Burner Travels Ep. 1: Northern Sonoma County
Join Always B. Burning on a road trip around Northern Sonoma County looking for Burning Man art, art from Burner artists and other unexpected finds for Burners.
Always B Burning
9/28/202610 min read
This blog is the first installation - and the video above, the first episode - of a series I'm calling Burner Travels. If you can't tell by the nom de plume Always B Burning, I try to burn year round. One of my favorite aspects of that is going to see Burning Man art, even when I'm not at Burning Man. This is more challenging when you're not staying in Black Rock City, but I supplement with other art, often by Burner artists, that gives me the same type of thrill and wonder as I get form the art out on the Playa.
I love to travel and, whether I'm visiting some remote island or just going on a day drive, I like to find the small, odd wonders and the weird things that aren't in the guidebooks, and large-scale or visionary art often fits the bill. One way I find art on my journeys is to use the Google Maps overlay that Peter Platzgummer made for the Burning Man community, which you can find on this website's Art Page; I also did a blog and YouTube video about it.
The screenshot above on the left is a map of the San Francisco Bay Area with Burning Man art locations displayed. On the right is a shot of just Northern Sonoma County (it would be just above where the other screenshot ends.) The map shows 3 Burning Man art locations: Soda Rock Winery in Alexander Valley; Wilson Winery in Dry Creek Valley and the Geyserville Sculpture Garden, which is located just north of the town of Geyserville. I'd recommend starting this road trip by heading straight to the Sculpture Garden.
The Geyserville Sculpture Garden is full of interesting sculptures and often features work that has come back from the Playa or was made by Burner artists. Sometimes some piece not connected to Burning Man really speaks to me in a way that sends my mind to thinking about Burning Man. The horse is Victory, by Bryan Tedrick. I think it's been to the Playa, but I'm not sure (let me know if you remember it.) Ovule, by Zoe Frye, really caught my attention. It's one thing to see it on the Playa, like the picture above. But it's got these humanoid sculptures inside of it and, putting it among the sculptures of the family-favorite Geyserville Sculpture Garden added a lovely bit of bizarreness to the visit.
I love the heart made of chains, but there are plenty of sculptures of animals or things kids can climb if you're thinking about visiting with the family. Just under a mile north of here, right before you get into "downtown" Geyserville is Isis Oasis. Isis Oasis is, in their own words, "A Sanctuary Dedicated to Our Lady of Ten Thousand Names." They have long-standing links to the local Burning Man community and have hosted Burner events. They also have a whole lot of cool rescue animals and some lovely temples. If you're looking for a place to stay, Isis Oasis is affordable and memorable. Great place to stop in with the kids or a date.
Geyserville is a lovely village worth a visit. Get something to drink or eat and maybe catch some local music at Diavola (amazing rustic Italian), Gun Club (best bar food in the world), Catelli's (another great Italian restaurant) or The Corner Project (just drinks and music.) Between Diavola and the Gun Club is a great Italian deli where you can get picnic food and you can check out the little museum at Bosworth's and Son, the local Western wear store. You can also get down to the Russian River just a few hundred feet from downtown Geyserville. If you stop at the Gun Club, tell them I sent you. It's the least I can do after all the trouble I've made for them.
There are also more sculptures around town. Right downtown you can often see more art from Burner artists and, if you poke around a bit, some other great art, including a few goats around a table drinking wine.
Next, you can drive into the Dry Creek Valley to see another Bryan Tedrick piece, the plainly named Coyote. As you can see from the picture above, you can climb up into Coyote for a beautiful (and romantic) vineyard view and, at the right time of day, Coyote's shadow. If you want to picnic here (or at your next stop), stop by The Dry Creek General Store. During tourist times, the line is long and the food is always pricey, but it's the only place around and the food is good. If you're too hungry to make it to your next stop, eat here - the view is great and the ambience is cheerful (and tipsy). You can, and in fact SHOULD, stop by the area's last real rural bar, The Dry Creek Bar, which shares the spot. Have a cold pint in the bar to enjoy some Americana feeling or a glass of wine - the area is best known for its Zinfandel - outside for the view. Oh, and the bar serves some of the best hot dogs you've ever had.
Now go visit another Bryan Tedrick piece at another winery owned by Ken Wilson: the more creatively-named Lord Snort at Soda Rock Vineyards. Soda Rock burnt down several years ago in the wildfires, but Lord Snort survived and Ken rebuilt the winery. Again, you can visit without buying wine, but get a glass: the area is known mostly for Cabernet Sauvignon, but give the Cabernet Franc a try. While you're having a glass, make sure to walk all the way around Lord Snort. As you can see, he's anatomically correct.
If you're looking for somewhere in Alexander Valley to eat, head over to Jimtown. Back in the day, when I worked as a cellar rat, this area had the Jimtown Store, a great country bar and a true general store. Now, it's got a winery tasting room (Medlock Ames, worth a visit) and Dim Sum and Then Sum in the old Jimtown Store spot. I've heard the dim sum is good. Let me know if you try it before I do.
Still want to see a couple pieces of cool art? OK with it not being Burning Man art, if I promise you it's got the Burning Man spirit to it and you get to see some lovely nature, too? If so, we're going far off the beaten path, so be prepared for some genuine beauty and quiet and download a map of the area onto your phone. We're headed to The Geysers. Geysers Road is a half loop between Geyserville and Cloverdale to the North. I'm assuming you're coming from the South. A useful landmark to put into Google Maps as a destination is Geysers Road Historic Bridge.
So, head out of Geyserville along Geysers Rd. Geysers Rd is one of the most beautiful, serene drives I know of. If you're a cyclist, cycle here, not on one of the windy, blind-turn, wine tasting routes where you put your life in the hands of people who are out there to drink wine. You don't have to drive too far before you see a lovely picnic spot of boulders on private land to your left just past an impromptu piece of art: a found art sculpture of a happy man, who I've named Mr. 3309, there to greet you to his domain.
Though it's private land, you should respectfully go climb up onto those boulders and enjoy the view. You won't see much movement, other than nature, some cows and a few cyclists. Have a bite to eat. But don't forget to say hi to your host across the street, Mr. 3309. Just a half mile or so past here, is a turnout on the road with a spectacular view of the Alexander Valley. I dig that someone - with a bit of burner spirit, whether she knows it or not, decided to weird up and beautify the world, like a pinch of ginger in the apple pie, by bringing Mr. 3309 into existence. Thank you to whomever the quotidian, non-sinister Dr. Frankenstein is.
Keep driving for a while and you'll see on the right hand side an even greater endeavor than Mr. 3309. Someone took the time and had the skill to come out here, to the middle of nowhere, and paint what locals fittingly call Frog Rock. Some imagination went into this, with a crack in the boulder used for the frog's mouth, to great effect. I wonder if the frog dreams of a place he belongs and if that place looks, in his head, like the Playa.
During the Gold Rush era, people mined mercury out in this region. Mercury was needed to extract gold from ore, but it's nasty stuff and ruined people's health. It cause their teeth to fall out and damaged their brains. When the Gold Rush ended, folks left and the population never rebounded. The largest concentration of miners lived in a spot called Mercuryville.
I once came out here to look for the old town and found the Mercuryville sign. I poked around and met the woman who owns the property with her husband. She told me the ghost town burnt down in the 70s. I think she'd rather be left alone, so don't bother her, but stop for a brief moment to check out the sign she put up to honor the hard work of the miners.
Speaking of signs, check out the sticker my boys and I randomly found out there: "Yer Mom." We had to stop to take a picture of it, since their mom loves using this as the punchline of many an impromptu gag. Like, if one of my kids were to ask her who she thinks killed Jimmy Hoffa or something random like that, her answer would be "Yer Mom."
It also reminds me of the phrase, "Fuck Yer Burn." Except that Yer Mom is funny. Fuck Yer Burn is just cosplaying at being the rough-around-the-edges Burning Man that we no longer are. I miss when we were kind but mean: when you got served at a bar only if the folks there took a shine to you. Maybe next year, I'll ask if my camp can be placed next to Threat Camp. Those fuckers never say "Fuck Yer Burn," they just yell at you about why your clothes makes you look like an idiot. Sweet people.
Anyways, back to the subject at hand. This is all the "art" I know of on this route, but feel free to keep driving. There are beaches on the Russian River you can have all to yourself and you can wander around and check out the infrastructure for The Geysers, the world's largest geothermal field. Some of it looks pretty cool. Oh, and, if you put that Geysers Historic Bridge into your Google Maps, you may as well visit it. There's a sign saying not to walk on it, but, eh, you're a burner, safety third. Also, there's a slightly precarious rocky slope by it that will take you down to a truly lovely bend in the river.
I'll have more of these Burner Travels installments, but this is the one closest to home for me. Email me about anything near you and, if you're in town, feel free to hit me up. If I can, we can get a glass of wine together. Stay dusty my friends and always be burning.
