so11 via california edition test

AAA TRAVELER’S COMPANION ISEPTEMBER+OCTOBER 2011AAA.COM/VIA

Beautiful bird spots 30

Spooky places 20

Carneros wines 26

Devils Tower 48

P L U S Utah’s dino man 19 Ansel Adams in the Central Valley 22

Try the new Vacation Finder 12 Houdini’s handcuffs 45 Viva neon! 24

Where’s your sticker?

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AAA didn’t start out as an auto insurance company. That may be why we’re so good at it. It’s just in our DNA to help people out. No wonder J.D. Power and Associates ranks AAA higher than Allstate, State Farm, and Farmers for claims satisfaction.* And why our insurance agents are just as committed to you as our famous tow truck drivers.

Get a quote now: 800-JOIN-AAA | AAA.com | Visit your local branch

Their priority: Sell Our priority: You.

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Set sail with Disney for breathtaking wonders.

From Puerto Vallarta’s stunning beaches and scenic Sierra Madre jungle to Cabo San Lucas’ dramatic rock formations, the ports of call in the Mexican Riviera all promise unrivaled sun and fun. Couple this with the

outstanding personal service, enchanting experiences and unmatched entertainment that is distinctive to Disney Cruise Line®, and you have a vacation dream come true.

GS2011-5556 ©Disney Ships’ Registry: The Bahamas

Call 888-258-1860Click AAA.com/vacations

Visit your local AAA BranchPromo Code: AAA-V37

7-Night Cruises from Los Angeles to:Puerto Vallarta e Cabo San Lucas e Mazatlán (select cruises)

to book your magical disney cruise vacation, contact us today!

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FEATURES

26 Toasting CarnerosCalifornia’s North Bay wineries mix grand architecture, art, and rural charm with world-class sips. by peter jaret

30 Adventures on the Pacifi c Flyway

A writer and a photographer embark on a six-state, 2,000-mile road trip—hot on the trail of millions of birds. by craig neff

36 Ten Years LaterA decade after the shattering events of September 11, 2001, a world traveler refl ects on how trips have changed. by craig neff

C O V E R P H O T O G R A P H B Y D AV I D C O L L I E R

IN EVERY ISSUE

8 OnlineSix great towns in Oregon’s Willamette wine country.

45 Events

48 Western WonderA close encounter with Devils Tower in Wyoming.

IN THIS ISSUE

5 Photo Contest

16 Information on the Nomination of Directors

DEPARTMENTS

4 President’s PageThat friendly red sticker on a car’s bumper signals all that AAA stands for: safe driving, quality transportation, and protection for our treasured landscapes.

10 Your AAASave 5 to 10 percent on auto repairs; three smart things to do after a breakdown; why buses don’t have seat belts; how to keep a good grip on the wheel.

18 On the RoadTurlock’s Carnegie Arts Center reopens with an Ansel Adams show; bean-to-bar chocolate; your favorite haunted spots; a tower at the Grand Canyon.

ON THE COVER, greater sandhill

cranes in the Klamath Basin. Page

30. ABOVE, how did the 9/11 terrorist

attack change our window on the

world? Page 36.

inside

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Ever heard of automobilists? That’s what the fi rst car enthusiasts called themselves. It’s an odd word, but it fi t those early adopters who pioneered our club to ele-vate a newfangled mode of transportation.

Today we’re no longer a tiny band fi ghting for crazy new things like paved roads and street signs. Chances are, you belong to AAA for reasons that are mainly about you. If your car breaks down, you feel confi dent that a AAA tow truck driver will get you back on your way. If you have AAA insurance, you know that our claims agents are eager to provide help when you need it.

You is also undoubtedly an important word for AAA employees dedicated to world-class service. But with 4.2 million members, it’s likewise important to remember that our club makes a very strong we. How do we harness the power of our collective energy? By focusing on the same themes that have guided our not-for-profi t member-ship organization from the start: safe driving, quality trans-portation, and protection for the landscapes we treasure.

On the safety front, we never forget that more than 30,000 people die on the nation’s roadways each year, and we work hard to change that statistic, offering free car seat inspections for parents, in-depth tools for teen driv-ers, and support for seniors behind the wheel.

On the policy level, we lobby for laws to prevent dis-tracted driving, including Nevada’s new ban on texting while driving, which takes effect in January. We also support measures that reduce congestion and boost public transit, and we’re commit-ted to a greener fl eet of vehicles. This sum-mer, AAA road service pilot programs began deploying the nation’s fi rst mobile charging units for electric cars.

Meanwhile, AAA volunteers have been hard at work to preserve and maintain the natural wonders of the West. They’ve cleaned campground fi re pits in Yosemite National Park, cleared and maintained the trails in Mount Diablo State Park, and picked up bags of litter in Zion National Park.

Efforts like these make me proud every time I see a friendly red AAA sticker on a car’s bumper. To me that sticker means you’re counting on AAA—you know we’ve got your back.

And it says something more: Our club refl ects each and every one of us. Together our voices and actions make a powerful we. I hope you display your AAA sticker with pride! paul gaffney, president & ceo

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Share a cool photo— you could win a prize!

*Offer valid through 10/31/2011. First visit must be made before 10/23/2011. Must use“2nd Day ticket” within 7 days after initial use. Photo ID required for revisit. Price subject tochange without notice. Cannot be combined with any other offers, special events, HalloweenHorror Nights, pre-sold tickets or discounted tickets, including 48" discounted price. Pricessubject to change without notice. Distribution on USH property prohibited. USH Managementinterpretation is final. ©2011 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. 11-TRA-10459

Does your bumper tell people you’re a member of the club? Take a picture of the AAA sticker, upload your best shot at AAA.com/win by November 6,

and you’ll be entered to win a $700 digital cam era, a $500 AAA Travel gift certifi cate, or a $150 gas card.

We’re especially looking for photos that stand out from the ordinary, perhaps through an amusing angle, a scenic location, or something else entirely. Winners will be announced in the January/February issue of VIA.

Show your AAA spirit

You’ll fi nd full contest rules at AAA.com/win.

PHOTO CONTEST

Contest runs from Aug. 15 to Nov. 6 and is open to members of AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah in good standing as of Contest start date. Odds of winning depend upon number of entries received. Void where prohibited.

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6 SEPTEMBER+OCTOBER 2011 I AAA.COM/VIA

Dedicated to the memory of Lynn Ferrin, whose career with AAA spanned 37 years. She was editor-in-chief of Motorland and VIA from 1991 to 1998.

EDITORIAL

EDITOR Anne McSilverEXECUTIVE EDITOR John PoppyMANAGING EDITOR Karen ZuercherSENIOR EDITORS Leslie Endicott (AAA.com/via), Sheridan WarrickCONTRIBUTING EDITORS Eric Smillie, Jason TurbowEVENTS EDITOR Katie Cornell, [email protected] INTERNS Juliana Appenrodt, Kristen Haney

DESIGN+PRODUCTION

DESIGN DIRECTOR Alan AveryPRODUCTION DIRECTOR Kristen WilsonASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Robin BriskinART+PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mira RoytmanPRODUCTION SPECIALIST William LyonsPHOTO EDITOR Maggie Perkins

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ted WelchACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Carol Epstein, Linda WebberADVERTISING COORDINATOR Natasha AlcaláADVERTISING ACCOUNTING William Nocera

2,739,291 COPIES Subscription rate: AAA primary members, $2 (included in dues). Change of address: Allow four weeks’ advance notice. Contact AAA at (800) 922-8228. Manuscripts and photos: Query first; VIA assumes no responsibility for return of unsolic ited material. Reprinting from VIA: Contents copyrighted 2011 by AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah. No part of VIA may be reprinted without written permission. Contacting VIA: Address all mail to VIA, AAA, 3055 Oak Rd., Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA 94597. Fax (925) 279-5654. Email: [email protected]. Contact-ing VIA Advertising: Address all mail to VIA Advertising, AAA, 3055 Oak Rd., Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA 94597. Fax (925) 279-5654.

NAPAOnline.com 1800-LET-NAPA

KNOW HOW to supercharge your savings with NAPA. Stop into any participating NAPA AUTO PARTS Store and get an exclusive, AAA members-only 10% discount on your purchases.* So bring yourAAA card to NAPA and start saving today!

06caSO11_Masthead_CRX.indd 606caSO11_Masthead_CRX.indd 6 8/1/11 1:15 PM8/1/11 1:15 PM

*Free gift offer not available in Nevada and Utah. Offer expires 10/31/2011 or while supplies last. You must have a no-obligation life insurance consultation with an agent in an office or by telephone to receive a free gift. Premiums are guaranteed for the term period, then increase annually thereafter. Premiums above are examples only and may vary based on your personal health history and underwriting guidelines. Certain exclusions apply. See policy for specific details of coverage. Policy and its features may not be available in all states. Policy Form Series ICC11-1201/TL-1201. AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah provides life insurance underwritten by our affiliate, AAA Life Insurance Company, Livonia, MI. AAA Life is licensed in all states except NY. AAA Life CA Certificate of Authority #07861. CSAA Life Insurance Agency of California, Inc. CA License #0D12130. ALCS-19869-711-XX

Take advantage of great low rates on Life Insurance through AAA. Plus, receive a free gift* when youget a quote today.

Visit your local branch | 866-798-4AAA | AAA.com

Get more life for less $500,000 Term Life InsuranceAnnual Premium for 20-year level term policy, age 35, best class for non-nicotine

Comparison of rates from Compulife and company websites. Current as of 6/13/2011.

Insurance Company Male Female

AAA Life $290 $255Allstate $375 $330New York Life $355 $330State Farm $370 $320

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Web extrasFind more fun, fresh, online-only stories at AAA.com/viaextras.

