We have been to Calistoga, California before, and chose to come back to this funky little wine country town for its good food, excellent wines, and great spas. We also like it for its neighborhood streets which lead to the countryside where you can take long walks, bike trips, or runs. In the past we stayed at Indian Springs, an old 1930’s Hollywood haunt, before it was modernized. Today’s Indian Springs is way beyond our budget. We ended up staying at the RV Campground in the Calistoga Fairgrounds. It was located near the center of town, and clustered amidst a stadium, municipal pool, race track, and a county golf course.  It was basically camping on blacktop but convenient to everything we wanted to do.

We took a long hike on the Oat Hill Mine Trail that was built over a 20 year period (1873-1893) for the purpose of transporting mercury from the quicksilver mines north of the town to Pope Valley eight miles away.

View from Oat Hill Mine Trail

We came for good food – and we got it. Nice Breakfasts at Sarafornia and a dynamite dinner at JoLe where Joanne got her much yearned for sweetbreads and Mitch sunk his teeth into some perfectly prepared venison.

In the past we always had mud baths in Calistoga but this time chose only 50 minute massages at the Roman Spa. Just what our bodies needed after 5000 miles of driving.

In the past Apollo got into bars. This time the wine bar seduced him.