Angels Camp, California

The past two days have been driving days, and we've covered a lot of mileage since leaving Desert Hot Springs. There was a rather dramatic sunset the last evening we were there as the clouds moved in for more rain.

As we were pulling out of the park on Thursday morning, a roadrunner ran across the road in front of us. I only caught him as he ran under one of the RV's. It's not a great picture, but I wanted you to see him anyway.

They are large birds, nearly as big as a small chicken. Here's another one I caught with my camera when we were visiting Palo Duro State Park in Texas a few years ago.

It was obviously a bright sunny day when we saw that guy...but getting back to SoCal, the rain came down. It rained and rained and rained, and it was a downright terrible day for driving.

It was interstate driving most of the day, but eventually, we turned off to more tranquil scenery as we entered the agricultural area in the San Joaquin valley. We saw a lot of citrus that day. I tried to capture some of the orange trees, loaded with fruit, but my pictures were all a blur.

We spent the night at a county campground. There was time to get started on the eighth snowflake. Yes...the snowflake won out over hand quilting. I'll get back to the hand quilting eventually, but the snowflakes have my heart for the time being. I've stitched even more since taking the picture below.

The kitties were tired after a long day of driving. I don't think they get much daytime napping on driving days. Sadie was curled up on her window perch. She was letting her tail hang over the side, like Smitty does. Her tail is less impressive than his, but she keeps hoping.

Smitty was about ready to join her, but he likes cooling his tummy on the floor first.

When we left the campground yesterday morning, I was taken in by this pastoral scene on the hillside behind us.

It was another day of driving...this time up CA99, which is a road listed on our "Roads Not To Travel" list. We drove south on this road about five years ago, and it was so bumpy and rough, we vowed never to do it again. Still, years later, it was the fastest way to reach our final destination, and so we decided to give it another chance. We noted all the places we could bail off and get over to Interstate 5, but that turned out not to be necessary. The road is much improved since our previous trip, and we stayed on our route the whole distance. It was improved enough that we took it off our list of roads not to travel.

Along the way, we caught just the tail end of the almond trees in bloom. They are mostly leafed out already and their flower petals can be seen scattered on the ground beneath them.

The weather was much better from the day before. Everything is terrifically green.

As we approached our turn-off, we saw this crop duster. We watched him cross the road, turn back, drop his load...

And then he pulled up just as he reached the road right in front of us.

He was dusting some kind of fruit tree. We also saw mustard in bloom.

And finally, we're back into an area where we can see some barns. It's been quite a while since I've posted any barns.

Mainly, we just saw wide open spaces.

Getting even closer to our final destination, we saw these bovine beauties marching single file across the hillside.

Our last turn off was here. Head 'em up...Move 'em out! Rollin', rollin', rollin... (And if you're too young to understand that reference, then shut up.)

Okay, so we're here in Angels Camp for the next four nights...three now. We're expecting rain 100% of the time...heavy rain...which is kind of a bummer. I may have misspoken in an earlier post if I said we were here to visit three ghost towns. They are not "ghost towns," they are gold rush era towns, and there is a lot of history in this area. It will mean donning our rain gear and doing some walking up and down historic main streets, and so the rain is particularly unwelcome for this. Oh well. That's how it goes sometimes. But we are intrepid Oregonians. Rain? What rain?

On our drive here, we passed by the Mark Twain cabin just was we crossed the boundary into Calaveras County. We didn't know it was here, but happened upon it by accident. This is actually a replica of the original cabin. The cabin burned in the late 1800s, and only the stone chimney and fireplace were left. This replica was built in its place in the 1920's.

(image source)

It was here that he wrote "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which launched his career as a writer. It was inspired by a story about a jumping frog he heard in a saloon right here in Angels Camp. He went on to write 26 books before his death in April, 1910. I often wish I'd been alive to know the man. I imagine he was a hoot. Also, he was a cat lover, and therefore, a kindred spirit. He once wrote: “When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.” Here's a picture of him with his kitten found on the internet.

(Image Attribution)

Okay...so the world has gone a little crazy since we visited Whitewater Preserve. Maybe it started even before that, but the crazy seems to be accelerating as we go along. We were finally able to score three rolls of TP here at the campground. We have plenty of TP to make it all the way home, but we're searching for something RV friendly. These rolls we got probably aren't any better than the ones we already have. Also, I have plenty at home, and so TP is the least of my worries. Nevertheless, I find myself as worried about the public panic as I am about the virus itself. And just last night a Facebook friend wrote that a family member of his had died from it. 

So all of that to say we're being super, super careful. We wash our hands coming and going from public places and we avoid touching things while we're out. We're spreading napkins out when we eat in a public venue in order to avoid touching the tables we're using, and we're avoiding touching any doors as we pass through. It's amazing how dextrous one can be just using one's elbows. So, seriously, my friends...stay safe, and be well. I want you all here with me when this passes. And it will pass.