OREGON’S WILLAMETTE VALLEY Get a taste of this bountiful wine country (left). Our guide to six different towns showcases the best vineyards, galleries, shops, and restaurants. WEEKENDER: MOUNT SHASTA, CALIF.

Singing crystal bowls, a blackberry festival, and local hiking make this a magical, mystical trip.BEARTOOTH HIGHWAY ROAD TRIP Take the scenic route beyond Yellowstone Park along the mountainous Montana-Wyoming border to discover transcendent views—and elk pot pie.

AAA.com/via

Readers’ corner

“When we visited Crater Lake, we enjoyed the wonderful new trolley service.

A guided, two-hour tour takes you all the way around the lake on a natural gas–powered shuttle. The roads in the park are busy and narrow, but the trolley provides great views without having to worry about driving.”— jennette evans of guerneville, calif., responding to

a crater lake feature (july/august)

destinations+road trips+more

Want more?MMMM . . . PIE!

Sign up for monthly VIA emails and fi nd out about more ex-citing destinations and travel tips. You’ll also get recipes from

the West’s best restaurants, like scrump-tious olallieberry pie (above) from Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero, Calif. To subscribe, visit AAA.com/viaemail.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Our blog, Road Journals, is loaded with travel secrets from our writers and editors—great stuff from the magazine and beyond. Check in and tell us your own travel tales. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Visit AAA.com/roadjournals.

➤ Contact Us Comments may be edited and may also

be used online at AAA.com/via. Write to us at Comments,

VIA, AAA, 3055 Oak Rd., Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA

94597. Or visit AAA.com/contactvia.

Events Road Trips Destinations Attractions Food & Wine Travel Tips AAA News & Benefi ts

08caSO11_Online.indd 808caSO11_Online.indd 8 7/22/11 12:16 PM7/22/11 12:16 PM

AAA Vacations®

Committed to your “I wish I could stay in this moment” moment.

Introducing AAA Vacations®. With more than 400 sailings a year from the largest cruise lines in the world, enhanced Members-only benefits, our 24/7 Member Care and Best Price Guarantee, no other travel service is more committed to giving you your perfect vacation experience. Book your dream cruise or talk to your AAA Vacation Specialist for a free consultation today.

AAA.com/aaavacations | 877-206-4187 | Visit your local branch

Restrictions apply to the AAA Vacations® 24 /7 Member Care and Best Price Guarantee. Should you find a valid better rate for the exact same itinerary within 24 hours of booking, AAA will match the lower rate. See your AAA Vacations Specialist for complete terms and conditions or visit AAA.com/aaavacations. Promo code: AAA-V35. © 2011 AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah. All rights reserved.

09caSO11_TravelA.indd 2 7/18/11 10:34 AM

yourAAAmember news+tips+benefits

Savings tokeep you

rollingY

ou’re always happier when you know you’re getting good service at a fair price from your

auto mechanic. That’s why AAA offers members a list of carefully selected repair shops. Many offer discounts on everything from engine repair to body

work to window glass replacement. Save 5 to 10 percent on automotive work by mechanics and technicians you can trust.

➤ To fi nd discounts at a AAA

Approved Auto Repair shop near

you, visit AAA.com/aar.

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MYTH BUSTER

Myth: It’s best to drive with your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel.Reality: The positions of air bags and improvements in power steering make the old advice obsolete. It’s now best to place your hands at 9 and 3.

➤ Find more auto safety tips at AAA.com/viasafety.

YOUR TURN

Which part of travel would you most like to control?

❑ Online booking❑ Smartphones and tablets❑ GPS for drivers❑ Light roller luggage

➤ Email [email protected]

with your vote by September 12. We’ll

reveal the results in our next issue.

Next issue: What is the best innovation for travelers in the last 20 years?

40%

Ease of travel

7%

Security

9%

Health

ROADSIDE ASSISTANTS

Saved in a stormDuring one of 2010’s heavy snowstorms, half brothers Jeremy Dedeker (left) and Jeff Helm of Running Bear Towing answered a call to pull a car out of a drift on Highway 80 west of Truckee, Calif. At the scene, they uncovered a mystery.

What did you fi nd?JD: The driver was an elderly lady in a huge, late ’80s Lincoln Town Car. She didn’t have snow tires and was quite stuck.JH: Her car was so big it wouldn’t have been safe on the tow truck my brother drives, so he called me to come pick her up with the fl atbed. We planned to take her to Truckee, put her chains on, and send her on her way.

When did you notice that something else was wrong?JD: I was talking to her, and she didn’t know where she was or how she got there. She said she had just run to the grocery store from her house near Reno. She was 60 to 70 miles off.

That must have been a strange conversation.JD: She’d ask, “Where are we?” and I’d say, “You’re on I-80, on the Donner Summit.” She’d say, “I don’t know where that is; I’ve never been there.” I did not believe it was safe for her to drive.

What did you do?JD: I called my supervisor, who told me to contact the local police. They ran a check and discovered that a friend had reported the lady missing earlier that day. An offi cer took her to meet her friends, and we held the car free of charge until they could get it. The offi cer said we’d just saved somebody’s life.

➤ AAA Emergency Road Service is available every day,

in every kind of weather. Call (800) 222-4357.

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NEWS FLASH

Check on yourbenefi t updates Are you an RV owner or motor-cycle driver? We have updated a number of member benefi ts, so no matter what you drive, go to AAA.com/upgrade and make sure that your level of member-ship is the one that works best for you. You might also want to review your insurance coverage at AAA.com/insurance. Specialty Coverage through AAA pro-vides superb protection for you and your special vehicle.

New: Find an ideal vacationWant to get away, but aren’t sure where? The new, members-only AAA Vacation Finder helps you easily craft a personalized get-away. Start by choosing among 62 items you might like, such as beaches, museums, winetasting, or scenic drives. Then select your dates; a hotel budget; even whether you want a guided or independent vacation, a cruise, or a rail or car trip. Vacation Finder matches your interests to destinations and deals screened and described by 80 experts in global travel. You get the world’s best advice, plus fellow travel-ers’ photos, videos, and lists of must-see features. Discovering new places and arranging to get to them has never been so easy.

➤ Try the Vacation Finder at

AAA.com/vacationfi nder.

W ho built the Sphinx, and when, is unknown. Prevailing theory holds that this sculpture, carved from a single block of limestone, is more than 4,000 years old. Its features have crumbled before wind-whipped desert

sands and the hands of vandals (evidence suggests that its nose was pried off; histori-ans fi nger the culprit as a religious fanatic in the 1300s upset that people were praying to the monument). For centuries, the Sphinx’s body lay buried under drifts, only its head exposed. Its excavation in 1905 wrote the latest chapter in one of history’s old-est tales. Here in the sands it seems as if the Sphinx will live forever. —jason turbow

➤ AAA can arrange your vacation on the sand—be it desert or beach.

For more information, call (888) 586-4222 or visit AAA.com/viago.

Percentage of the million-plus vehicles sold in the United States in May 2011 that did not come with a spare tire. From the Los Angeles Times: “Technical improvements have made fl ats less likely, and when they do occur, drivers increasingly rely on roadside assistance services to take care of the problem.”

POSTCARD

Great Sphinx of Giza

yourAAA member news+tips+benefits


A l l t h e s o u n d w i t h o u t a l l t h e w i r e s .

*Bose payment plan available on orders of $299-$1500 paid by major credit card. Separate financing offers may be available for select products. See website for details. Down payment is 1/12 the product price plus applicable tax and shipping charges, charged when your order is shipped. Then, your credit card will be billed for 11 equal monthly installments beginning approximately one month from the date your order is shipped, with 0% APR and no interest charges from Bose. Credit card rules and interest may apply. U.S. residents only. Limit one active financing program per customer. ©2011 Bose Corporation. The Wave® music system’s distinctive design is also a registered trademark of Bose Corporation. Financing and savings offers not to be combined with other offers or applied to previous purchases, and subject to change without notice. If the Wave® music system is returned, the Multi-CD Changer must be returned for a full refund. Offers are limited to purchases made from Bose and participating authorized dealers. Offer valid 9/1/11-9/30/11. Risk free refers to 30-day trial only, requires product purchase and does not include return shipping. Delivery is subject to product availability. iPod is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. Quotes reprinted with permission: Thomas Jackson, Forbes FYI, Winter/04.

The Bose® Wave® m u s i c s y s t e m

SAVE $100when you order the

Wave® music system with our Multi-CD Changer by

September 30, 2011.

To order or learn more:

1-800-468-2073,ext. TX324

www.Bose.com/WMS

Just plug it in and hear what you’ve been missing. With the Bose Wave® music system, there are no stacks of components. No tangle of wires. No dials to adjust. Advanced Bose technologies inside this small system work together to fill the room with the acclaimed performance that has made Bose the most respected name in sound. When it was first introduced, Wayne Thompson of the Oregonian called it “my choice for product of the year.” You enjoy clear, realistic sound that you may have only thought possible from a much larger, more complicated stereo. In fact, Forbes FYI reports that “you’ll think you’re listening to a…sound system that costs five times more.”

A roomful of premium sound…not wires. You buy a sound system to listen to music. Not to spend hours setting up equipment and connecting wires. With the Wave® music system, you’ll experience the pleasures of Bose quality sound moments after you open the box. Rich Warren of the News-Gazette says this easy-to-use system “will flat out seduce you.”

Enjoy the acclaimed performance in so many ways. Listen to the Wave® music system in your living room, kitchen, bed-room, wherever you want better sound. Everything you need is built in: CD/MP3 CD player, FM/AM tuner, clock and alarm. You control them all with a convenient remote. Connect your iPod® or TV, if you like. An optional Multi-CD Changer makes it easy to listen to your favorite music for hours. As Mathieu Yuill of Driven reports, “It can be difficult to marry engineering and style but Bose pulls it off with their compact Wave.”

