Beautiful Berryessa!

Monday, November 11, 2019

Hi Blog!

On our last full day in Vacaville, we decided to head up into the Vaca Mountains and paddle about Lake Berryessa. The reservoir was named for the first European settlers in the Berryessa Valley, José Jesús and Sexto Berrelleza (a Basque surname, Anglicized to "Berreyesa", then later respelled "Berryessa"), who were granted Rancho Las Putas in 1843. Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s.

As we drove up into the Vaca Mountains from Vacaville, we followed Putah Creek to Monticello Dam. As we got closer to the dam which created Lake Berryessa, we noticed more and more fisherman taking advantage of the cold clear water being released from the dam.

The creation of Monticello Dam and Lake Berryessa were not intended for public and recreational use. The lake was initially fenced off but interest from the public overcame and many people still managed to access the water in the first two years. With no federal or state agencies wanting to manage affairs at the lake, agencies authorized seven concessionaires to provide recreational activities at the lake to the public on federal land in the late 1950s. Those 50 year contracts for the concessionaires came to an end in 2009.

Today, there are only two concessionaires left on the lake. We passed by Markley Cove because it appeared to be too big and busy for kayaking. We continued around the lake and ended up at the Pleasure Cove Marina. As we launched our kayaks, a fleet of rental house boats lined the marina.

Lake Berryessa is over 20,000 acres when full. It is approximately 16 miles long but only 3 miles wide. It has approximately 165 miles of shoreline. Pleasure Cove is located on one of the longest arms on the lake formed when water flooded into Wragg Canyon. We decided to paddle as far up into Wragg Canyon as the water would let us.

As we reached the shallow end of the cove, we were surrounded by water birds. We noticed a Great Egret perched in a dead tree.

As we approached, we were lucky enough to catch the egret in flight.

The egret didn't go far. The beautiful bird landed just across the cove.

The fall color reflects off the calm surface of the lake.

The canyon walls began to close in on us. Before long, we could go no further.

As we turned around and headed back from whence we came, we were graced with a burst of Autumn color:

As we made our way back to the main cove, we noticed a vineyard sitting high above the lake. Did you know there are over 1,700 vineyards in the Napa region?

We had plenty of company on our paddle. A western grebe decided to swim by and check out us.

As we cruised along the shoreline, some Canada geese stopped their browsing to keep an eye on us.

However, the most unusual bird we saw that day was a flock of wild turkeys grazing on a hillside.

We were surprised to actually get a photo of this Great Blue Heron. We tried several times, but each time we approached, it flew off. It must have gotten tired of us stalking it, so it let us get this photo.

With miles of shoreline to explore, we knew we wouldn't be able to see it all. We just took our time  and leisurely paddled into all the small coves we could find.

These coves are a favorite destination for the house boater. They can drop anchor and have a quiet cove all to themselves.

Wragg Canyon Road once stretched along the shore of the lake. During the time of the concessionaires, they leased some land to RV homes for long term housing. When the contracts ended, all the recreational facilities and mobile homes were forced to move from federal property. Some of the infrastructure can still be seen along the lake shore.

As we paddled back to the marina, we noticed an anhinga resting on a buoy.

We are still enjoying our fall through California.

Our next stop will take us to Los Banos in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. More adventure awaits!