It's about the Grass: Stemple Creek Ranch Grass-fed Beef, Baby!

My name is Joanne, and I am an Omnivore. There, I said it. I was a vegetarian for years, but realized one day that the entire world operates by eating something else, and ALL of those somethings were alive at some point, be they plants or animals. I lived on a farm in college, and raised my own meat: beef, pork and chickens. My animals enjoyed full, good lives, and met a quick and painless death (we should all be so lucky). I vowed if I was going to eat meat, it would be from the best possible sources. I'd like to say I kept that vow, but I often bought the cheapest meat I could find simply for lack of alternatives: that's where Stemple Creek Ranch comes in.

Loren Poncia and his wife Lisa  took over the 120-year-old  ranch from his parents in 2001 and expanded the ideas his father had set out years before: improving the quality of the creek that ran through the property by planting trees, improving the soil with more than 20 different types of grasses, and moving his herds of Black Angus from patch to patch to feed (and fertilize).

Hidden away behind the gentle hills off Fallon Rd. in Marin County, Stemple Creek is part of a 10-year soil study, the Marin Carbon Project--as dry land farmers, the Poncias depend on carbon in the soil to absorb rain like a sponge, producing clear run-off into the waterways. Last year, the farm saved the equivalent of auto emissions from 81 cars.

I was at Stemple Creek for a tour, which is scheduled on their website throughout the year (below). The tour started with an outdoor barbecue that left every fervent carnivore in the group sated (coulotte steak, yes!). Loren cooks up several different cuts of beef and there's plenty to go around, even if you're tempted to sneak a piece to Bailey, the very attentive golden retriever. The tour takes in the grounds and gives a lot of history of the place and the ideals which are the driving force of Stemple Creek Ranch.

Loren gets down to grass level to talk about soil improvement

To everything there is a season, and so it is with animals. The cattle wander fertile pastures for  24 months before they reach the valley of the shadow. Some calves are born in the spring, some in the autumn, and each year only a certain number are ready; however, from November to March, less beef is available because the grass quality is different, and Loren takes quality seriously. One of the objections to grass-fed beef is that it's too lean (and therefore tough when cooked). That is NOT the case here; all the cuts were some of the best fat-marbled beef I've ever laid tooth to, perfectly tender and tasty.

Beeeef!

You can schedule a tour or buy pastured, grass-fed Angus beef and lamb from Stemple Creek's Website (www.stemplecreek.com)  and have it delivered to your door. The site also lists all their current purveyors, including:

San Francisco Plaza Farmers Market, Ferry Bldg. Plaza on the Embarcadero, San Francisco, 8AM-2PM Saturday year-round    Ferry Plaza Market 

Marin Farmer's Market, San Rafael Civic Center, 8AM-1PM Thurs. and Sun. year-round   Marin Farmer's Market

The Local Butcher Shop, 1600 Shattuck, Ste. 120, Berkeley, CA    thelocalbutchershop.com/

V. Miller Meats, 4801 Folsom Blvd., Ste. 2, Sacramento, CA   vmillermeats.com/

Thistle Meats, 160 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma CA    thistlemeats.com

Lisa and Loren also rent out a cute rustic cabin on the property through Air B&B--great for a farm stay for families ($175/night): Rustic Cabin

All photos copyright Joanne Orion Miller unless noted

Toddling in Tuolumne: A Sweet Visit with Mr. Twain, Followed by Psychedelic Bowling

Buffet option at the Black Oak Casino (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

While in the historic town of Columbia, I chanced upon Mark Twain (who preferred to be addressed as Mr. Clemens, his birth name). Mr. Clemens entertained with amusing stories of his time in the foothills and answered questions so authentically that I forgot our Samuel was really actor MacAvoy Layne, visiting from the Mark Twain Cultural Center in Incline Village, Nevada, where he appears regularly. If you love Twain and his humor, Layne's performance is worth a trip to Tahoe. I left him as he wandered off to find his "carriage" in the parking lot.

Inside Kate's Tearoom

Nelson's yumbos! Chocolate porn!  (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Columbia has a few unique places to visit: Columbia Kate’s Teahouse on the outskirts of town is the perfect spot for ladies who lunch; they also sell a plethora of tea blends. The nearby bakery offers killer scones and other baked goods. 

