"As soon as the opportunity presented itself at The Madrones, we knew this would be perfect."
Mendenhall said The Madrones was an "obvious choice" for the tasting room, calling it a "fun and vibrant corridor" of Philo.
After a few hours' tasting the night was drawing in, so we headed back to the now deserted
Madrones.
Arbutus texana is Texas
madrone. Texas
madrones grow in Texas and New Mexico and differ from Pacific
madrones in that their leaves are smaller.
But now that fires no longer burn along Puget Sound, diseases have become persistent in soils and many urban
madrones have grown much larger and disease-prone than they do in the wild.
Coming in from the woods or water, they can take off wet and dirty clothes on the deck outside the house, then clean up in the bathroom on their floor before heading upstairs to the kitchen-dining-gathering space, which looks out to a water view through huge old
madrones and conifers.
You can traverse open grasslands dominated by the complex silhouettes of ancient oaks, climb canyons shaded by thickly growing redwoods and bays, or explore woodlands dappled with sunlight filtering through a wild scramble of red-trunked
madrones.
The days are bright but bracing, the valley floors go bright gold and then berry-colored with the changing foliage of the vines, and the hillsides redden with oaks and
madrones. Even so, because it's off-season, choice B & Bs are available on much shorter notice, and the valley's many restaurants handle drop-ins with greater relaxation.
"It's like a symphony when they all sing together." Two dead
madrones support the aviary's roof beam.
This returns you, under a canopy of oaks and
madrones, to the picnic area.
Ride under a canopy of oaks and
madrones to a bridge over Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and on to the picnic area, where you can enjoy a relaxing repast in the cool shade of coast redwoods.
Photo: Descending through
madrones and oaks, hikers make their wayto Fall Creek
Here seasonal fog fingers through stream-cleft ravines; thick with redwoods and fir,
madrones, tanbark oak, and rangy pepper-woods, the canyons drop precipitously from high cliffs down to the sea; wildlife abounds.
That's why people who like
madrones will consider the introduction of the tree pictured here to be significant.
The forest here is mixed hardwood and conifer and includes such species as Douglas-fir, tanoak and
madrone. Owing to private ownership that has allowed the trees to grow for many decades, the forest floor is largely open.