Try it for 30 days, risk free. Experience the Wave® music system in your own home risk free for 30 days. Choose your favorite color: Platinum White, Graphite Gray or Titanium Silver. And when you call, ask about making 12 easy payments, with no interest charges from Bose.* Order your Wave® music system with the Multi-CD Changer by September 30, 2011, and save $100. You’ll soon discover how delightfully simple it is to enjoy Bose sound.

SAVE $100

Shown in Platinum White.

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12

TOP THREE

Steps to take if your vehicle breaks down

Car trouble is a drag.Follow these tips to avoid more heartache.

Get off the road Pull onto the right shoulder if you can, as far away from traffi c as possible. Never try to push the vehicle out of the way.

Get noticed Turn on hazard lights, raise the hood, place a refl ector 10 feet behind your car, another one 100 feet back—and call AAA.

Stay safe If your car is safely off the road, stay in it with your seat belt fastened. If it is safer to leave the car, stay as far as you can from it and the road. Do not stand in front of or behind the vehicle, or between it and traffi c.

➤ Find more auto safety tips

at AAA.com/viasafety.

BIG QUESTION

Why aren’t there seat belts on buses?It may seem obvious that seat belts would save lives in bus and train crashes. The reality, however, is a

complex mix of physics, practicality, and the fact that in some cases belts do more harm than good.

In the sudden deceleration of an auto crash, seat belts prevent passen-gers from slamming into dashboards and windshields and from being thrown out of their vehicles. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, most bus crashes are slower and less hazardous than those in cars or light trucks. And children in school buses are protected by “compartmentalization”—a cocoon of strong, closely spaced seats that have high, energy-absorbing backs. On urban transit buses, subways, and trolleys where many commuters have to stand and need to disembark quickly, municipal governments regard seat belts as impractical.

Last year, however, the DOT proposed requiring lap and shoulder belts on motor coaches, the long-distance lines and charters that travel at high speed between cities. The rule has not yet been fi nalized.

Federal law already requires seat belts on school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds. Larger ones, seen as comparatively safer, are exempt. A few states, including Florida, New Jersey, and New York, require two-point belts on big school buses as well, but an argument against them—improperly worn belts can cut into kids’ bodies in a crash, causing more injuries than they prevent—keeps the debate alive.

“If it were something that made sense to everybody,” says Mike Martin, exec-utive director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, “we would have put them on all the buses 30 years ago.” —jay stuller

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Trusted since 1989.

Offer expires December 31, 2011 and is only valid at participating franchises. Cannot be combined with any other offer and is non-redeemable for cash. ® AAA logo trade-marks are owned by, and use is granted by the American Automobile Association. Show Your Card & Save ® is owned by, and use is granted by the American Automobile Association.

Goodbye Junk. Hello Relief!

Say goodbye to your junk without lifting a finger. Whether it’s old furniture, appliances, electronics or renovation debris, we do all the loading and clean-up.

SAVE 10%WITH YOUR AAA MEMBERSHIP

Book online at 1800gotjunk.com/AAA or call 1-800-468-5865.

AAA-CLUB-005_170511.indd 1 11-05-17 11:23 AM

Visit us on the web: www.AAA.com/hear

FREE hearing exam ($119 value)

CALL NOW: 1-800-AAA-HEAR (222-4327)

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15caSO11_GotJunkNewPortH.indd 1 7/18/11 10:55 AM


The election of Directors takes place at the annual meeting of members of AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah (the “Association”). That meeting is held on or before April 30

of each year, with the exact date being determined by the Board of Directors. The next annual meeting of members will be held on March 8, 2012.

By July 1 of each year, the Chair of the Board appoints a Nominating Committee composed of five Directors. On or before the date nomi-nations close (120 days prior to the annual meeting), the Nominating Committee submits to the Secretary a list of nominees containing at least as many names as there are Directors to be elected and indicating the state to be represented by each nominee. If the Board revises the number of Directors to be elected after the Nominating Committee submits its list to the Secretary, the Nominating Committee may sub-mit a new list that meets the revised criteria. Any member may submit the name, qualifications, and biographical information of a poten-tial candidate to the Association’s Secretary for the Nominating Committee’s consideration.

Nominations may also be made by petition. Only members who reside in a region and state to be represented in the election of Directors at the next annual meeting and who meet the criteria described below may be nominated. Petitions must be submitted in writing to the Secretary not earlier than 180 days and not later than 120 days prior to the annual meeting. Only members who have voting rights when the petition is delivered to the Secretary may sign and date the petition, and they must do so after the previous annual meeting. Each signer and his or her signature must be identified and verified by

Information on the nomination of Directorsmembership number and address. The number of signatures required on the petition shall be not less than 1/20 of 1 percent of the member-ship of the Association at the time of filing, and must be accompanied by the nominee’s written consent to serve if elected.

A nominee must: (i) be a member of the Association in good stand-ing, (ii) have been a member of the Association or another AAA club for at least the preceding 12 months, (iii) be a resident of the terri -tory served by the Association, and (iv) meet the other requirements described in the Bylaws.

No member can be elected as a Director if (i) his or her business consists primarily of producing or selling fuel for automobile con-sumption; manufacturing or selling automobiles; or constructing roads or highways, or (ii) he or she serves as an employee, director, or o≈cer in the property or casualty insurance business with a competitor of the Association, the AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah Insurance Exchange, or of one of their respective a≈liates or subsidiaries (or beneficially owns the equity of any such business other than as a pas-sive investor). No member can be elected as a Director if he or she holds a federal, state, county, or city o≈ce; however, a member is not disqualified by reason of holding a public administrative or quasi-legislative o≈ce in the execution of which he or she will not be called upon to affect any matter that is within the purview of the purposes, functions, activities, or policies of the Association.

For details on these procedures and requirements, write to Monica Frias, AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, 3055 Oak Rd., Walnut Creek, CA 94597.

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15 sensors free for pre-wired homes, 7 free for homes with no pre-wire. *$99 Customer Installation Charge. 24-Month Monitoring Agreement required. Rates starting at $35.99 per month ($863.76). Form of payment must be by credit card or electronic charge to your checking or savings account. Offer applies to homeowners only. Local permit fees may be required. Satisfactory credit history required. Certain restrictions apply. Offer valid for new ADT Authorized dealer customers only and not purchased

from ADT Security Services, Inc. Other rate plans available. Cannot be combined with any other offer. License: CA-AC06643

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® Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. © 2011 Hertz System, Inc.FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Advance reservations required and must include your AAA CDP# along with PC# for these offers. Subject to availability, these offers are redeemable on all car classes at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico (not all bene ts and discounts are valid in Mexico). PC# 158012 is valid at participating airport locations and PC# 158325 is valid at Hertz Local Edition® locations. Modifying your reservation may result in a change in rate and/or invalidate these offers. These offers have no cash value, may not be used with Pre-Pay Rates, Tour Rates or Insurance Replacement Rates and cannot be combined with each other or any other certi cate, voucher, offer or promotion. Hertz age, driver, credit and qualifying weekend/weekly rate restrictions for the renting location apply. Taxes, tax reimbursement, age differential charges, fees and optional service charges, such as refueling, are not included. Vehicle rental discount applies to time and mileage charges only. Offer values in local currency upon redemption. These offers are valid for vehicle pickup on or before 11/15/11. SIRIUS, XM and all related marks and logos are trademarks of SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. and its subsidiaries. SIRIUS and XM Radio are not available in Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. *No charge for an additional driver who is a AAA Member, holds a major credit card in their name and meets standard rental quali cations.

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on the road

Though it looks ancient, Desert View Watchtower was actually built in 1932 to resemble a prehistoric Indian lookout. At the end of 25-mile Desert View Drive in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park,

the 70-foot tower occupies the South Rim’s highest point. East lies the Painted Desert, and north and west the mean-dering Colorado River. Inside, paintings by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie evoke traditional rituals. (928) 638-7888, nps.gov/grca.

PUT YOURSELF HERE

A stone lookout at the Grand Canyon

where to go+what to do+how to do it

➤ Can’t get there? Tor House, built by poet Robinson Jeffers in 1918 and 1919, crouches on rocky benchland in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif., and looks south to Point Lobos. Adjacent Hawk

Tower, constructed later from stones Jeffers hauled from the shore, stands 40 feet tall and offers views of the craggy Monterey County coastline. (831) 624-1813, torhouse.org.

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TRAILBLAZER

He digs dinosaurs in Utah

W ant to feel younger and thin-ner? Step back to the Jurassic and cavort with the big rep-

tiles at Dinosaur National Monument

outside Vernal, Utah, where the Quarry Exhibit Hall and a new visitor center open in October after a major renovation. Paleontol-ogist Dan Chure has spent 32 years explor-ing the park. (435) 781-7700, nps.gov/dino.

Q Why do dinosaurs still captivate us? A They’re so different from what we see in the modern-day world, a mixture of science fi ction and reality.Q They actually lived around here? A They roamed here for 150 million years during the age of dinosaurs. The fossils were exposed naturally because this part of the West is arid, with a lot of erosion and rock exposure.

TREASURE

Call of the wildKen “Rasp Master” Anger crafted this redheaded drake in the 1940s, suggesting feather texture with a fi le. It’s one of 90 wood geese and ducks greeting travelers at The Allure of the Decoy, through November in the SFO Museum at San Francisco Airport’s International Terminal.(650) 821-6700, fl ysfo.com/web/page/sfo_museum.

YOUR TIPS

Got a long fl ight coming up? VIA readers know how to

make the time pass quickly.

“The old-fashioned way—strike up a conversation,” says Cindy

Scaccalosi of Petaluma, Calif.

“A simple and fun knitting project,” says Diane Barnett of Logan, Utah.

