Angels Camp 2011

Our Fall trip this year is to Angels Camp, CA. We chose this site in hopes of finding some fall colors and also, the Yosemite waterfalls are supposed to be spectacular this year

Monday, October 17, 2011

Nothing was planned for today as we wait for Sharon and Martin to arrive. We got up this morning and took a 2.8 mile walk around the golf course. The morning was crystal clear, birds were chattering away in the trees and there was a sweet smell of sage, prairie grass and oak tree blossoms in the air. The two photos above were taken from our balcony.

 

Sharon and Martin arrived at 3:30, after an 8.5 hour drive from Big Bear Lake. This evening will be the beginning of our historic card games. We have already had much discussion about sightseeing, but the big question is, “When does the game start?



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

This morning we left the timeshare at 8:00 a.m. to drive up to Yosemite National Park. After a mis-direction by the GPS and ending up on 16 miles of dirt road, we arrived in the valley about 11:30. As we entered the park we stopped at Bridalveil Falls, the Village, and Lower Yosemite Falls. After spending the day in the Park, we returned to Angels Camp at 6:00 p.m., a light dinner and the Hand & Foot card game resumed. This evening the ladies ended beating the guys by a little over 1000 points. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Our excursion today took us into Murphys, another quaint old town on Highway 49. The Murphys Historic Hotel marks the center of town and has attracted guests from all over the world since it was built in 1856. Cactus Jacks Dawgs is a well known spot to get your hot dog any way you want it. Martin and I had a Italian Sausage Dog wit grilled onions and peppers. It was delicious! Calaveras County is the home the annual frog jumping contest and as such, has frogs as a central theme wherever you are. Frog sculptures abound. Donna tried kissing one in hopes of finding her Prince, but alas, she is still stuck with me. The plaque above depicts the winning frog in 2000. He jumped 20’ 9 1/4”.

 

After Murphys, the ladies dropped the guys off at the condo and drove back into Angels Camp to look a some shops. While they were gone I began the preparation of dinner BBQ’d Shish Kebobs, and fresh green salad. As soon as the gals came in the Kebobs went into the BBQ. It turned out to be a very enjoyable meal.

 

The evening was spent playing cards as the guys kept an eye on the first game of the World Series.



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Thursday, October 20, 2011

    Continuing our quest for historic towns of the gold rush era, we drove to Columbia and Sonora today.Columbia was established in 1850 by a handful of gold miners and was originally called American Camp. The lack of  a proper water supply limited  hydraulic mining and by 1860 the easily placer mined gold was all but gone. Even though continuously populated, the town began a rapid decline, suffered several fires and by 1945 was established as a State Park.

    Sonora was established in 1848 by miners from Sonora, Mexico and soon developed into a major business and cultural center on the 49er trail.

    We also visited the Mark Twain cabin. The cabin was actually owned by the Gillis brothers and Mark Twain visited them for three months in 1865-1865 and it’s where he penned a short story about a jumping frog, which brought him much recognition.

   After a fine grilled steak dinner this evening,  our card game of Hand N’ Foot took a downward spiral as the gals jumped ahead of us guys by several thousand points.



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Friday, October 21, 2011

    Today we slept in a bit, then cooked a wholesome breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon; a great way to start the day. After a round of cards we split up a bit, Sharon, Martin, and Donna going back into Sonora to shop antique stores and boutiques, while Rex stayed at the condo reading, updating this blog, and resting his knee (Yes, the one that is going to be replaced on October 31st.).

    For dinner a very tasty pizza from a local prize winning pizzeria, salad, and watermelon. And of course the card game. The guys are coming up woefully short on this trip and we are 4000 + points behind.

 

    There were just enough sparse clouds drifting in and out of the hills this evening to make for a spectacular sunset. A perfect way to end a relaxing week and Angels Camp’s way of saying, “Thank you for visiting and hoping to see you back some day.”

 

    Tomorrow morning we pack up and head our separate ways: Rex and Donna back to Santa Maria; Sharon and Martin to Ferndale to visit their daughter and grand children. We  hope you enjoyed traveling along with us through this blog.