosa or Calistoga. But, again, our own selection was to stay the night, enjoying the ambience of the park. The sounds of the animals as you drift asleep is exciting and relaxing at the same time.

 (CAVEAT: If you're prone to nightmares, be aware the secretary birds screech out something awful, particularly in the dark when you're not expecting to hear anything but silence. One let loose with a banshee-esque shriek directly across from our cabin door at around 2am, which left me crawling the ceiling until I was able to piece together what I'd heard. A few too many horror films as a kid, I guess.)

On to the rest of the photos. Contact info for Safari West will be found towards the bottom.

The giraffe compound was directly opposite our door

Our tent/cabin

Inside the tent, a comfortable bed

Links: 
http://www.safariwest.com/
http://www.safariwest.com/faqs/

Relaxing the California sun

The Good Life

As I write this, it's Tuesday, the middle day of an all-too- short stay in California's amazing Napa Valley wine country.

I'm sitting in the Calistoga Village Bakery, sipping at a triple shot latte, watching the world go by. This is the second of what will eventually be three stops in which I begin my day this way. It's crazy busy for this early morning in a relatively small city. At least six other patrons sit, stand or wander around in a pre-caffeine daze trying to decide what to order. While I'm sipping at my coffee, seven more hit and run workers come in, get their coffee and leave, headed for their day. Starbuck's might consider this a good day, I don't know. I'm too wrapped up in the wonderful gentility of it all. Some people obviously know each other, while others are simply friendly.

The Village Bakery

Despite the expected heat of the coming day, the predawn temperature outside would be described by most of us as chilly. The sun isn't quite up, but the sky is a beautiful pale blue. I'm sitting at a table adjacent to the front window and just outside a dog lies resting, securely leashed to a pillar on the sidewalk. She seems to be at ease, indicating this is perhaps a regular event.

As far as I can tell, I seem to be the only out of towner. A group of people at the table next to me clearly know each other, as do most of the folks who wander in. The owner of the dog in question tells a friend that she's recently had the dog groomed, then excuses herself to go outside for a moment to share a treat of some kind which the pup readily consumes.

One of the other patrons at the table makes note that the music of the morning is French in origin, beautiful haunting ballads to set the mood for the morning. Songs of love, and loss, and gentle thoughts.

This is why Calistoga ranks among my favorite places in the world. It's unashamedly relaxed, unashamedly small town yet also quite worldly. It comes as no surprise, really. The century old spa town is built around taking life quietly and easily, a respite from the restlessness of the rest of the world. The point of the town seems to be, specifically, to step back and remember what it was to stroll streets, window shopping and smelling the gentle aromas of the various coffee houses and restaurants that dot the street.

Lincoln Avenue shops before sunrise

Located at the northern end of the legendary Napa Valley at the highway crossroads of what will eventually open out into the slightly less famous but equally notable wine country of Sonoma County, Calistoga boasts numerous spas, hot springs, restaurants, inns and even a few wineries. The local culture is based on the simple and best things in life, seemingly at odds with the wealth of the rest of the valley. Calistoga finds its own vibe and marches along, seemingly oblivious to the call of the outside world. Here in the center of the California wine country it sets itself apart, yet is still part of the unified whole. It isn't so much that time has left the town behind, it's that the town ignores the pressure of time and makes its own pace. It knows the rest of the world is there, but the rest of the world must come to Calistoga and relax, not the other way around.

Tyra, the bakery's friendly counterperson, engages everyone who comes through the door with a bright smile and conversation. Yesterday she shared with me that she's lived in Calistoga her entire life. Apparently she's studying psychology at the local junior college (I'm getting much of this from her interactions with her patrons).  She adds just the proper dash of morning energy to the otherwise calm shop, and makes the difference between just a regular coffee house, and one with a friendly soul that makes you want to come back.

Hot Springs and Hotels

(The music has just shifted to more of a southern ragtime, changing the background mood to an almost Disneyesque atmosphere...in a good way. Oddly enough, the change in tempo nearly matches the increasing light coming in from the windows. The town and coffee house are growing steadily more awake under the guise of a triple shot latte. Or is it that I'm finally waking up myself?)

Have I convinced you of the town's unique nature? Even in its mid-1800s birth, the town had to do things differently. Its beautiful location, coupled with natural hot springs with a high sulfur content, attracted the attention of the nearby gold-addled town of San Francisco.

Cafe Sarafornia

Calistoga was essentially founded In 1859 as a spa resort, though it didn't officially incorporate until 1886. The name, perhaps apocryphally, is reported to come from a quote from Samuel Brannan, the wealthy owner of the first spa to open in town, when he tried to refer to it as "The Saratoga of California" at a public gathering. The story goes that he was overly indulged (inebriated) while speaking at an event announcing the creation of the resort -- and managed to blurt out the description of the new spa town as "the Calistoga of Sarafornia". 

(A much more likely recounting is that Brannan named the place as a mash up of California and Saratoga, but the legend is far more fitting of the town's disposition.)

(BTW - Regardless of the origin of the name, there is an excellent family diner in town by the name of Cafe Sarafornia. Have to love a place with a sense of humor.)

The sun finally peeks over the Vaca Mountains east of town, lighting up Lincoln Ave in a new day. Almost all of the patrons have gone on to their lives, leaving the Village Bakery quiet again, save for the thrum of the refrigeration units and the music, which has now returned to the original gentle French ballads, again echoing the drop off the bakery's energy level. Tyra busies herself with tasks behind the counter, readying for what will be the next wave of guests in an hour or so.

It's a good life, here in Calistoga.

We get around, round, round round...

