Gold Mines!

After a beautiful, refreshing walk in the crisp but sunny mountain air of South Lake Tahoe and another gorgeous drive through pine forests over the mountains, I stopped in Placerville for a short break and saw a brochure for a mine tour. It was too late in the day to go down in the mine, unfortunately, but they gave me a map for a trail up into the hills.

I was glad to get out and stretch and with no one else around I could imagine myself carrying a pick and shovel and hiking into the back country like the early miners. Unfortunately, the little map they gave me was not to scale and I got lost. I hiked higher and higher into the hills behind Placerville and began to be a little worried as they had given me strict instructions to be out of the parking lot by 5:00pm or my car would be stuck behind a gate until morning

Of course, I was totally unprepared, wearing just sandals and with no water. With the temp in the 80s even at that hour, hiking up steep hills and trying to watch the ground ahead for the rattle snakes they warned me about, my heart was definitely pumping hard. I was finally able to backtrack enough to find the trail and follow it back to the point where I should have turned and didn't. I made it out of the gate just in time at about 4:55...so that was my thrill for this day! ;)

It was a fun stop though, definitely made me feel alive...and I was able to snag a small vial of gold flakes to take back for Jayson (Shhh, don't tell him; it'll be a great surprise.)

I drove straight through Sacramento and stayed tonight in a small town north on the I-5 where I found a great restaurant that served me the most delicious french bread with huge chunks of fresh garlic cloves and blue cheese toasted on the top. Good thing nobody has to smell my breath tonight, but it sure was delicious! (Where is my sister when I need her for a good old fashioned food binge? haha--she loves roasted garlic as much as I do.)

Tomorrow I hope to explore Clear Lake a little on the way over to the 101, then it's home by tomorrow night to see Firecat. Yeah! Next it's his turn as he goes to his niece's wedding in Missouri in about a month. Maybe he will post a bit to the blog too while he is away (but don't count on it--lol).