Exploring....

 

We were ready to head north on I-80 for the Alta Hikers

Annual Christmas Party which was scheduled for last

Tuesday, but it snowed and the roads were closed.

Our exploration would take us past familiar haunts along the way.

As we headed out, a neighbor pulled up with a load of snow and

their visiting grand kids proceeded to have a massive

snow ball fight.   No it doesn't snow in Citrus Heights, the

elevation is only 167'.  So if you want snow, you go get it

by the pickup load full.

 

Today was the shortest day of the year... sunrise 7:20 a.m. and

sunset 4:44 p.m.  

Along the way we decided to stop in Colfax, elevation 2432'

and visit the place where we lived for 28 years before

moving to AZ in April of 2019 after we sold our

 home and the 80 acre parcel it sat on!!! 

The "locked gate" we installed at the edge of our property

was still there and locked... 

just as it always was when we lived there. 

And this picture shows you an aerial photo that our son-in-law took

from his drone.   On the left is that driveway coming up the hill...  if you got

thru that locked gate.  We had about 3 acres cleared

between the house and the brush line.  There was place to park our 5th wheel,

 a couple of  storage sheds, a place to park our pick-up and my car.

But since we couldn't get past that locked gate,

we  turned around and headed east on I-80 one more time...

I couldn't resist a photo of the train trestle, complete with

a train crossing it.

Remains of the snow storm last week were still visible

as was a beautiful blue sky as we took the

turn-off to Dutch Flat  Elevation 3144"

The Christmas Party Luncheon was held at the Ewings.

Check out that beautiful sky and those pine trees!!!   It was cold

and foggy when we left Citrus Heights about an hour before.

Inside it was cozy and warm & beautifully decorated!!

About 22 of us pigged out on all the wonderful homemade

soups, breads and deserts 

& sipped on all types of beverages; coffee,

decaf, water, rose wine and even Champagne!!!

And no one was shy about returning to that buffet table,,,

No Cooking Tonight!!!

Yippee...

This was the weather forecast for the next week in

Citrus Heights...

and this sums up the Dutch Flat forecast... You can

tell the difference, 7 days of rain in Colfax and 7 days

of snow in Dutch Flat.   

"Fall" into Winter

Our next door neighbor June (center) invited the residents

on our street to a "meet & greet" to welcome us to the neighborhood.

She served us all homemade cookies and coffee.

Fall is falling and it has been not stop falling leaves for the 

past 2 months.

The gardeners came and started out front by 

trimming the Crape Myrtle tree...

Then they blew and bagged the leaves all the way around the house... 

down the driveway,

off the front steps...

around the house and

finished up with the back yard.

Since we did so much supervising around the yard we needed

a change of pace... time to walk around the little lake 

(which has been featured in prior blogs).

The ducks were being antisocial... and it was pretty much "heads down"

as they looked for something to eat!!!

So I tried to sneak up on an Egret on a post, who was watching it's "Mom"

sneak up on a fish by squatting low then 

 

 

standing tall

I got too close and it took off.

As we headed home on foot. we toured the neighborhood. 

And there they were Christmas Ducks (you can tell by

their orange webbed feet).

The Penguin helicopter pilot made a soft landing to

deliver gifts at 6154 (not us)...

while a polar bear enjoyed a back rub in the sunshine.

And many snowmen of all sizes and shapes

waved as we passed by  

as did a friendly polar bear cub who stood on his hind legs 

so we wouldn't miss seeing him.  Obviously we didn't.

All this put us in the spirit so we went home and started the process

by decorating our fireplace...  

Looks like Christmas day a week from Sunday

is going to be a wet one... with a low of 43 and a high of 48.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.🎄

Always on Tuesday

I began hiking with a group in the Sierra Foothills

when we lived in Colfax CA.  

Actually the group started in 1989.  I joined the group in 1999.

That was 22 years ago.  When we lived in AZ friends

would often ask me what I missed most about not living in CA

and told me that my answer couldn't be family!!!

So, I always told them  "Tuesdays when I hiked with the

Alta Hikers".   Our motto was "always on Tuesday".

This past Tuesday, Don and I drove to Auburn CA

(about 30 minutes from home) and joined the Alta Hikers...

every one of those vehicles was filled with hikers plus

a few dogs!!!

 We were hiking near the confluence of the north and middle forks 

of the American River and specfically 

the Middle fork of the American River Quarry Trail.  

Don and I hiked the short portion of the hike 

1.3 miles out and 1.3 miles back which was a wide level and

easy round trip since neither of us had hiked for several years.

The trail went along the right side of the middle fork of the American River.

The American River originates in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains just west of 

Lake Tahoe, in the Tahoe and El Dorado National Forests. Its three main forks;

the South, Middle and North.

Along the way their water, rapids, lakes and 

reservoirs provide recreation, power and irrigation for 

northern California. Whether you are looking for whitewater action,

 calm-water paddling, fishing a clear lake or hiking along a 

cool stream, you’ll find a place to love on all forks of the

American River.

One of the highlights of our hike was visiting the Old Quarry,

which featured an old Gold Rush flume (a man made

channel) used to convey and harness the power of the river water

for hydraulic gold mining operations, which looked like this...

back in the day!!!

The remains of the Quarry now looks like this.

As you can see there are lots of hiking trail options in

this area.  The rest of the group went on while we hung out

around the Quarry.

Then we headed up hill a short way to look more 

closely at the entrance to one of the mine shafts.

Don was checking out geocaches in the area, but one of the

clues for the one in this area was "elevation" and we weren't 

hiking up a steep sidehill to the right to find it!!

Part of this trail was later used as the 

Mountain Quarries railroad which transported limestone from

 the adjacent quarry.  

As we headed back to the car I took the short video of 

the Middle Fork of the American River.  You can see

how low the water is.

Then the Foresthill Bridge, as always, caught my eye.  

It soars 730 feet above the stream 

bed of the American River's North Fork.

It has a length of 2428' and is the 

 3rd highest bridge in the United States and the tallest in California. 

The bridge opened for public use on Labor Day, 1973.

And this shows you the Confluence... the  point where the

North fork (left) and the Middle fork (right) join one another.

The trail we hiked was along the right edge of the Middle fork.

See that lower bridge a short ways up the North fork... well

in 1995 flood waters carried a lot of debris down stream that

jammed up under the Old Foresthill Road Bridge, which

had to be rebuilt due to damage caused by the flood waters.

A fun hiking day for us with lots of memories, new & old.

We look forward to more Tuesday hikes with the Alta Hikers.