As a true sugar connoisseur, I feared Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen was going to be another of those places that sold bulk wrapped candies in barrels, but was delighted to find they made most of their confections—for five generations, since the 1930s. In fact, they were named among the top ten sweet shops in America by USA Today. The chocolates, fudge, jellies and many other types of candies are all made in-house: a rare find these days. I remember with great fondness the milk chocolate/caramel/pecan turtle I devoured there. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Candy Kitchen holds a “make your own candy cane” event that’s so popular participants are chosen by lottery—go to their website (below) for information.

While in Tuolumne County, I stayed at the Black Oak Casino Resort Hotel. The hotel is new, the rooms are clean and spacious, and it’s a non-smoking facility located a sufficient distance from the casino that makes it both quiet and convenient. The casino is…a casino. Smoky, busy, loud and full of action: this is the place to go if you’re craving excitement. The two restaurants within the casino have filtered air, the better to enjoy decent quality meals. There’s a special occasion restaurant on another floor for big spenders. In the lounge, a rocking cover band (the Spazmatics) played hits from the 80s, put on an energy-filled show, and whipped the crowd into a dancing frenzy. The bowling alley in the basement is a party in itself.

It had to happen: folks who live in the old mining towns of the Sierra foothills want to enjoy a lot of the same distractions that urban dwellers do, from local theater productions to boogeying down in front of ear-shattering speakers, but it’s nice to know that the foothills have retained a lot of their rural and historic charm—the real gold these days--that makes the area so nice to visit.

Mark Twain Cultural Center, 760 Mays Blvd., Ste. 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 (775) 831-2820. This is a small bookstore and theater. Call to make sure a performance is scheduled.

Columbia State Historic Park, 11255 Jackson Street, Columbia CA 95310 www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com/

Columbia Kate's Teahouse, 22727 Columbia St., Columbia CA 95310 www.columbiakates.com/:

Nelson's Columbia Candy Kitchen, Main Street, P.O. Box 191, Columbia, California 95310 www.columbiacandykitchen.com/

Black Oak Casino Resort, owned and operated by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians www.blackoakcasino.com

All photos by Joanne Orion Miller unless otherwise noted.

Gold Country/Columbia, Gem of the Mother Lode

Strolling the streets of Columbia (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Everyone has heard the story of Sutter’s Mill, and how workman James Wilson Marshall found a few flakes of shiny stuff in a nearby brook in 1848; word spread to San Francisco and the subsequent gold rush built that city from a sleepy Spanish colony of 1,000 souls to a megalapolis of 100,000 in a year. Miners competing for claims spread out, and gold was found in the town of Columbia in 1850, many miles south of the original discovery site; between the first grains panned out of a boulder-strewn stream and the early 1900s, $87 million in gold was removed from the surrounding hills. Unlike many boomtowns of the Mother Lode, Columbia wasn’t deserted when easier methods of gold extraction petered out: because the lack of flowing water in the area didn't lend itself to destructive placer mining, the town remained a pleasant place to live. Though the population dwindled from several thousand to less than 500 at a low point, locals lobbied to make the town into a State Historic Park, succeeding in 1945. Buildings that were once hazardous were refurbished over time to create a sort of *Williamsburg West of the Gold Rush period (without the high prices to get in the buildings—all of the buildings, parking, and tours are free in Columbia).

Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey

Though the historic part of town covers only a few blocks, many buildings have costumed interpreters that enlighten visitors as to who lived and worked there (the nonprofit Friends of Columbia sponsors interpretation and education). A stagecoach takes riders around the town for a fee, and many of the storefronts house real businesses; some with touristy souvenirs, others with more substantial products like leatherwork and ironwork. 

Hot babe on the Fire Engine

There are displays of authentic period goods in a few buildings (the pharmacy and firehouse are particularly interesting), a couple of restaurants, and a playhouse that features modern performances. 


Two of the original hotels of the era are nicely refurbished and open for business: the Columbia City Hotel (most rooms have a toilet and sink, with shower down the hall) and the Fallon Hotel; both run from $50 to $105 per night, depending on choice of room. The state park has also fixed up three “modern” cottages in town ($115-155).

The upstairs parlor of the Columbia Hotel

Yes, it is touristy, though not at the level of Disneyland, where every shop sells trinkets emblazoned with Mickey Mouse. It's more of a cross between a well-preserved ghost town and a small-town downtown. I found the interpreters—often volunteers—to be a friendly font of information—they love what they do. In a following blog, I’ll review a few of my favorite places in this charming little historic town.

