Geysers Road – Sonoma County, CA
It was the 19th of January.
Temps were predicted to touch 70. We’d gone oh-for-the-month on rainfall
and none was on the horizon. I was
in my new digs in Northern Sonoma County.
Mama was visiting the grandkids and the BMW lay fallow in the
garage. A frequently passed sign
on US 101 says “The Geysers – 17.”
I liked Yellowstone’s Old Faithful as well as the next guy so I figured
it was time to see California’s take on the theme.
Geysers Road forms a short but entertaining jog from State Route
128 east of Healdsburg into a remote reach of the Coast Range, then back along twisting
stream drainage to meet up with 101 at Cloverdale. Cautionary signs warn us that road conditions are variable
which we come to learn means some stretches of gravel, some stretches of
blacktop crumbling and falling down the hillside and some stretches as smooth
as something you’d hope to encounter on track day.
Leaving 128 northeast of Jimtown, Geysers Road quickly
affords a panoramic view of the Alexander Valley. Vineyards creep down the hillside, blocks of each producing
unique fruit prized by skilled area winemakers. (My daughter’s one of ‘em.)
Reaching a summit, the road dips into a dry little valley,
climbs out the other side and dances for a few miles along the side and top of
a ridge. This day, the winter
grass has, for lack of rainfall, failed to sprout. The scenery looks more like October than three weeks into
the New Year.
Fourteen miles on, Geysers Road tees. To the right it’s Geysers Road. To the left, it’s Geysers Road. What we’ve just been on is Geysers
Road. A directional sign tells us
that “The Geysers” is two miles east.
Right I go anticipating plumes of steam reaching like misty fingers into
an unseasonably blue sky.
A geyser is a geothermal phenomenon
that occurs when moisture from the surface sinks into the substrata and follows
underground routes to cracks in the earth’s crust. The water follows those cracks until it makes contact with a
molten mass not too far below the oaks and chemise we’ve been riding
through. Vaporized, it rockets up
through the vents and would form one of those steamy plumes, except…
…Except that we’ve figured out how to capture this energy,
cap it, pipe it, turn turbines with it and power 60% of the electrical needs of
the California coast from the Bay to the Oregon border. A snapshot from a stopping point shows
pipelines and metal buildings, locked gates and power lines but no graceful
mists shooting into the air and dissipating on the mountain breezes. No national park here. Still, it’s all pretty amazing.
And, as if to prove that the journey
is often better than the destination, Geysers Road swings west following Big
Sulphur Creek back to 101. Here’s
where most of those variable conditions come into play. A gentle hand on the throttle is
advised as the gravel portions can sneak up on the rider and while they’ve
learn to harness steam just up the road, they haven’t yet mastered “guardrail.”
A few miles west, a wide spot affords a place to view what another
passer-by claimed was an abandoned quicksilver (mercury) mine. A tall tank of what appears to be clear
redwood stands akilter like a latter day Pisan tower.
A series of rusted up and down pipes were a “separator,” the
fellow says. I couldn’t recall enough
chemistry to remember what was being separated from what. I suspect it had something to do with
those little liquid chromium colored balls we shouldn’t have played with as
kids. I do know that there are
quicksilver mines up along SR 20 so his guess made sense to me.
Further west, tiny, gated roads snake off to the left and
right, each following the contour of this tributary or that one to another
mining site or another geothermal well.
An historic bridge awaits us at the bottom: built in 1909
and moved here from somewhere back in ’37. The embossing on the steel tells us it came from Philadelphia. I consider its rugged trip from there
to the middle of nowhere.
A few miles further and we reached 101. It’ll be ten minutes to home. Mom’s not back from the grandkids and I’ll
wish I taken a bit longer journey this warm January day.
o0o
Today’s Route: US 101 north from Santa Rosa. At Healdsburg, west on Alexander Valley
Road. Left on 128. Left (which will appear straight) on
Geysers Road. Return: West on Geysers Road. Right on River Road to US 101 north of
Cloverdale.
© 2014
Church of the Open Road Press
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