(Ever have a time when you sit down to write something and come up with a piece entirely foreign to your first intent? This was such a time…)

Just recently, in honor of my 27th anniversary, my sister sent us a card with a photograph of my wife and I during our recent trip to New York. In Times Square. (Thanks, Jude!)

And it once again reminded me of my foundational travel philosophy, which is: don't be afraid of the adventure. In fact, I may adopt that as my official Thumbnail Traveler tagline. It seems to fit in nicely with what I'm trying to build as a brand. And it reinforces a philosophy I've advocated for years, and, in fact, my sister is a relatively recent convert to as well.

Watching Polar Bears in Churchill

I've made mention more than a few times of Phil Keoghan's book NO OPPORTUNITY WASTED. The book, for those of you too lazy to go back and find my comments, is essentially a "how to" for putting together a Life List -- or what has now been co-opted as The Bucket List. In other words, a list of things that not only would you like to do, but actually are going to take steps to accomplish.

My own NOW Life List is constantly changing and being updated -- you can see it here on my official website (http://mysite.verizon.net/res7n0zi/id48.html), or below,  -- but there are a handful of constants when it comes to my travel-related intentions.

The south Sawyer Glacier, Alaska

As I've noted, I tend to treat life outside the walls of my "pay the mortgage" cubicle as an adventure. My work pays for what I do outside the office, as I'm probably overly fond of reminding my boss. Photography and travel are my creative passions, and contribute enough to our income for a couple of nights out every few months. That noted, my long-term goals are set around seeing the large portions of the world I have yet to glimpse. 

Some are simply counting coup -- a term I use here to describe the arrival at, and appreciation of some object or monument, noting its importance and moving on. Examples of this might include the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. It's a wonderful treat, and certainly fills you with the awe and significance of our 16th president, as well as the historical events surrounding his life. There is little to compare to standing at the foot of that famous statue, or gazing across the Reflecting Pond from the steps of the memorial towards the Washington Monument.

All of which takes a half hour or so to completely take in the experience. Absolutely worth it, no question. (Some people augment the experience by sitting down on the steps and watching the world go by, which is a worthy approach…and rife with photographic opportunities.) 

Doin' the Beatles walk across Abbey Road

The better goals, at least for my approach to life, are the more complex and immersive. I will build trips around a series of "coup counts" as necessary, so that I really can get that moment in front of Mr. Lincoln while still immersing myself in the overall Washington culture. One monument might be good for a small period of time, but add in the Vietnam Wall, the Jefferson Monument, the Capitol Building, the Smithsonian, Union Station, etc, etc, etc and you get the picture, figuratively (and literally) speaking. The Lincoln Memorial is one aspect of an overall "Washington" adventure. This is why, on my Life List, you see fewer "counting coup" sorts of things -- "See the Lincoln Memorial" -- and more of an overall approach ("Visit Washington, DC for a week").

There are, if you've bothered to take a look, a couple of specific "counting" adventures, largely because they are part of the NOW checklist. Phil's philosophy involves several different approaches to self-fulfilling adventures, some of them don't involve travel at all -- they're more personal challenges and accomplishments rather than sights and sounds. (#8 on my NOW list is "walk the Havasupai glass-bottomed horseshoe over the Grand Canyon". At first this seems like a coup-ish short term event, and it is. But it's also a challenge to my at-times insurmountable acrophobia. The purpose of this particular item is to Face My Fear -- one of the seven elements of the NOW philosophy.)

Swimming with Dolphins in Mexico

This year I've managed to knock three adventures off my "To Do" list, and all three occurred on the same one trip. Visually and spiritually I've always wanted to see the sunrise over Mount Haleakala. Ecologically, my wife and I are very much into seeing native species in their environment and have swum with dolphins, chased Orca in the Puget Sound, encountered polar bears on the Canadian tundra, seen wild bald eagles in Alaska, held turtles in the Cayman Islands, and alligators in the Everglades -- and now scuba dived with Manta Rays as part of the same trip as Mount Haleakala.

All of which is simply my way of convincing you that you need to put together your own list of things you intend to do. Star with eight and move upward as necessary (I'm right around 13). Figure out who you want to involve in your plans. You'd be surprised how many of your friends would want to help, and possibly themselves start their own programs. If your list involves eating at a Michelin three-starred restaurant (number 4 on my list), find yourself a foodie buddy with sufficient monetary pockets and figure it out. (No, I'm not suggesting they pay your way. It's your challenge, not theirs, but you can certainly go dutch.)

My Current List:

1. Take a hot-air balloon ride over Sedona or Napa Valley. 

2. Go on a true African safari 

3. Swim in the Indian Ocean

4. Eat at a three-Michelin rosette restaurant 

5. Stay at every major hotel/casino property on the Las Vegas Strip (Still to go: Bellagio; Excalibur; Flamingo; Cosmopolitan; Aria; Imperial Palace)

6. Drink a glass of wine in every major wine region in the world (So far: Napa, Sonoma, Bordeaux, Loire, Tuscany, Veneto) 

Tanning in St Barth

7. Spend a couple of nights north of Arctic Circle and south of Antarctic

8. Walk the 4000 foot glass-bottomed horseshoe at the Hualapai reservation in Arizona. 

9. Visit Stonehenge at dusk. 

10. Cruise the Amazon

11. Spend the night in an Ice Hotel

12. Attend a performance in the Sydney Opera House 

13. Drive the Great Ocean Rd.

The fun part of this sort of thing is the involvement of others. Gather up your friends, your family, and any other "enabler" you can find and share your list and your plan with them. Solicit their help, their support. It's not a solitary endeavor -- well, not always.

Walking the glass horseshoe 4000 feet over the Grand Canyon is gonna be all me, regardless of who I have in tow.

Hiking through the British Columbia Rain Forest