A bit of trivia about SONOMA, California. Before it was known as a wine area, its primary claim to fame was as the site of the June 14, 1846 “Bear Flag Revolt” which declared Alta California independent as the “California Republic”. Its independence lasted only 25 days as the U.S. Navy occupied & annexed the Republic on July 9, 1846. This is the ORIGINAL Bear Flag:
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However, already then wine played a crucial role in Sonoma. As word has it, the rebel “captains” who eventually seized control during the Bear Flag Revolt, had been liquored up (wine and more, supposedly) by Comandante Vallejo after he invited them in for “negotiations”. When they returned with the agreed upon terms, the rest of the insurgents realized that their negotiators were drunk and had been played, so they promptly took Vallejo and his compadres hostage, initiating the actual “revolt”.
When we learned this in school, they left out the part involving drunkenness. But if only half that story is true, it seems to have been quite an outing. 
Great post btw, @romad.
Edit: And just one more little tidbit related to Sonoma. I’m sure most of you recall the classic Windows desktop background showing a green grassy hill with blue skies and a couple clouds. Well that image, so inherently connected to Windows, was actually taken in Sonoma by a Nat Geo photographer.
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Windows-XP-Bliss-Hill-Sonoma-Charles-O-Rear-15976588.php
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Yep, they certainly did. I just went back and looked at my copy of “California Yesterdays” to see what it said and no mention (guess they felt it would be too much for fourth graders to understand!) BTW, Mariano Vallejo and his staff were sent to Sutter’s Fort, but since John Sutter didn’t have a jail, he put them up in his parlor.
Hmmm, as many times as I’ve been to Sonoma in the last 60+ years, I don’t recall seeing such a pristine landscape. I wonder if that photographer did a little “photoshopping”.
Being a Northern California resident who has bicycled a bit in Sonoma County, the view on the Apple website appears to be a view across a vineyard in the northern part of the county. The image reminds me of vistas near Geyserville, either in the Alexander Valley, or along Canyon Rd, connecting the Alexander Valley to the Dry Creek Valley near the Pedroncelli Winery.
Of course, the default Windows XP wallpaper was taken from a photo of the landscape near the town of Sonoma.
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I should have known. Of course “Bliss” has its own Wikipedia page.
The picture was originally taken in 1996. Nowadays there’s vines on that hill.
2006:
2017:
