California trip, June 21, 2013

This was our last morning at Donner Lake, and both of us went out at about 7:00 a.m. in order to take photographs of the lake in all its pristine morning glory. After breakfast, we loaded up the car and traveled from Truckee back to King's Beach on Hwy. 267, then turned left to get on SR 28 down the eastern shoreline of Lake Tahoe, also called Lakeshore Drive. We passed Incline Village first, the second largest community on Lake Tahoe and the largest on the Nevada shore. It spreads towards the mountains from the lake's NE corner. The town takes its name from the Great Incline Tramway, built in 1847 to transport logs to the crest of the Carson Range. Our Rte. 28 proceeded along the following glorious spots: Sand, Secret, and Skunk harbors; Glenbrook Bay, Zephyr Cove, Marla Bay, Stateline (the last town in Nevada before crossing back over into California), to South Lake Tahoe, our end spot yesterday evening. We did more driving on this course and less stopping, but from those spectacular vantage points which especially caught our attention, we were stopped dead in our tracks due to their splendor. From South Lake Tahoe we struck out on Rte. 50 towards Sacramento, making three stops along the way: Bridal Falls, where we stopped for a lunch in the nearby park, feasting by a lake and a small rapid downstream. A bucolic feast underneath the tall, stately redwoods and pines included sandwiches and fruit. Then we drove on to Placerville and Folsom, two former mining towns of the area. Placerville was originally called "Dry Diggin's" and became so prosperous and lawless that criminals were hanged in pairs. This practice gave rise to a new name for the rough-and-tumble settlement: "Hangtown." Located less than 10 miles from the site of the first gold discovery in California, Placerville's past is still evident in the restored late 19th c. architecture along downtown's Main Street. We walked around Main Street and took quite a few photos of the refurbished establishments, and then had a root beer float in a shop that looked like it had once been a general store. It was called the Candy Strike Emporium, and carried the oddest things like moon pies, about 25 different varieties of jelly beans, and strange and wonderful cards and memorabilia of every sort. After returning to Maureen's car, we noticed that it had warmed up considerably. We had also dropped about 5,000 ft. in elevation, so that of course was the main reason for the warming trend. Our next stop was the town of Folsom, a gold mining town dating from the 1860s. Folsom retains much of its historic character. Many restored buildings and houses of that era line Sutter Street, and they include the Wells Fargo office, the terminus of the Pony Express. We wandered all up and down Sutter Street taking pictures and looking at the railroad depot and railroad car. As it was a hot afternoon, not much of anybody was out, but around the depot a large commemorative park had been built and recently completed, complete with an outdoor stage and sporting ongoing events like cattle drives, concerts, and farmers' markets. This town really has its act together, and it was particularly well groomed and bursting with civic pride--even more so, it seemed, than its neighbor Placerville. After leaving Folsom, we proceeded on another 20 miles to Sacramento, where we are currently staying right outside that city in a Comfort Inn. We are currently in our cool room, very welcome after the sudden onslaught of heat. We are debating, but it looks like we might be going for Indian cuisine tonight, since our hotel host downstairs is from Punjab and knows the very best Indian places to eat. Maureen is a connoisseur as well, so I will leave the final decision to her. Great day! Hello to all!