“Meditate,” says Mark Oliver of Kensington, Calif.

“I make every effort not to look at my watch,” says Eric

Wallace of Boise, Idaho.

“Take a nap,” says Gregg

Percival of Sonoma, Calif. “It helps prevent jet lag, too.”

“I take my backlog of magazines along,” says Albin Brandstetter of Springfi eld, Ore.

“Divide the time into chunks and do different things,” says Laurie Huth of San Jose.

“I sort my ever-growing collec-tion of digital photos,” says Susan Kaiser of Reno.

Q A highlight of the exhibit hall? A An 86-foot mural shows the entire ancient ecosystem, with more than 60 species of plants and animals that lived

when the dinosaurs did. We have tiny lizard skulls and fossils to see under magnifying lenses. You can view a fossil, then see the animal fl eshed out in the mural.Q What else is new? A You can now get even closer to the massive cliff of fossils discovered by Earl Douglass in 1909. You can actually touch an apatosaurus leg bone much as it was 150 million years ago.

Q A memory from a day at your job? A After I gave a talk, a woman came up and said she had thought dinosaurs were a fantasy. I can’t remember when I didn’t know about them, and here she is hav-ing this epiphany and a whole new world opened up to her. —peta owens-liston

➤ How do you travel without

breaking the bank? Email us

at [email protected]. If

we quote you, we’ll send you

a $25 check.

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BERLIN-ICHTHYOSAUR STATE PARK Austin, Nev. “Take the kids and walk around this neat old town,” says Bob Gautschi of Carson City, Nev. “You can explore an open mine and old stamp mill, creaky shacks with tools and assay equip-ment, and displays on the ichthyosaur, a very old big ‘fi sh.’ ” (775) 964-2440, parks.nv.gov/bi.htm.

CLARKE HISTORICAL MUSEUM Eureka, Calif. “Three spirits have been identifi ed in this restored 1911 bank full of Native American bas-kets and other rare artifacts,” writes Eric Vollmers of Arcata, Calif. (707) 443-1947, clarkemuseum.org.

FORT WINFIELD SCOTT Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco. “The old military structures along a gorgeous stretch

of coastline near the Golden Gate are seriously spooky,” writes Molly McCahan of San Francisco. “After visiting, make a beeline to Fort Point in the Presidio to romp in the dark, deserted brick hallways of a Civil War–era fort.” (415) 561-4323, militarymuseum.org/hdsf.html.

QUARRY HOUSE Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City. “This old stone house, built in the 1930s by Civilian Conservation Corps workers, sits eerily, with no roof, overlooking the city,” says Shaun Delliskave of Murray, Utah. “In October, the Garden After Dark family event features crafts, storytellers, and treats.” (801) 585-0556, redbuttegarden.org.

RHYOLITE, NEV. “Near Death Valley, Rhyolite began as a two-man mining camp in 1904 and grew in a few weeks into a town of several thousand,” says Barbara Stanbro of Hillsboro, Ore. “By 1912, most people had moved

away. Among the ruins is a well-preserved house built of thousands of empty bottles.” nps.gov/deva/historyculture/places.htm.

WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE San Jose. “Known as the House Built by Spirits, this man-sion has 160 rooms, one mile of twisting hallways, secret passageways, and stairs and doors that go nowhere,” writes Lucy Kim of Fremont, Calif. “It’s a great place to visit around Halloween.” (408) 247-2000, winchestermysteryhouse.com.

BODIE STATE HISTORIC PARK Bodie, Calif. “Prepare for a day of exploring,” says Angela Julian of Roseville, Calif. “In this well-preserved 1800s ghost town near Mono Lake, the items of everyday life are still in place. You expect at any minute to see a gold miner walking down the street.” (760) 647-6445, parks.ca.gov.

READERS’ FAVORITE

Spooky places and ghost towns

on the road

➤ Have a favorite picturesque or historic main

street? Email us at [email protected]. If

we quote you, we’ll send you a $25 check. For

even more spooky buildings and towns, search

for “ghost towns” at AAA.com/via.


EXPERIENCE THE WINE COUNTRY

Sip ‘n Stay in Folsom Join the party for Folsom LIVE in September featuring live music throughout our historic district. Make it a weekend with rockin’ lodging deals and a perfect Sunday afternoon to explore nearby wineries.

(800) 377-1414 www.visitfolsom.com

Wineries on Your Smart Phone Our regions are bursting with fall color and award winning wineries. Find deals, hotels, attractions and of course, the best places to sip wine in the Gold Country and Central Valley. Download from the app store under “Nor Cal Guide.”

(800) 514-5539 www.TheNorCalGuide.com

Rodney Strong Vineyards Invites you to taste Sonoma County flavor at our unique tasting room. Excite your other senses with our Wine Gallery Tour. Come learn about the different aspects of grape growing and winemaking while tasting world-class wines from the heart of Sonoma County.

(800) 678-4763 www.rodneystrong.com

Calaveras CountyThis is my wine country. Have your adventure and sip it too! Soak up the charm of a Calaveras getaway. Historic appeal. Trendy allure. Inspiring recreation. Fun! Call for your free Calaveras Activities Guide. Mention VIA, and we’ll send you a Calaveras VIP Discount Card!

(800) 225-3764www.GoCalaveras.com

Visit Mendocino CountyEnjoy Charming Towns and Villages, Distinctive and Intimate Wineries, and Towering Red-woods in Mendocino County, Northern California. Come See. Come Stay. Come Back. For a full listing of Mendocino County events and things to do, visit www.visitmendocino.com

1-866-goMendowww.visitmendocino.com

Sonoma Wine CountryDo you speak Sonoma? Coasting: v. Strolling, surfing, and staying where the sand meets the sea, the vistas are endless and the experience a natural wonder. Speak a little Sonoma and you’ll feel like a local. Call or visit us on-line for a Free Visitors Guide and Map.

(800) 576-6662www.SonomaCounty.com

John Muir Inn, Napa, CA After a day in the Valley and a wonderful dinner, come relax by our pool, Jacuzzi and fireplace. Walking distance to restaurants, minutes to wineries, complimen-tary continental breakfast and free WiFi. Make your Napa Valley experience complete, stay at the John Muir Inn with your pet. (800) 522-8999www.johnmuirnapa.com

Visit Tri-Valley, CA Five Cities, Three Valleys, One Unique Destination. Explore the authentic, afford-able Livermore Valley Wine Country, award-winning golf, restaurants, historic downtown shopping districts and Mount Diablo State Park.

(888) 874-9253www.visittrivalleyca.com

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WHAT’S NEW

■ In Monterey, Calif., catch

unscheduled feedings of sharks, jellyfi sh, and other ocean critters using Monterey Bay Aquarium’s free new text message service. Find details on your visitor map at entry.■ Final Light: V. Douglas

Snow in Retrospect, an exhibit at Salt Lake City’s Utah Museum of Fine Arts and Salt Lake Art Center, features landscapes by the late painter. umfa.utah.edu.■ Website MondoWindow

provides in-fl ight details on places you’re soaring over, including towns, parks, and attractions. Log on during any Wi-Fi-equipped U.S. fl ight. mondowindow.com.■ Opening in September in Reno, the Terry Lee Wells

Nevada Discovery Museum has eight kid-friendly galleries including Under the Stars and Da Vinci’s Corner. nvdm.org.■ Get the scoop on shuttles, buses, vans, and taxis at 460 airports worldwide with Salk International’s downloadable Airport Transit Guide. $10. Find it at itunes.apple.com.■ A vineyardist, a balloonist, and others offer insights in Tasting the Good Life: Wine

Tourism in the Napa Valley.

$22. barnesandnoble.com.

OPENING

California’s new center for fi ne art

The landscape seems to glow with inner light in Ansel Adams’s rarely seen

photomural Barn and Fence, Napa. It’s among 120 of the master’s photographs on display at the inaugural exhibit in the Carnegie

Arts Center in Turlock, Calif. Six years after a fi re destroyed the

graceful 1916 Carnegie library, a newly rebuilt center—with 7,600 square feet of galleries and classrooms—opens its doors to visitors on September 10.

“The exhibit is Ansel’s portrait of California,” says Jeanne Falk Adams, the artist’s daughter-in-law, who curated the show. “It’s the largest collection of his California photographs ever assembled, and it captures the state’s diversity and grandeur.” On display are photos of Yosemite Valley, images of farming in the Central Valley, and shots of abandoned Owens Valley ranches.

“The exhibit is a reminder of how much we have to protect and cherish,” says Rebecca Phillips Abbott, the center’s executive director. The show runs through January 8. (209) 632-5761, carnegieartsturlock.org. —peter jaret

SOUVENIR

Truly greatpumpkinsGuaranteed to last past autumn, Ken and Ingrid Hanson’s vibrant veggie is one of 30 artists’ blown-glass squashes at the Great

Glass Pumpkin Patch in Rinconada Park in Palo Alto, Calif. Browse among some 7,000 works to fi nd a favorite. Pumpkin art is on exhibit September 27 through 30 and on sale October 1 and 2; prices range from $15 to $1,000. (408) 993-2244, greatglasspumpkinpatch.com.

Adams shot the classic Barn and Fence, Napa in 1961.

on the road


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DETOUR

Viva neon!

Their lights may have dimmed, but the colorful old signs at the Neon

Museum in Las Vegas are still telling wild stories. The 1955 sign from the Moulin Rouge, Las Vegas’s fi rst integrated hotel-casino, recalls the days when even A-listers like Sammy Davis Jr. could perform but not stay at Strip hotels. The space-agey letters from the 1958 Stardust sign pay homage to an era when Las Vegans clinked martini glasses to celebrate the red-orange glow of atomic bombs detonated in the Mojave Desert.

