Rock gardening

Rocks of all shapes and sizes at Caples Lake near the Carson Pass, Highway 88.
Rocks of all shapes and sizes at Caples Lake near the Carson Pass, Highway 88.
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, […]
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 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 […]
Sometimes I have to look really hard to find the beauty that inspires me to use my camera. And other times, the beauty just pops up at me unexpectedly, where I least expect it. Like the oleanders I had just trimmed and tossed into the green waste bin. Or the late afternoon sun glowing orange on the side of a […]
Photographed April 2021 at Empire Mine State Historic Park, Grass Valley.