I know many folks think that Jack London is a man's author.  There are probably far fewer women who cozy to his words.  I am one that does!

From the first time I picked up a Jack London book, I was hooked.  Visions invoked from his artfully crafted words came to life. "The Call of the Wild" - "White Fang" - "The Sea Wolf" - They grabbed my imagination and wouldn't easily let go.

Friday evening, I fell asleep thinking a little about his wanderings in life, especially along the Valley of the Moon - in beautiful California Wine Country.

I woke early Saturday morning - Napa Sonoma Wine Country, and its Valley of the Moon, needed a visitor.

Heading north and west from Sacramento approximately 60 miles, found me arriving at the threshold of London's footsteps.  Napa, Sonoma, St. Helena and Calistoga, a perfect place to photo capture the color of the autumn leaves, and to treasure away a few special bottles of wine, for Thanksgiving dinner.

It is amazing how fall gifts Wine Country this time of year - the spectacular colors, smells, and crisp autumn air, create a dalliance of delicacy to pamper the senses.

Thinking of Wine Country immediately creates visions of glasses filled with the fine wines nurtured better in Napa Valley than most any place on earth.  Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Merlot - What are your favorites?

But Wine Country has other delights!  In Calistoga, Doc Wilkinson's Spa, is famous for its mud baths and other spa treatments; or you can simply marinate your frazzled soul in the warm mineral pools.  A special wine country weekend can take in a day of wine tasting, a stroll through the villages, a nice Italian dinner, and then off to a good night of sleep.  Begin day two by finding your way to the mud baths, a spa or the mineral pools.  By second day's end, you will be ready to face life's realities once again.

After leaving the Domaine Carneros Winery known for their sparkling wines, and its palatial location at the top of a magnificent Napa Valley hill, I traveled further along the road to Beringer Vineyards, next to the celebrated Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.  The Culinary Institute offers classes for culinary arts as well as for wine enthusiasts.  Charles Krug Winery is well placed across the road - helping make St. Helena, a powerhouse of Napa Valley wineries, and vintner mastery devoted to the grape.

Once finished with the shopping of wines, I drove to another area of the valley. Calistoga boasts its own "Old Faithful" Geyser.  Not unlike its counterpart in Yellowstone, this "Old Faithful" periodically bursts a natural fountain, on a less than predictable schedule, averaging about every 40 minutes. 

Along the road to the geyser, a slight breeze caused the colors, yellow, gold, orange, red, purple, brown and green to perform a tango on the vines without intermission.

Several Jack London quotes came to mind Saturday and applied to circumstance.  They are as follows:

• I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
  
• Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
  
• One cannot violate the promptings of one's nature without having that nature recoil upon itself.
  
• There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond, which life cannot rise.  And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.
  
• You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.