Sin City’s stranger-than-fi ction history is etched in the hand-bent tubes and burned-out bulbs of 80 decommissioned signs on view at the museum’s outdoor “boneyard.” In 2012, a long-awaited indoor space will open with completion of a visitor center built from rehabilitated remains of the Googie-

inspired La Concha motel, a beloved local landmark. Also part of the Neon Museum is the outdoor

gallery on Fremont Street that features nine restored and lighted signs. Are they art or kitsch?

“These are real esthetic creations,” says Bill Marion, the museum’s board chairman. “The design-ers were not just saying, ‘Let’s create some blaze of light.’ This is art created with color, art created with light, art created with design.” Tours of the Neon Boneyard run Tuesday through Saturday at noon and 2 p.m. and cost $15; reservations are required. (702) 387-6366, neonmuseum.org. —anne burke

TASTES

Savor chocolate where it’s made

Heard of bean-to-bar chocolate? It’s the hottest new trend in sweets. The maker fi nds a cocoa bean farmer

and then takes charge of the process from cacao pod to wrapped chocolate bar. At San Francisco’s Tcho, a high-tech Wonkaland on Embarcadero Pier 17, a free factory tour leads you deep into this world of artisan chocolates.

To view the vats, conveyer belts, and cool-ing trays of the working factory, you’ll have to don a hairnet. But you’ll also get an education in the art and science of choco -late making, not to mention in the nuances of cocoa’s true fl avor, which, like that of a fi ne wine, varies with the origin of the crop and the manner of handling.

Tcho names its four dark bars for their main fl avors: Fruity (from Peru), Nutty (Ecuador), Citrus (Madagascar), and Chocolatey (Ghana). Packs of minibars—called Tcho-a-Day—include all four. (415) 981-0189, tcho.com. —loren mooney

➤ To fi nd more bean-to-bar chocolate factories around the West, enter

“artisan chocolate” in the search box at AAA.com/via.

At the Neon Boneyard in Vegas, all signs point to the past.

on the road

©2011 BBY Solutions, Inc.

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call 1-800-GeekSquad and use passcode AAA1 (2221)

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Bars of dark chocolate cool in a polycarbonate mold at Tcho.

24cSO11_otr2.indd 2424cSO11_otr2.indd 24 7/26/11 11:22 AM7/26/11 11:22 AM

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1-877-296-4612*Offer not valid on prior sales or in combination with any other offer. Save $250 on countertop only purchases. $1,500 minimum purchase required. +See www.searshomeservices.com/shs/info/satisfaction-guarantee for Satisfaction Guarantee details. Sears Home Improvement Products, Inc. is a division of Sears Roebuck and Co. The ‘Sears Home Services’ brand logo is used with the permission of Sears, Roebuck and Co. ±The following licenses are held by or on behalf of Sears Home Improvement Products, Inc.: AL (Res. Bldr. #1062; HVAC #8186); AR (HVACR #1004181-B; Gen. Bldg. Contr. #203740611-B); AZ (Res. Remodeler #ROC117628 B-03; HVAC #ROC206649 C-39R; Dual Res. & Small Comm. #ROC260459 KB-02); CA (Gen. Bldg. Contr. #721379-B, Insulation & Acoustical #721379-C2, Cabinet, Millwork & Finish Carpentry #721379-C6, Flooring #721379-C15, Glazing #721379-C17, HVAC #721379-C20, Roofi ng #721379-C39, Ceramic & Mosaic Tile Cont. #721379-C54; Weatherization & Energy Conservation #721379-D65); CT (HTG, Piping & Cooling Un-Ltd. Cont. #HTG.0400133-S1; HIC #0607669); FL (Gen. Contr. #CGC012538; HVAC #CMC1249510, Certifi ed Roofi ng Cont. #CCC1329316); GA (HVAC #CR109873,); ID (HVAC #C-6134, Contracting Bus. #RCE-25219); IL (City of Chicago Home Repair #1248977); IN (Evansville Res. Remodeling Cont. #RRC0185); IA (Master HVAC #677); KY (Master HVAC #HM04667); LA (Res. Bldr. #84194; HVAC#45862); MD (HIC #87854; HVAC #6528; Contractor/Salesman #46542; HVACR #75581); MA (HIC #148607, All plumbing and electrical services performed by licensed subcontractors); MI (Res. Bldr. #2102131369; HVAC #7100915); MN (Res. Remodeler #20090017); MS (Res. Bldr. #RO5222); NV (Carpentry #43242-C3; Gen. Contr. #60609-B; Plumb. & Htg. Contr. #60610-C1; Refrig. & AC Contr. #60608-C21; Gen. Serviceman #S1469; HVAC #A0072; Roofi ng & Siding #43240-C15); NY (NYC HIC #1225166, Nassau County HIC #H1809170000, Rockland County HIC #9990-A6-00-00, Suffolk County #41506-H, Westchester County WC #18371-H06, Putnam County #3159-A, City of Yonkers #4213); NM (Gen. Bldg. Contr.#GB 98 58598; HVAC #MM98 52598; Elec.# EE-98 58598, MHD HVAC #MM98 C58598, MHD Elec. #EE98 C-58598); NC (Bldg. Limited. #47330; HVAC #15343 H-2, H-3-1, HVAC #30249 H-3-II); OH (HVAC #44752); OK (HVAC #106841); OR (Gen. Contr. #113202); PA ( HI Contractor #PA005499); RI (Res. Contr. #27281, HVAC #6260); SC (Gen. Contr. #105836-BD5; HVAC Res. #RBH-919; Mechanical Contractor #110634); TN (HIC #2319; HVAC-Unlimited Contr. #54995; Res. & Small Comm-Unlimited BC-A #54995); TX (HVAC Dallas #TACLB00020401E, San Antonio #TACLB00029020, Lubbock #TACLB00027780E; Houston #TACLB00028404E); UT (Gen. Bldg. Contr. #B-100318604-5501; HVAC #S-350 318604-5501); VA (Class A Contr. #27-0584717; HVAC #2710046587); WA (Gen. Contr. #SEARSHI011LA); Washington, DC (HIC #50006423); WV (Res. Bldr,. #WV025882, HVAC WV025882); WI (Dwelling Contr. Cert. #15151; Dwelling Contr. Qualifi er #982570; HVAC Contractor #15151). Some services performed by Sears’ associates. Other services and installation performed by Sears-Authorized licensed contractors; additional Sears license information available upon request. ‡Subject to applicant creditworthiness.

SearsHomeServices.com/kitchens/via

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DECADES AGO, when Reynaldo Robledo Sr. scraped together enough cash

to buy a patch of southern Napa County, the bayside hills were pasture, part of

an early California rancho named Rincón de los Carneros (Haven of the Rams).

“Nobody thought the land was worth that much,” recalls Robledo, who at age 16

moved here from the city of Zamora in Michoacán, Mexico. He planted his 13

acres with pinot noir vines. ❧ Today the area has 8,000 acres of vineyards, and

Robledo Family Winery, with 350 of those, regularly wows tasters with its sump-

tuous Los Carneros pinots and other bottlings. The offi cial viticultural area, or

appellation, centered on Highway 121 near the city of Sonoma, has since 1983

claimed slices of both Napa and Sonoma counties, yet many wine country trav-

elers roar right past it. And that’s their loss. Along 20 miles of vine-draped roads

are wineries—roughly 25 in all—where you can taste at least a dozen varieties

while enjoying grand architecture, fi ne art, rustic barns, or all three. ❧ “We

used to call the Carneros the Appalachia of appellations because it’s so rural,”

says Steven Rogstad, winemaker at Cuvaison, whose tasting room is a new glass-

and-steel box set among vineyards that climb toward hills capped with oaks.

“We’re right on San Pablo Bay, so we get morning fog and afternoon breezes.

OPPOSITE, tastes come with grand vineyard views at Cuvaison Estate Wines. LEFT, at Fremont Diner, patron Casey Larey faces a welcome challenge—the fried chicken sandwich. BELOW, Reynaldo Robledo Sr. welcomes wine lovers to his Robledo Family Winery.

BY P E T E R JA R E T P H O T O G R A P H Y BY D AV I D C O L L I E R

Sipping delicious reds, whites,and bubblies in California’sNorth Bay, you’ll wonder whyyou never stopped in before.


M28 SEPTEMBER+OCTOBER 2011 I AAA.COM/VIA

It’s perfect for such early-ripening varieties aschardonnay, pinot noir, and syrah.”

An ideal Carneros outing might actually begin nearby, in the region’s heart, at di Rosa, where spacious art galleries and opulent gardens display works from a 2,000-piece collection of modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures, and photography. Assembled by the late Rene di Rosa—an irreverent grape grower with a soft spot for emerging artists—the preserve includes pieces by Robert Arneson, Joan Brown, Deborah Butterfi eld, Roy De Forest, Mark di Suvero, and William T. Wiley, all now recognized masters.

On a knoll across the road stands what looks to be a French château—the luxurious tasting room of Domaine Carneros. Here, nose-tickling sips of the winery’s signature bubbly, Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs, are served in slim fl utes along-side bites such as cured salmon and goat cheese. A fi ve-minute detour up a nearby hillside brings you to Artesa, a futuristic con-crete lair furnished with fountains, sculptures, and art glass. A generous menu of wines includes the Spanish varieties albariñoand tempranillo; step out onto a deck for a view that takes in Mounts Diablo and Tamalpais and the San Francisco skyline.

You could choose to end your day at elegant Artesa, but you would miss the region’s smaller wineries, some announced only by hand-lettered signs. Dave Homewood started making wine in his garage in 1983; today, his folksy Homewood Winery offers a pleasing chardonnay among a dozen other wines. At Adastra, a 20-acre family winery where tastes are poured in a redwood barn, you can sample cherry-scented pinot noirs, then whack croquet balls through wire hoops on a lawn above the vines.

It’s just an 18-minute drive from Adastra in the area’s east-ern reaches to the west side’s Larson Family Winery, where

cheerful Labrador retrievers—mascots of a citrusy chardon-nay dubbed Three Lab Chard—bound over to greet arriving guests. After tasting, you’re welcome to stroll an old road into a wildlife area visited by ospreys and egrets. Back in the car, it’s a quick hop to Cline Cellars, home of a museum housing rep-licas of California’s 21 Spanish missions. Nearby you’ll fi nd the renowned Gloria Ferrer, maker of the aged sparkler Carneros Cuvée, and the by-appointment-only Robledo Family Winery.

Everardo Robledo, one of Reynaldo’s sons, swirls a glass of a peppery red blend called Los Braceros and refl ects on his own transition as the area grew into a wine destination. “My broth-ers and I had to work the vineyards,” he says. “We did every-thing—planting, pruning, harvesting. We weren’t always so happy about it then, but now we realize how lucky we were.” ●

peter jaret has written for National Geographic magazine.

Many wineries may be visited by appointment only; always call ahead. Request the Northern California & Nevada TourBook and the San Francisco Bay Region map at AAA.com or any AAA branch. To fi nd a place to stay, visit AAA.com/hotels. For information, contact the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau: 453 First St. E., (707) 996-1090, sonomavalley.com. Area code is 707.

To do and see Adastra 2545 Las Amigas Rd., 255-4818, adastrawines.com. Artesa Vineyards

& Winery 1345 Henry Rd., 254-

2140, artesawinery.com. Cline

Cellars 24737 Hwy. 121, 940-4030, clinecellars.com. Cuvaison Estate

Wines 1221 Duhig Rd., 942-2455, cuvaison.com. di Rosa 5200 Hwy. 121, 226-5991, dirosaart.org. Domaine Carneros 1240 Duhig Rd., 257-0101, domainecarneros.com. Gloria Ferrer Caves &

Vineyards 23555 Hwy. 121, 933-1917, gloriaferrer.com. Homewood

Winery 23120 Burndale Rd., 996-6353, homewoodwinery.com. Larson

Family Winery 23355 Millerick Rd., 938-3031, larsonfamilywinery.com. Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife

Area Limited access. 226-3641, dfg.ca.gov/lands/wa/region3. Robledo

Family Winery 21901 Bonness Rd., 939-6903, robledofamilywinery.com.

Eats Boon Fly Café Breakfast, lunch, and dinner; try the fl atbread pizzas, crab cakes with herb aioli, and local-greens salads. 4048 Hwy. 121, 299-4870, theboonfl ycafe.com. Fremont Diner A casual indoor-outdoor place famed for grass-fed beef burgers, fried chicken sand-wiches, and ribollita, an Italian bread soup. 2698 Fremont Dr., 938-7370, thefremontdiner.com/home.

IF YOU ’RE GOING . . .

Gordon Huether’s Cactus Garden graces the sculpture meadow at di Rosa.


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Adventures on the Pacifi c Flyway

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fTwo travelers join millions of migrating birds for a mysterious and magnifi cent journey—the greatest show in the sky. By Craig NeΩ

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR

LEFT, birders at the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife

Area in California; a courtship dance of

redheads in Montana; a pair of snowy egrets.

from the passenger seat of our rental car, my wife tries to photograph waterfowl in Idaho’s Camas National Wildlife Refuge, an expanse of fi elds and marshland north of Idaho Falls. Two days into a grand birding adventure, we’ve already seen 20 avian species, including horned larks, American avocets, trumpeter swans, and sandhill cranes, seven of which are hang-gliding alongside us on wings almost six feet across.

We’re exploring the wild wonders of fall along the Pacifi c Flyway, one of the western hemisphere’s four broad bird-migration corridors. Known for its wading shorebirds and mix of mountain, high desert, and coastal routes, the 350-species flyway stretches from breeding

grounds in Canada and Alaska to winter retreats as distant as Patagonia at the tip of South America.

To see the flyway’s famously huge gatherings of ducks, geese, swans, and shorebirds—and catch stragglers from the September songbird migra-tion—we’re embarking on a six-state, 2,000-

mile road trip in late October. Starting at Freezeout Lake, near Great Falls, Mont., we’ll stop at Yellowstone National Park, the Great Salt Lake, the two-state Klamath Basin, and California’s Sacramento Valley, ending our journey at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Before taking off, I had an odd thought: What if, instead of traveling as one of the coun-


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try’s record 48 million bird-watchers, I were making the trip as a bird or a human with the bird’s amazing gifts?

To be sure, I’d freak out air-port security: I would be sport-ing tangerine-size eyeballs (bird scale) to read stars, landscapes, and the sun’s polarized light for navigation; I’d have mag-netic crystals in my skull to drive internal compasses and detect variations in the earth’s magnetic field; and I’d bulge out of my feathered bodysuit, having doubled my weight in the past few weeks by gorging to fuel up for the journey. Highly antsy with what’s called migratory restlessness—my heart beating 500 times a minute—I’d rush past the gape-jawed gate agent and take off to run (since humans can’t fl y) nonstop, at the speed of Olympic gold-medal sprinter Usain Bolt.

Of course, I’m not a bird and I thump back down into reality in Great Falls, where the first of the trip’s surprises rolls off the baggage carousel: gun boxes. And at the car rental desk, I hear, “If you bring it back muddy, bloody, or gutty, I’m charging you for cleaning.” It’s the agent talking with the camouflage-clad man ahead of me regarding the pickup truck he’s about to drive off the lot. Ah yes. Fall is hunting season.

At dawn the next morning, we’re among the few visitors at Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area not bearing arms. That will be the case at many of the stopovers we visit. “Hunters pay the bills,” says retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Mike Schwitters as he drives us around the seven-mile-long lake, count-ing waterfowl (mostly tundra swans) and hunters’ vehicles for the Montana wildlife service. Cheerful and bespectacled, with a special bird habitat plate on his pickup, the 72-year-old Schwitters has agreed to show us around this state-run refuge that attracts up to 500,000 migrating snow geese each year.

Schwitters has seen about 800 of the more than 900 bird species ever spotted in North America, including 200—many of them rarely sighted—in the Aleutian Islands, where he worked spring and fall at an air force installation to prevent collisions between jets and Pacifi c Flyway geese. “It’s a trea-sure hunt,” he says with a smile when asked why he adores birding. “Things that fl y fascinate me.”

Fewer than 1,000 waterfowl happen to be at

Freezeout this particular morning (warm weather in Canada has slowed the migration), but other winged visitors fill the gap. Colorful ring-necked pheasants scurry across a field. One of the drab, hard-to-identify sort that birders lump together as LBJs, or Little Brown Jobs, fl its into the tall grass. A bald eagle tries to snatch a gadwall off the lake.

“That one has the GISS of a red-tailed hawk,” Schwitters says, as a raptor appears high in the sky. GISS means “general impression of size and shape.” It becomes my new standard for observing and my buzzword for the trip.

Schwitters calls Freezeout “a motel with a pool and a good restaurant” for exhausted ducks and geese, which devour leftover grain from nearby fields. The birds can thank a beer brewery; thou-sands of acres of malting barley planted around the lake in recent decades have caused Freezeout’s waterfowl numbers to skyrocket.

Farming has not always been kind to birds. As human population has soared, cropland expansion has helped wipe out all kinds of migratory habitats, including 95 percent of the wetlands in California’s Central Valley, where most of the Freezeout water-

TOP, an adult peregrine perches on a dead tree. BOTTOM, a male yellow-headed blackbird sings in the marsh choir.

Massive amounts of money are now being spent to try to restore a small portion of wetlands and grasslands.


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fowl are heading for the winter. “Agriculture has been the largest agent of land-

scape change in North America,” says ornithologist Jeffrey Wells, director of science and policy for the Boreal Songbird Initiative, which seeks to protect endangered breeding grounds. “Massive amounts of money are now being spent to try to restore a small portion of wetlands and grasslands that were drained or plowed for farming.”

Indeed, most of the wetlands we visit are sur-rounded by farmland and either partly or entirely man-made. These restored lands form a precari-ous support system that can be denied water when farms or cities need it more. “There’s an old saying that applies,” says Rich Stallcup, the naturalist for PRBO Conservation Science. “Wildlife bats last.”

As we move on from Freezeout toward northern Wyoming, I try to balance the sobering challenges migrants face with the joy of great sightings. In snowy Yellowstone, near the steaming Artist Paint Pots, I spy a gray-and-black Clark’s nutcracker. Named for the explorer of Lewis and Clark fame, the bird is known for planting forests by ripping white-bark pine cones apart with its Swiss Army knife of a bill, burying seeds in the ground for later. The nut-cracker relocates to a lower elevation each autumn rather than flying south, just one example of how migration varies among species along the fl yway.

We head southwest to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, where we drive the gravel-road birding trail. With distant mountain vistas on all sides, larger fl ocks of redheads, American coots, and red-winged blackbirds come into view. We also spot our fi rst western grebes, elegant, swan-necked birds that dive for food and, in breeding season, literally run across the surface of the water in an astounding

courtship dance. At dusk, a corner of sky over the Great Basin fi lls with incoming waterfowl.

In Idaho’s Curlew National Grassland, the fi rst ferruginous hawk I’ve ever seen fl ies over the car, and I ponder the billions of birds migrating world-wide each autumn. They soldier on through extreme weather. Some fl y day and night and attempt do-or-drown crossings of seas and gulfs. One Pacifi c Flyway traveler, the black brant goose, completes a 3,400-mile open-water migration from the Aleutians to Baja California in as little as 54 hours.

