Beer, Frogs & Lakes - CA

Coloma, CA
Ponderosa Thousand Trails Resort

We spent 2024 in Alaksa, and I will be jumping back and forth to include the rest of our time there but also not get behind in our 2025 travels.                                                                         

What do frogs and Mark Twain have in common?  I'll get back to that later in the blog when we spend the day learning more about it.

While back in Placerville we got to spend some time with friends we hadn't seen since early last year before our 2024 Alaska Adventure.  

We had our much-loved dinner at our usual Mexican Restaurant with Doug & Deanna.  Great times.  We also got to spend time with Jim & Jenny at the Burning Barrel Brewery.

The decor was full of large wood tables and counters which were beautiful.

This large mural of a wolf contained smaller animals and nature inside of it.  Pretty neat.

Everyone loved the bear and Jenny and I enjoyed our Italian Sodas.

They are also known for their unique chicken wings.  We shared 4 different styles and they all were delicious.

We took the fun 1 mile hike nearby when the weather finally stopped raining.  This cute trail is known for dinosaur toys that are hidden along the way for the kiddos.  It meanders through the pines, manzanita and madrone to the American River.  It packs a lot of interest in just a mile.  We also wanted to find an interesting geocache that was hidden here.  You had to find a tiny homemade computer and figure out how to win a numbers game to find the final stage.  It took us WAY too long and we had to call the creator to figure it out!  Geez, I used to write simple computer programs for homework like this but could not figure this one out.

Finally, we got sick of the rain and cold fog and decided to move towards the valley to camp at some of the reservoirs there where it is a bit warmer.

Our destination was a 2-hour drive south to New Hogan Reservoir.  Along the way we crossed the one lane bridge over the Pardee Dam on the Pardee Reservoir.  It is 345 feet high and about 1/3 of a mile long.  It was a little narrow for the truck and trailer.  I'm glad Steve was driving.

A video driving over the dam.  It's a long way down on the other side!

Valley Springs, CA

Acorn Campground

This COE campground is one of several on the many lakes in this region.  This one is small and was fairly well kept.  The weather was nice and sunny but winter temperatures on the cooler side.  Summers here in the central valley of California are very hot.  We had not camped here before so it was nice to visit and check it out.  I'm sure the weekends and summers are packed.  It's a very tight fit for our size and the sites are some of the most uneven I've seen anywhere.  We'd probably not come back.

Our first night we chose a spot that was one of the few that we could fit in and somewhat level.  We had plenty of wildlife visiting us.  We're not too thrilled though and we'll decide if we stay longer than a couple of days.  This is site #1.  There are no utilities but there is water spigots spaced throughout and a dump station. $10 for us with our Senior. Pass.

The next day Steve saw one of the only other people here, were leaving.  They had the best spot nearest the water with a long site.  We moved and spent the rest of the week in site #15.

The water level was still on the lower side as they keep it this way in the winter.  This allows for plenty of room for snow melt in the spring.

I tried to find out some info on what type of rocks these are that are all around the lake level at this time.  They look like slanted tombstones and were very interesting.  I could not find any info though. 

We mostly relaxed and watched the sun rise and set.

You could drive these back roads forever passing through interesting named towns from the old mining days.  There are historical markers all over.  Some show where gold mines once flourished and some where attempted stagecoach robberies happened.  We packed a lunch and made day trips of it.

Angels Camp, CA

Glory Hole Rec Area

The next lake south is New Melones.  There are many small campground loops in this BLM area. The roads and campsites are much nicer here than at New Hogan.  Like the other, there are no utilities, spaced out water spigots (threaded), bathrooms, showers and a dump station.  However, the dump station was closed during our visit.  The sites are much longer and level.  The views are wonderful as you are on top of the steep hillsides.  Walking down to the lake is almost impossible though.  You'd have to drive to one of the marinas or day use areas to get closer or to launch your kayak.

We were on site #21, $11 with our Senior Pass.  This is 1/2 off.  Great deal!

We had great sunsets.  The planets were all lining up and we tried our best to get a picture of some of them.  

One of our day trips was to go to the nearby town of Murphys.  We passed several pioneer cemeteries and old barns on the way.

The town itself was founded in 1848 and is rich in goldrush history with art galleries, eclectic shops, charm, great eateries and plenty of wineries.  The town has a population of about 2000.

Murphys Motel was our lunch destination.  We ordered 3 different appetizers to split.  Great food.  Then we walked around the town and found some new things we hadn't noticed before.

I'm sure most of you have heard of the more well-known community service type organizations like the Elks Lodge, The Masons or the Odd Fellows, but have you heard of the Clampers?  E Clampus Vitis is a fraternal organization dedicated to the heritage and preservation of the Western United States. Especially the motherlode and gold mining regions.  There is an active club here in Murphys.  Being a benevolent organization, they gave aid to fellow miners, their widows and children.  They don't take themselves overly serious.  They are a bit more rowdy, but generous none the less.  Many historical markers you see in California, if not elsewhere, are donated by the Clampers. 

If you want to read a short synopsis of who they are you can see the short read, HERE.

I wanted to stop here in Murphys again to get some of my favorite Olive Oil, which I did.

Another day trip took us to Angels Camp, just a few miles from the campground.  It's another fascinating goldrush town.  We've spent a little time in many of these towns, but there is always something more to see and do.

Like other towns who have certain "things" that represent their town, Angels Camp is known for its frogs.  You'll find their version of a Walk of Fame on the sidewalks.  The famous frogs from each year.

Why frogs?  What does Mark Twain have to do with this?  We thought we'd take a quick visit through the town's local museum/visitor center.  It was a small building.  How long could it take?  It was very deceiving. There were more large buildings behind it, down the hill.  What a great place it turned out to be.  We spent a couple of hours there.  They seemed to have a lot of interesting things that were just a little different than more typical items you'd see in a museum in this area.  Most of what they had was donated by local families over the years.  

It looks small from the front, but plan on spending a couple of hours.

Wow.  $5000 if you break the world record!

The first modern frog jump started in 1928 and became a permanent part of the Fair in 1930.  They take their frog very serious here!  There is a nice display outside with a timeline from the beginning.  

World Record since 1986!

Getting back to Mark Twain.  The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain.  He came here to research for it.  It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention.

Silly me.  I remember his real name as Mark Twain.  You think being born and raised in California, I'd know this as we read his books in school.

I can't remember if this was for gambling or a gum machine?  Either way it was very interesting.

The volunteer person was from town and full of information.  His knowledge really added to our visit.

We loved the old cars, trucks and specialty vehicles like this Dodge Firetruck from 1925.

People wonder if they were Jewish after seeing this badge.  The Dodge Brothers were not Jewish but their logo did look like the Star of David. They never said why they chose that design.  After passing away in 1920 the star was discontinued.

There were some very interested coaches and buggies.  We loved this fancy one that ran to Placerville.

If you look on this fancy carriage, they used leather instead steel which made for a much smoother ride.

The restored paint job was really detailed.

Picture on the door of Coloma, where gold was discovered a few miles north of Placerville, starting the famous Gold Rush of 1849.

The wheels on logging wagons were sometimes made of solid wood to make them stronger.

In another building were so many groups of personal belongings.

This was a glass eye that was actually used.

An old black bear coat.

John Studebaker was very popular in this area. He was born in 1833 in Gettysburg, PA.  He moved west to Placerville during the Gold Rush and started making wheelbarrows before later starting up the Studebaker Car Company.  The difficult wheelbarrow obstacle course held during the Placerville Fair is fun to watch.  Three of our four kids have participated in it.  Brennan took 2nd place.  He would've taken 1st but slowed down right at the end and he passed out after crossing the finish line due to dehydration.  This brought him to the Emergency Room for a short stay.  Shane took 1st with a friend in a team competition and Kaylee took 1st in her age group competition. (proud Mom :-)

Popcorn Wagon from the 1890s.

An "RV" from the 1800s!

An old hearse.

This window is from the old St. Patrick's Catholic Church built in 1902.

There were tons of horseshoes but I really liked these unique ones that were made for swamps and snow.  The wood below was part of the snowshoes for horses.

Angles Quartz Mine Waterwheel

Giant Sequoia.  The Calaveras Big Trees State Park is nearby which has a popular stand of sequoias.

So much tractor and farm equipment as well as minerals, rocks and mining equipment.

I had high hopes for a roundtrip drive that would take us over a couple of bridges on the lake way back down an arm of the lake that eventually begins at the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River.

The lake portion ends here.

I knew Steve would not be happy about the more remote part of the drive when he asked me, what is the name of the road on the other side of the river?  It was FS3N03.  That means Forest Service. Typically dirt.  He said he didn't like the sound of that and he wanted to see it on the map.  I knew he definitely wouldn't like that.  Any time he sees switchbacks he balks.  After our picnic lunch we gave it a go.  We didn't get too far.  It was dirt, very narrow and steep with no pullover areas.  After a harrowing 1/2 mile getting passed by 4 off-roaders, we decided to make a 10-point turn around and come back the way we came.  I don't blame him.  It was pretty scary and we hadn't even made it to the switchbacks.  Plus daylight was wearing off.  Definitely more of a place for a razor/side by instead of a huge dually.

The next day we drove the opposite way down Italian Bar Road to see how far we could get from the other side.  Loved this sign closer to town before the rough stuff.  Turns out it wasn't far.  U-turn time.

Just outside of Columbia we came upon this old brewery while looking for a geocache.  The Brixel Brewery of 1852 was built on a spring that has since dried up.  They made a special steam beer.  Gardens and outdoor music were the centerpiece back then.  Somewhere around 1910 during WWII, the Bixel's great granddaughter donated all of the pieces of metal to the war effort.  And that was that.

All that remains is the mash room and the furnace.

Can you spot the typo?

We had some great sunsets here.

It was great to have a campfire.  We hadn't had one since our Alaska Trip.

Before we wrap up these 2 weeks, we drove into the Bay Area to visit our Meatball!  Oh, the traffic.

  

We brought him a Monster Truck Race Track which he loved.

Papa and Dad setting it up.

Meatball on the Racetrack!

  

Our final day we went to Sizzling Lunch.  You choose your item and it comes to you in a very hot pan.  You move your meats and veggies around and cook them to how you like it.  You then choose your own sauces tableside.  It was really good.

And lastly, someone went for a professional beard and haircut.  No more beard for now.