Here are a few images from my visit to Rossmoor Bar this morning, on the south side of the American River in Rancho Cordova. While the bike and hiking trails that run alongside the river are pleasant enough, sometimes it’s more rewarding to break away from the crowds and follow your own path.
I’m never surprised to see a deer somewhere along this Folsom path, especially since it’s very near the American River. But this was my first time encountering a coyote here. This young female sat down and looked at me, took a few minutes to ponder, and then doubled back on her trail and disappeared into the brush.
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.
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 […]
It’s been more than a year since I last hiked in this area on the south bank of the American River in Folsom, and I had been meaning to come back long before this. Partly because it’s within walking distance of my house; and partly because I was very curious to locate a mysterious hole in the rocks I had […]
I was surprised to spot this ground squirrel perched high above me on the rocks, mostly because his position left him very vulnerable to any hungry bird of prey who might come along. But the amazing view must have been well worth the risk — at least to judge from his body language and the parade of expressions marching across […]
I only caught a glimpse of this spot as we passed by, heading east on Highway 50 — but I knew immediately that I had to go back to try to capture it with my camera. A bend in the South Fork of the American River, a small bridge, and a cluster of log cabins in the shade of towering […]
We try to drive up to the mountains at least once a year in the summertime; it’s a great way to get out of the house and away from the valley heat, if only for a few hours. I don’t believe we made one of these day trips last year, but a couple of days ago we headed “up the […]