Inside the Pharmacy (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Columbia State Historic Park, 11255 Jackson Street, Columbia CA 95310

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=552

Map to this location

*You can read about Federal-era Williamsburg, VA in MoonHandbook: Chesapeake Bay

 All Photos by Joanne Orion Miller unless otherwise noted.

Gold Country/Father Knows Best: Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey

Conductor Brian gives us the goods (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

My dad was a railroad man—he worked for the Southern Pacific for many years, and loved it. You can see that ardent love of the rails in all the volunteers who populate the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown, one of only two fully operational roundhouse complexes left in the country (the other is at East Broad Top Railroad in Broad Top City, PA—yes, it’s in my book, Moon Travel Handbooks: Pennsylvania). A roundhouse is the shop facility that maintains and repairs rail engines and cars; equipment that's being restored is on display. The roundhouse is open for tours year-round, but there’s far more here. Most of the repairmen and "rail personnel" are volunteers, many of them former rail employees like my dad.

Our engineer by his locomotive (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Hollywood saved this historic site from being scraped during the Great Depression. Starting in 1919, more than 200 movies and television programs were filmed using the former Sierra Railway's steam engines, buildings, and other equipment. This historic landmark hosts regular round trips on a three-mile long-track Saturday through Monday from April through October: steam trains pull passenger cars on Saturdays, and vintage diesel locomotives operate on Sundays, plus Wednesdays in July and August (tickets $10-15, under 5 free). Each passenger car has a “conductor” that tells of rail days gone by. There are multiple events held throughout the year, and volunteers dressed as passengers during the hey-day of rail travel wander through the park and answer questions. One of the most popular and fun events is the Polar Express Train Ride in December; families can enjoy hot chocolate and cookies with costumed characters from the animated film, Polar Express. When passengers reach the North Pole, Santa comes aboard and gives each ticketholder a silver sleigh bell, “the first gift of Christmas.”

Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey

 The singular smell of the roundhouse—grease, dirt, steel and smoke—though rooted in a long-distant past--brought back so many memories of my dad returning from work, bearing a whiff of engines and rails on his clothes. The people who dress up and give their time and energy to this bit of American history, engineers in their stripped caps and Victorian ladies with parasols alike, are equally dedicated to the gritty romance of trains. This is a special place.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, 
10501 Reservoir Road, Jamestown, CA 95327

www.railtown1897.org


Map to the location

Gold Country: Eve had it Right: Indigeny Reserve in Sonora

Oh, the perfume of ripening apples! In an Orion magazine article*, writer Gary Paul Naban describes a trip to the Eden-like birthplace of Malus sieversii in Kazakhstan, where researchers catalogued more than fifty-six wild forms of apples. Fortunately, fifty-one varieties of these fragrant beauties can be found in Sonora, California, considerably closer to home, and in forms just about anyone can appreciate year-round: hard cider, brandy and vodka.

The bottling plant (photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

The Watson family purchased the original 80-acre orchard in 2005 to keep the land from development, and expanded since then to 160 acres. Some of the trees date back to the early 1900s; it's the oldest stand of apple trees in Tuolumne County. After going through a three-year process for organic certification, they determined that nearly half the apples were not suitable for eating--hence the hard cider and other products (though there are plenty of sweet and juicy Honeycrisps during harvest time in early autumn).

The orchards, renamed the Indigeny Reserve in 2007, now offer a beautiful park-like setting for picnickers and a tasting room that’s open every day after 10AM. The reserve couldn’t be more attractive, from the entry road winding through a shady forest under a covered bridge to the tasting rooms, and a cidery and distilling plant built from locally harvested and re-purposed oak and cedar.

Speaking of distilleries, that isn't a giant flute on the left--it's the distilling unit, chugging away.

The grounds are gorgeous even in the rain

The view from the bridge

I can’t fail to mention the “extra-crisp” cider, which is my new favorite thing—made from Granny Smith apples, fermented with champagne yeast and served in aluminum bottles, this stuff is killer! There’s also a blackberry-flavored extra-crisp, and a cider made from all varieties of apples in the orchards. And brandy. And vodka. And a two-and-a-half-mile hiking trail to work it off. Even Adam couldn’t ask for anything more.

Lifting a cool one...(Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

(Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Indigeny Reserve, 14679 Summers Lane, Sonora, CA

https://indigenyreserve.com/

Indigeny Reserve on Google Maps

*https://orionmagazine.org/article/the-fatherland-of-apples/

 All photos by Joanne Orion Miller unless otherwise noted. www.joanneorionmiller.com