| They farm almost
everything in central California although without water they would be in
serious trouble. There are lots of signs complaining about the federal
government restricting their water usage and legal battles with other states
more upstream. |  |
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We think that these two photos are of areas growing turf. It is certainly
some of the heaviest use of water for farming we have seen. |
| Much of the water from
the rivers is distributed in the Sacramento valley by huge canals. |  |
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Without water the ground is very dry as the dust being raised by this
tractor harrowing a field shows |
| Parts of this area are
like the fens with water courses turning some areas into islands. There are
many bridges like this which can be raised to allow the passage of boats. |  |
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We paused in Napa but there was nowhere to stop. The valley is world famous
for its wine but is only about 30 miles long. They irrigate more than in
France but otherwise it is very similar |
| We saw several different
forms of training the vines and lots of wineries offering tastings at
exorbitant prices. |  |
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We paused in one small town (Yountville) along the way but it turned out to
be a very arty tourist trap. Definitely a place for the 'haves'. The colours
on the trees were nice though. |
| There was a posh looking
gallery and they took umbrage at me photographing their window. Je ne le
comprends pas. |  |
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I wonder how much they paid for this stone mushroom sculpture. The sign said
'Please do not water'..... |
| More vines in the valley
bottom but only the odd field up the sides, unlike Germany. |  |
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There were some quite famous names along this stretch as we headed north to
Calistoga. Very neat and manicured. I still prefer Burgundy.... |
| This is probably one of
the biggest names. The ones we had heard of seemed to be at the north end of
the valley. |  |
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There is obviously some investment going on. These are old vines which have
been grubbed up. They obviously don't know how prized such roots are in
France for barbeques. |
| Although we saw nobody
working in the fields, there is clearly a lot of work being put in to keep
it all looking so tidy. It may explain the costs of the wine grown here.
We crossed over the hill to the next valley - Sonoma - another wine area. |  |
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