Posted by Karen on 16-Oct-2009
(Click photo for all 113 photos)
Lori, Candance and I headed up to Nevada County for a fall photography day. We started our day at the Bridgeport Covered Bridge in Penn Valley. Part of the South Yuba River State Park, the bridge was built in 1862 and is the longest single-span covered bridge in the United States at 229 feet. We wandered around the area, checking out the covered bridge, the river, the historic ranch site, the cemetery, and the many squirrels and deer hanging out. We left and took the windy road opposite the one we came in on. It took us past French Corral, a semi-ghost town which was the site of one of the first long-distance telephone lines in the United States. An old 1850s Wells Fargo Bank building is all the remains of the town’s history. Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park was our next stop and the autumn colors were popping like crazy along the main street of this historic town. After enjoying the beautiful colors of the trees, we marveled at the cliffs of the area that had been created by the strip mining operations during the Gold Rush. We crossed the Yuba River at Edwards Crossing and came back to modern civilization. Somehow while trying to find a dinner spot in Grass Valley, we got turned around and ended up in the Great Republic of Rough and Ready, which is where we had dinner from the market’s deli. The market owner was a lively lady and was telling us the story of how Rough and Ready seceded from the nation in 1850, but when they went to Grass Valley to purchase booze for the upcoming 4th of July celebration, they were told that since they were foreigner’s they couldn’t buy any liquor! They all came home and promptly voted to re-join the union after only 3 days of secession. The gold miners may have liked their independence, but they sure liked their booze more!
Posted by Karen on 15-Oct-2009
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It’s been raining heavily for the last few days and today was supposed to be rain-free and warm, so what better day to head out for a hike? As Candace and I headed up to South Yuba River State Park to hike the Independence Trail, we remarked that for a “nice sunny day” it sure was foggy and wet out there and sure enough it started raining before we even started out. We donned the ponchos and headed on down the trail. A previous time I hiked this easy trail after a rain, we spotted California Newts all over the place and it was really cool, so I suggested we take the east side of the trail this time also, to maybe see some. Candace was the one to spot the first one as it was scurrying trying to get out of sight. The rain let up, but the fog still clung to the mountain sides and the raindrops on the plants gave us plenty of photo opportunities. We stopped for a bit so Candace could practice making “fairy” water, where moving water looks are ethereal. I’d left my big camera in the SUV with the rain, so no fairy water pictures for me this trip. This is actually a very cool hike when the trail is wet, all the colors just seem to pop.
Distance: approx. 4.5 miles
Posted by Karen on 23-Jul-2009
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Candace and I went exploring today and learned maps may show a road that really isn’t there. I found what looked like a nice trail on my National Geographics topographical software and cross checked it with Google maps and with my Garmin GPS maps, so I felt pretty confident that there was a trail there and a road to the trailhead. We head up Highway 50 and took the Peavine Ridge Road exit, as the trailhead should just be a short jaunt off the highway. Well, we see the sign that says “road ends in 3/4 mile, no turn around” and think, hmmm. Then we see the big boulders and the narrow dirt road and the steep dropoff and decide, let’s just walk from here to the trailhead. So, we backup and park at a safe spot and start walking down the dirt road. And then, as the big satellite installation truck passes us on the narrow road, again we think, hmmm. A bit later as the truck is coming back up the road, he he lets us know the road ends at the river and he shares the same frustration we had, “the GPS said the road goes through here”. Down to the river we went and a pretty river it is, but it is not one that is easily crossed without taking a swim. We decide against the swim and think maybe there is a way to cross down the other dirt road we saw. Back we go, but that road only leads to a nice camping spot a short ways away, not to a way to cross the river. Since we’re exploring, we decide to go back to the river again and crawl down the rocks and walk upstream a bit and look for a crossing there. Well, we found no crossing, but we did discover a very nice swimming hole. We then drove over to Icehouse Road to try and find the other end of the trail, but we had no luck there either. So, we picked a fire road and hiked down it for a bit. Not the hike next to the river that I’d thought I’d found on the map, but a nice hike anyways.
GPS Stats 1: • Odometer: 2.61 miles • Total Time: 2:23 • Moving Time: 0:57 • Moving Average: 2.7 mph • Overall Average: 1.1 mph
GPS Stats 2: • Odometer: 2.50 miles • Total Time: 2:02 • Moving Time: 0:59 • Moving Average: 2.5 mph • Overall Average: 1.2 mph
Posted by Karen on 08-Jul-2009
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Candace and I hiked along Deer Creek Reservoir today. I was last here two years ago with Theresa when we camped at Scotts Flat Reservoir and we learned that there was a backroad in, that was used by the local residents, so that you could avoid the campground fees if you just wanted to enjoy a dayhike. We found our way down to the reservoir and enjoyed a nice hike along the banks.
GPS Stats: • Odometer: 6.55 miles • Total Time: 5:24 • Moving Time: 2.23 • Moving Average: 2.7 mph • Overall Average: 1.2 mph