In Boise, at the World Center for Birds of Prey, we meet Potter, a rescued 18-inch-tall northern har-rier who is one of 26 resident birds brought out to educate visitors. Unlike the area’s Swainson’s hawks, which survive on insects and must migrate to South America to fi nd a suffi cient winter supply, local har-riers have to migrate only short distances (if at all) to fi nd food. They mostly eat small animals, which they catch aided by their acute hearing, just as owls do.

As we traverse eastern Oregon’s high desert to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex,

TOP, snow geese and Ross’s geese rise at Freezeout Lake. BOTTOM, birder Schwitters focuses on the avian landscape.


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million to protect 5.3 million acres of waterfowl habitat.

In a visit to the PRBO Conservation Science fi eld station in Bolinas, Calif., we learn how birds are banded to track their migration. Finally we arrive at our last stop: Don Edwards, the country’s first urban national wildlife refuge, where 15,100 acres of former industrial salt ponds on south San Francisco Bay are being transformed into a water-bird magnet.

A stately great blue heron poses in front of the Dumbarton Bridge thrum-ming with traffic. German tourists help us identify our very first willet. We look in vain for what Volunteer

Coordinator Paul Mueller calls an “escapee pink fl a-mingo” that may have fl own away from a zoo, and for a California clapper rail, an endangered species.

Reading the historical displays here and at other sanctuaries, we recoil at the countless tales of bird slaughter and habitat loss. But we take heart knowing that good people have taken action, from Teddy Roosevelt and the Depression-era founders of the wetlands-preservation (and hunter-driven) organization Ducks Unlimited to the everyday avian heroes we encountered along our trip. Those rangers, volunteers, and researchers are all help-ing protect birds in hopes that more people like us will venture out and discover the marvels of the Pacifi c Flyway. ●

craig neff works as an editor at Sports Illustrated. He and his wife, Pamelia Markwood, own and run the Naturalist’s Notebook in Seal Harbor, Maine.

For more places to see birds in the West, go to AAA.com/via and type “VIA birds” in the search fi eld.

TOP, a great blue heron poses on San Francisco Bay. BOTTOM, two greater white-fronted geese on a duck stamp.

s Since 1934, sales of the $15 federal duck stamp have raised $750 million to protect waterfowl habitat.

encompassing six refuges spread across the border of Oregon and California, the list for the trip tops 50 species, including black phoebes, western scrub jays, mountain bluebirds, and yellow-rumped war-blers. We still don’t see many birders—not even using the spotting scope the rangers lend us at Lower Klamath, the first national wildlife refuge set up specifically for waterfowl, inaugurated by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser vice initiative aims to make the Klamath Basin attractive as a birding destination by letting visitors borrow scopes, binoculars, books, and seasonal checklists.

Attractive, indeed. About 80 percent of Pacifi c Flyway ducks and geese make a stop here. At Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, we watch a thunder-ous liftoff of thousands of snow geese and white-fronted geese. Farther south at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, we see hundreds of thou-sands of waterfowl and more of these stupendous mass takeoffs. “It’s a life experience,” says Visitor Services Specialist Lora Haller.

The fl yway offers bird therapy even in unlikely places. An initially dodgy-looking trail in downtown Klamath Falls, Ore., reveals 15 species, including belted kingfi shers and an American white pelican resting along the Link River. The Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area, set below I-80 west of Sacramento, provides prime viewing for lovely little black-necked stilts, snowy egrets, greater yellowlegs, and myriad other birds wading in the restored wetlands.

At the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, we offer a small thank-you. We buy a $15 federal duck stamp, the hunting permit invented during the Depression by bird-loving cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling. Since 1934, sales of the stamp to hunters and nonhunters alike have raised $750


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Isit in a small airport, watching a handful of older veterans greet soldiers returning from Afghanistan. The troops have spent a brief layover at this ter-minal in Bangor, Maine, making cell phone calls, buying scratch-off lottery tickets, and watching Hollywood news on a TV monitor. The veterans offer each one a handshake and a heartfelt thank-you as the soldiers march off to their plane and I queue up for my own flight, bound for New York City, where this story began 10 years ago. ❯❯ On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at a park-ing lot in lower Manhattan retrieving a car when

By Craig NeΩ I L L U S T R A T I O N B Y S A N D R A D I O N I S I

TEN So much changed on September 11,

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the first of two hijacked jets flew overhead and crashed into the World Trade Center. I didn’t see the impact—the attendant was handing me the keys at that instant—but I heard the colossal ka-boom!, turned, and saw flames and smoke pouring from the gouged North Tower 15 blocks away. Stunned, I called my wife, Pamelia, at our apartment nearby. She joined me on a street corner shortly before the second plane roared low across New York Harbor and disappeared into the South Tower in a fi reball. As we watched in disbelief, the terrorist link now clear, I voiced the obvious: “The world just changed.”

I wasn’t referring to travel, though in a meta-phorical sense I could have been. The destinations of many lives around the globe changed that day. Likewise the paths of governments. But the attacks did reroute travel itself, those briefer journeys that alter perspectives and connect 7 billion people on a small planet. The simple act of going somewhere—planning a trip, boarding an airplane, walking around in a foreign land—wasn’t so simple anymore.

No terrorist could stop U.S. citizens from exer-cising what Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research calls their “inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of travel.” Yet over the subsequent decade, 9/11 forced all of us to reexamine those values. With its scans and searches, the humiliating airport secu-rity check became the crucible in which we had to confront questions of life and liberty, of discrimina-tion and freedom, of war.

Even as Pamelia and I were taping up the edges of our loft windows to keep out the acrid Ground Zero smoke that day, the bottom was falling out of

the travel business. I could understand why. I had traveled to more than 30 countries on five conti-nents and had always been eager to go anywhere; now I was jittery. Though I’ve never been afraid of fl ying, I found myself morbidly wondering during fl ights how I would react to hijackers. I squeezed the armrest a little tighter on takeoffs and landings.

But I held to my belief in the importance of travel for broadening my mind and perspective, despite the uncomfortable moments it can produce. In 2003, days after the United States invaded Iraq, my wife and I squirmed when a cabdriver in São Paulo,

Brazil, asked us to tell our country’s president not to start wars. But at the end of our ride that same driver, a smiling older man, got out, hugged us, and wished us well. New friends we met in Athens, Greece, and St. Petersburg, Russia, invited us to their parents’ homes for big dinners. Both were wonder-ful experiences, even though at the latter meal, a seven-course feast with vodka toasts, none of the other family members spoke a word of English.

Those moments of connection stayed with me as 9/11 drifted further into the past. As the years went by I found myself focusing less on fear than on frustration at delays and new fees imposed by strug-gling airlines. The big stories of the decade in the travel world now seemed to be online booking and fi erce competition.

And yet, the postattack slump had helped fuel air travel’s discount era. And those fl ight delays? A major cause was an antiquated air traffic control system that the U.S. government put off paying to replace, partly because of deficits swollen by two 9/11-sparked wars.

By late 2008, Pamelia and I had moved to coastal Maine, and I was able to telecommute to my job at

a Manhattan-based magazine. Which explains how I ended up in the Bangor passenger lounge this past February, watching old soldiers embracing young ones and finding myself unexpectedly choking up. After a decade of slowly distancing myself from 9/11, I was due for a reminder: The events of that September morning are still with us, still transform-ing lives in this country and others. Sometimes we need a trip to the airport to realize it. ●

craig neff has reported for VIA from Chile, China, New Zealand, Panama, and Russia.

I held to my belief in the importance of travel for broadening my mind and perspective.

YEARSLATER2001, especially the way we travel. ✈✈

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Marine Mammal Center Help tidy Rodeo Beach and learn how to protect otters, seals, and sea lions from beach debris and ocean trash buildup. (415) 289-7325.

September 23–25 Oakland Eat

Real Festival Line up for tacos and curry made with local ingre-dients, sip home-brewed beer, or observe demos on goat-cheese making and coffee roasting. Jack London Square. (510) 250-7811.

September 23–25 Salinas California

International Airshow Watch an F-22 Raptor, Canadian Forces Snowbirds, and other aircraft soar through the valley, or catch a performance by the fi re-breathing Robosaurus, which stands nearly 60 feet tall. Salinas Municipal Airport. (888) 845-7469.

October 8–9 Kelseyville Steele Wines

Harvest Festival Wiggle your toes during a grape-stomping competition for the whole family, admire a bounty of art, and participate in a run or walk to benefi t literacy. Steele Wines and Tasting Room. (707) 279-9475.

October 12 Walnut Creek Fruit Tasting

Tour Sample prickly pears, pineapple guavas, and other unusual fruits. Ruth Bancroft Garden. (925) 944-9352.

October 12–16 Carmel Art & Film Festival Upwards of a dozen venues host fi lms, art and photography exhibits, lectures, an appear-ance by actress Virginia Madsen, and more. Various locations. (831) 625-3700.

October 14–16, 21–23, 28–30 Merced

Sweeney Todd The Tony Award–winning musical about a merciless London barber includes songs such as “Not While I’m Around.” Playhouse Merced. (209) 725-8587.

eventsseptember+october 2011

➤ Want more?A spirited selection of performances and festivals—from an illusion act to a harvest moon celebration—tempt you with otherwordly outings.

David Copperfi eld September 1–14, September 29–October 19, and October 27–November 30, Las Vegas. (800) 929-1111, mgmgrand.com.

Tanglewood Marionettes

September 15–17, Provo, Utah. (801) 422-4322, byuarts.com.

Moon Festival October 1, Hanford, Calif. (559) 582-4508, chinaalleyhanford.com.

Rota Psychic Fair October 1–2, Monterey, Calif. (831) 601-9005,rotapsychicfair.com.

