I have one final entry for my rusty metal series! These images were shot in June and July 2021 at a variety of locations in Amador, El Dorado, and Calaveras counties. The Argonaut Mine, located within the small town of Jackson (Amador County) was in operation from 1850 until 1942. In 1922 the state’s “deadliest recorded mining disaster” occurred there, […]
More images of the rusted machinery at Angels Camp Museum in Calaveras County. Shot in late June 2021.
You might want to have a nice big glass of cool water handy while you watch this episode of California’s Golden Parks from 2008. There’s not a whole lot of it to be found in these unique and beautiful — if dry — desert locations. The state’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has designated the Trona Pinnacles as an Area […]
When I visited the Angels Camp Museum in Calaveras County, before I even stepped inside one of their exhibit buildings I found a whole yard full of historic machinery, some of it clearly rescued from rusty oblivion. I could recognize a few of the pieces; the old generator from the Utica powerhouse looks very similar to those I’ve seen in […]
I only just realized that I completely messed up the mid-June blog post about my visit to Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park in Jackson, so I thought I should try again and hopefully get it right this time. I do want to thank all the people who clicked “Like” on the original version!
Since I live only a short drive away from the site of Mormon Island 1 (normally located under the waters of Folsom Lake since 1955, except during drought years), it may be only natural that driving along Iron Mountain Road, near Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, always gets me wondering exactly why this route is known as the Mormon […]
Even though we’re in a drought this summer, I still found plenty of colorful flowers growing in the high mountains of El Dorado County in late July. I’ve used the Google Lens app to tentatively identify a few of them.
If you’re looking to really “get away from it all,” you can’t get much more remote than Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park! When this episode of Golden Parks aired in 2006, the number of visitors was only about 4,000 people per year. You’re more likely to see a bear or other wildlife than another camper. And there are no roads […]
It’s very easy to miss Bridal Veil Falls as you travel along Highway 50 just east of Pollock Pines. I overshot the first time, so I made sure not to miss the spot on my way back home later in the afternoon. Happily, there’s plenty of parking space by the road. Of course, in late July the waterfall wasn’t nearly […]