One of the hardest parts of my job at The Transmogrifier is the numerous field adventures I absolutely MUST take in order to take photos for our texture and imagery websites. It’s just torture having to explore cities, sites, and towns near and far. I dread waking up and searching for all that beauty. Okay, so it is actually amazing, something I am grateful for each day. Something that has changed the way I look at life and what happens around me.
One of these recent adventures took me and my little family on the back roads of Sonoma County. From our house, we drove out Westside Road past budding vineyards with happy spring wildflowers waving as we passed. Landmark barns and beautiful winery structures begged to be photographed. Eventually, hundreds of shots later (again, we mean camera shots, not liquor shots), we connected with River Road, where we followed the Russian River all the way to Highway 1. Before joining the coast highway, we passed the infamous winery, Korbel, and the Armstrong Redwoods grove. As we traveled south along the rugged coastline, we passed beach shacks, crashing waves, and seaside ice plants. More pictures were taken. By this time, our 1 ½ year old, Nate, looked completely dismayed and determined to get his hands on our cameras so that he might dismantle them. He told us this in many words, half of which are clear, the other half guttural.
Sonoma County Barn
Sonoma County Barn
Sonoma County Barn
Off of Highway 1, we circled back inland through the town of Bodega with its charming cemetery and famous schoolhouse building from Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The Birds. This Highway 12 carried us past sprawling ranches and farms with proud farm equipment, timeless barns, cattle and sheep dotting the open land. Large rocks and majestic oak trees covered the rolling Sonoma County hills as we approached home.
Despite Nate’s protests, we arrived home content from our Sonoma County road trip and well satisfied with the number of photographs. These roads and their scenery make them just one of those random things we like. If you are ever in Sonoma County, these idyllic backroads are a MUST for your camera and your soul.
