There are plenty of wineries to be had in Napa, Calistoga, Sonoma and beyond. And while I could certainly spend the rest of eternity getting to know each and every one, I didn’t want to miss some of the local non-wine attractions. First, we stopped at the Old Faithful geyser. If you’re like me, you’re thinking, I thought Old Faithful was in Yellowstone? You know, Wyoming? So what is this hulabaloo about it being way over here? This must be some kind of joke.

It’s not. Apparently there is another geyser named Old Faithful in Calistoga, and the term “old faithful” is used to refer to geysers that erupt at regular intervals. Behold! The grandeur of the Calistoga geyser:

I am certainly glad we saw the geyser, but it cost $10! Ten bucks! Highway robbery, if you ask me. Also, I must admit I am a little skeptical about this geyser. Signs nearby said it would go off every 40-50 minutes, but it went off much more frequently than that. So either those signs are wrong, this geyser is bunk, or the apocalypse is near and causing environmental abnormalities all over the globe. This geyser is being studied for its relation to earthquakes, as apparently when its eruption interval slows down, that signifies an earthquake will happen within 500 miles.

Isabel once again seemed uninterested in the geyser and more interested in the sheep nearby.

Guess which direction the sheep (or rather, sheep noises) are in in this photo.

Next, we wandered over to the Petrified Forest. My favorite thing here were the tree carvings of bears and other creatures:

The gift shop had a lot of stones and gems and some really great Napa Valley postcards. (And take note, the cards were cheaper here than in other touristy areas around the Valley, so I loaded up.)

All in all, a good non-winery day.