Tuolumne and Calaveras counties road diary: June 3 - 6
Monday, June 3
Leave Oakland (57 degrees) 10:30. Out on Highway 24 and down 680 to Livermore.
Reach CA 120 (Yosemite Highway) an hour later, and Oakdale (self-proclaimed "Cowboy Capital of the World") at 12:15.
Stop for lunch at Cahoot's Cafe, leave at 1 (80 degrees, time for some A/C).
Into foothills on east side of Central Valley; snow-capped Sierras become visible.
Also storm clouds; have brought umbrella but not much else for rain.
At Yosemite Junction 1:40, turn for Chinese Camp.
Sign advertises "Local bees".
Reach collection of 19th Century buildings from Gold Rush era at Chinese Camp.
Walk around for half an hour viewing and photographing the old paths (once city streets) and structures.
Back on Highway 49 into Jamestown and Sonora (92 degrees at 4:30).
Find B&B atop Knowles Hill. After a little effort (no one is around) are let in and carry luggage up to room.
A very pleasant place, though with a couple of hints that suggest, don't discuss religion and politics.
Biblical verses in Hebrew and English on every door frame, and their web page says their son "became autistic after his 18-month vaccines". Hmm.
But we normally avoid those subjects anyway and the visit runs smoothly.
Photograph beautiful Tuolumne County courthouse on hillside; a local lady shows me the best place to stand.
Dinner at Yoshoku in downtown Sonora; a tiny place like a luncheonette, but excellent Japanese food.
Tuesday, June 4
Dawn comes early to foothills in June; wakened by light at 5; get up and pull blinds down.
Up at 7, begin to stir, find coffee downstairs.
At 8, are served a breakfast that makes Downton Abbey look like Denny's in a "breakfast room" straight out of Jane Austen; very elegant.
Drive up to San Andreas; faultless. Find history museum and 1850 courthouse; take many pix.
Museum has much more. Was old courthouse earlier, where Black Bart was tried and convicted; also old jail.
Hall of Records has a four-function computer "The Millionaire" from 1900.
Lunch at old movie theater, then drive down to newest courthouse; that makes 5 in Calaveras County total over time.
Chief Calaveras County judge bars all photos of new courthouse, even from parking lot.
Out of respect for the office, I will not call him a paranoid fool.
Sheriff's deputy shoos us away, but not before this. Read it and weep, judge baby.
Back to Sonora via Parrott's Ferry Road past trailhead to Natural Bridges trail.
Have taken 277 photos so far; much sorting lies ahead.
Dinner at Casadora Mexican restaurant. OK but not great.
Wednesday, June 5
Drive up to Natural Bridges trailhead around 11.
Proceed about ten feet and return to car for walking sticks.
Path slopes steeply over rocky terrain for 100-200 yards, then descends gently through sun and shade amid live oaks and other vegetation.
Including a prodigious amount of poison oak, which was mostly kept away from the trail.
(Spoiler alert: we had some near misses, but managed to avoid the stuff.)
Many trees and flowers in bloom: buckeye, deep purple larkspur, brodiaea, clarkia, manzanita.
Just above Coyote Creek path steepens again; walking stick vital.
The draw here is that the creek runs through a natural tunnel - not sure how long but did not see daylight - with water dripping/pouring down from ceiling of rock.
Lots of adults & kids splashing about; too shallow to swim.
Return to picnic table above creek and have apples, grapes, cheese; intend to have "real" lunch at Columbia.
Which we do, after toiling back up to the car and driving to the state historical park there.
Many 19th-C establishments re-created there: blacksmith shop, bank, mining supplies.
Have lunch at Columbia Hotel: modern Cobb salads.
Then walk around the town. Well done IMHO; not a Disneyland at all as we feared.
Buy some handmade soaps for neighbors who are watching our house while we're away.
Return to B&B in Sonora; shower, upload day's photos, and go out to dinner.
The Diamondback Grill is a pleasant place; mostly burgers, but we have grilled salmon and a flatiron steak salad.
Still very hot outside; return to B&B to rest.
Thursday, June 6
Up early, after ten hours of sleep; yesterday was a busy and energetic day for us.
Begin packing vast amount of spread-out possessions in room. It was good to have plenty of drawers to store stuff in and not have to live out of our suitcases; but it means a scavenger hunt on the last morning.
Hit the road around 10; through appealing foothills east of Oakdale, then industrial wasteland near Tracy (a model for Mordor) and home by 2:10.
Main trip page