Dark Shadows at Twilight October 9, Santa Rosa, Calif. (707) 546-3600, wellsfargocenterarts.org. —katie cornell

Secrets of the Handcuff KingMake an escape to Houdini: Art and Magic, an exhibit about the life and legacy of the magician atthe Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. From October 2 to January 16, 2012, see hisoriginal handcuffs, a replica of his water torture chamber, modern works of art, and memorabilia—promotional posters, historical photos, and silent fi lms—that showcase the Hungarian immigrant who transformed from unknown circus performer to international star. (415) 655-7800, thecjm.org.

Intriguing mementos include this 1895 lithograph.

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October 15 Sacramento Family History

Day Free beginner genealogy research work-shops by experts, library tours, and a behind-the-scenes look at how the state preserves documents. Fourth fl oor of the California State Archives. (916) 653-7715.

October 16 San Francisco Fiesta on the

Hill A family-friendly shindig in the Bernal Heights neighborhood with live bands, a pumpkin patch, artisan crafts, and food booths. Cortland Avenue. (800) 310-6563.

October 22–January 15 Sacramento

Clayton Bailey’s World of Wonders Explore a fun house of more than 180 works by the Port Costa artist including exploding pots, life-size robot sculptures, and pseudo-scientifi c discoveries. Crocker Art Museum. (916) 808-7000.

October 23 Paradise Paradise Symphony

Orchestra: All Saints’ Eve Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, and other haunting pieces. Paradise Performing Arts Center. (530) 872-8702.

NEVADA

September 2–5 Fallon Hearts of Gold

Cantaloupe Festival More than 10,000 attendees are expected to enjoy cantaloupe ice cream, arts and crafts, and activities such as karaoke and arm wrestling. Churchill County Fairgrounds. (775) 427-4076.

September 3–December 11 Reno This

Is Not a Trojan Horse: A Project by Amy

Franceschini and Michael Taussig Photos and interviews with local farmers docu-ment the journey of a wooden steed through Abruzzo, Italy. Nevada Museum of Art. (775) 329-3333.

September 8–10, 15–17, 22–24 Blue

Diamond Five Guys Named Moe A musi-cal about a destitute man who receives love lessons from the titular characters. Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. (702) 594-7529.

September 9, 16, 23 Fallon Churchill

Arts Council Fall Film Series Three classics, including Blow-Up, offer murderous plot twists. Oats Park Art Center. (775) 423-1440.

October 1–2 Virginia City World

Championship Outhouse Races Teams push, pull, and drag pristine privies down C Street to win prizes. (775) 846-1130.

UTAH

September 10 Sandy Jukebox

Jam with the Salamanders An evening of live tunes—from Bob Marley to the Beastie Boys—based on predelivered audience requests. Sandy Amphitheater. (801) 568-2787.

September 10–11 Park City

EarthWell Festival A parking lot becomes a village offering organic foods, tai chi lessons, and eco-oriented goods. Bonus: an elec-tric car rally. Kimball Junction. (877) 500-6575.

September 23–24 Springdale Zion

Canyon Music Festival Listen to soul, Americana, bluegrass, and other genres near Zion National Park. Springdale Town Park Ballfi eld. (435) 772-3434.

October 21–22 Ogden Creatures of the

Night Kids learn that nocturnal animals aren’t so scary during activities such as trail walks and a fi reside sing-along in the woods. Ogden Nature Center. (801) 621-7595.

6 picks: Oktoberfests Lederhosen and feathered caps are not only welcome, but encouraged. Oktoberfest August 20–October 9, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Utah. (800) 232-9542, snowbird.com.

Oktoberfest at Hofbräuhaus

Las Vegas September 17–October 30, Las Vegas. (702) 853-2337, hofbrauhauslasvegas.com.

Clayton Oktoberfest September 23–25, Clayton, Calif. (925) 672-2272, claytonoktoberfest.com.

Oktoberfest by the Bay September 30–October 2, San Francisco. (888) 746-7522, oktoberfestbythebay.com.

Village Oktoberfest October 1, Olympic Valley, Calif. (530) 452-4000, squaw.com.

Peninsula Oktoberfest October 15, Redwood City, Calif. (650) 832-1431, peninsulaoktoberfest.com.

AAA.com/viaevents

VIA (ISSN 1093-1716) is published bimonthly by AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, 3055 Oak Rd., Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA 94597. Periodicals Postage Paid at Walnut Creek, CA, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster Send address changes to VIA, AAA, 3055 Oak Rd., Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA 94597.

MORE INFO

➤ For more events in Northern

California, Nevada, and Utah, visit

AAA.com/viaevents.

➤ To be considered for the January/

February 2012 issue, event notices must

be received by October 1. Submit events

at AAA.com/submitevent, or mail to

Events Editor, VIA, AAA, 3055 Oak Rd.,

Mailstop W510, Walnut Creek, CA 94597.

You may also email details to viaevents@

viamagazine.com. All submissions will

be considered for both VIA magazine

and our website.

Alpenhorns echo from the top of Hidden Peak in Utah.

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LOST IN TRANSLATION The Lakota Sioux name for the formation, Mato Tipila—meaning “Bear Lodge”—was misinterpreted by an early translator as “Bad God’s Tower,” which morphed into the current moniker.

CHALLENGING CLIMB The first men known to reach the top of the tower, local ranchers William Rogers and Willard Ripley, did it in 1893 by driving wooden pegs into a long vertical crack in the formation to create an ad hoc ladder.

PR GOOF In 1941, publicity seeker George Hopkins parachuted onto Devils Tower and got more than he expected: national attention for the six days he was stranded on the top. REVELATION The tower likely formed when a mass of magma hardened before it could erupt, and was then exposed over millions of years as wind and water wore away the softer rock around it.

Devils Tower is a mystery in plain sight: a monolith rising 867 feet above the northeast corner of Wyoming for no apparent reason. No wonder Teddy

Roosevelt declared it the country’s fi rst national monument in 1906, and Steven Spielberg, some 70 years later, cast it as the ultimate alien landing pad in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Who knows whether doe-eyed extraterrestrials actually do fl ybys? For hikers, climbers, and geology lovers, a visit is still out of this world.

Devils Tower

➤ If You’re Going Devils Tower is located 30 miles

northwest of Sundance, Wyo., and is open year-round. For

more information, call (307) 467-5283 or visit nps.gov/deto.

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SPECIAL MARKET OPPORTUNITYYour Expert Guide to the World’s Finest Coins

Nicholas J. Bruyer, Chairman & Founder, First Federal Coin Corp.ANA Life Member Since 1974

It wasn’t more than ten years ago that we met with former U.S. MintDirector Donna Pope. She spoke with pride about what she consideredto be her greatest achievement as Director under President Reagan:Creation of the American Eagle silver and gold bullion coin programs,the first of their kind in our nation’s history.

The purpose of these coins was to give people the opportunity to ownphysical silver and gold in a form certified for weight and purity by the U.S. Mint. While the bullion coin program was a signal success,nobody took into account the profound effect it would have on the collector market.

Silver Eagles = Today’s Morgan Dollars In the 1800s and early 1900s, the U.S. Morgan Silver Dollar wasstruck year upon year at various mints and circulated at face value.Their core value was in their precious metal content. However, in top grades, Morgan Silver Dollars can sell today for tens and evenhundreds of thousands of dollars each!

For the same reason, many collectors today see the Silver Eagle seriesas a literal “ground floor” opportunity to acquire the top-grade coins asthey are released. They started submitting Silver Eagles to the leadingindependent coin grading services, Professional Coin Grading Service(PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), praying thatthe coins would come back with the highest possible grade: MS70 (allUncirculated coins are graded on a point system from a low of 60 to ahigh of 70, with 70 representing flawless perfection). Of all the SilverEagles produced by the U.S. Mint in 2010, less than one out of every681 earned the NGC MS70 grade!

MS70 = $$$$$!In the rarified atmosphere of MS70, Silver Eagles have soared to market prices that I can only characterize as surreal. Consider this:MS70 Silver Eagles have been selling for truly stratospheric prices.Here are just a few eye-popping examples:

1996 MS70 Silver Eagle $5,6901988 MS70 Silver Eagle $3,1901991 MS70 Silver Eagle $2,8101994 MS70 Silver Eagle $1,470

It Just Keeps Getting Better I was thrilled to lock up a guaranteed supply of Perfect Gem MS70 2011Silver Eagles from a primary distributor who gets them directly from theU.S. Mint. (This is a coin you cannot buy directly from the U.S. Mint).Moreover, every coin is certified and encapsulated by NGC, one of the top two firms for grading coins. But better yet, because we received thevery first coins released from the mint, they all have the value-enhancing“Early Release” designation.

What Does “Early Release” Mean? NGC designates only those coins it certifies as having been released during the first 30 days of issue as Early Release. Collectors place a premium on these coins because they are struckfrom freshly made dies,which is thought toimpart superior quality. Only a miniscule number of themintage gets theEarly Releasepedigree.

This Early Re-lease certificationcan turbo charge thevalue of an alreadyvaluable MS70 coin.For example, a MS702006 20th Anniversary Silver Eagle from the West PointMint is valued at $2,000—but add theNGC “Early Release” pedigree and the value skyrockets to $2,995—that’s 50% more!

CALL IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THEY’RE GONEBecause of our industry-leading status, you can take advantage of our “bolt of lightning” deal on these Perfect Gem MS70 2011 SilverEagles at blowout prices even lower than the 2010s: just $149 each!But, you can save even more. Order 5-9 for only $139 each, and order10 or more at the best deal—only $129 each! To avoid disappointmentI urge you to call immediately. Hurry! This is a first-come-first-served offer. Call 1-888-324-9123 to find our how to qualify forfree shipping. Mention offer code: FFE142

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Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Prices subject to change without notice. Note: First Federal Coin Corp. is a private distributor of government and private coin and medallic issues and is notaffiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures were deemed accurate as of January 2011. ©First Federal Coin Corp, 2011.

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