Calaveras County, California

Have you ever walked into a place and instantly known it was a mistake? 

This is what happened when we walked into the restaurant next to our hotel in Angel's camp.  There was nothing else open and we were hungry so we sat down for a disappointing meal in a Denny's like restaurant that had been thrown up on by a sports team.

Fortunately, this was our only disappointing part of our trip to Calaveras county. Other than our day wine tasting in Murphy's, we went to Moaning Caverns, where I got to do my first cave tour. 

The drive to the caverns was long and winding, just the sort of drive that James loves. We made so many turns that our then pre smartphones gps device kept thinking we were driving off the road. Even having it track us, there were moments I swore we were lost. Still, we made it to the caverns alright. There this cute little gifts shop where they also do kid oriented programs where kids can mine for gems and pan for gold.

It was an exciting experience for me, never having been in a cave. I also look pretty awesome in a hard hat. We did the walking tour, but I'm really interested in going back to repel in the cave.

The geology is very interesting to see in person. Things I had learned in science came to life. It's one of those places I will take my kids to enrich their education. 

We went in April, so the weather was nice and cool outside in addition to the cool temperatures that always exist in caves. Although small in size, we had a lot of fun for a weekend away.

Murphy's, California

I never really imagined that I'd be the wine tasting kind of person. I don't even remember it having crossed my mind, but ever since our first wine tasting trip to Murphy's, California, we've both been hooked. 

We somehow wandered into a wine tasting event in the spring where you could buy a wine glass or not and go tasting around the town with mostly no tasting fees. It was the perfect first experience with no worries about the cost and the opportunity to taste and discover our own tastes, in our own way. 

The Murphy's downtown is basically a long street filled with cute shops and decent food to visit in between all the drinking. We took our time making our way down the street and still managed to get tipsy.

Although we didn't end up buying anything, their shops are interesting places to explore. They range from crafty knick knacks to clothing boutiques to sweet shops and toy stores, a pretty standard selection for tourist destinations but enjoyable nonetheless.

We had lunch at the burger joint in town that had a laid back atmosphere, a notch or two above chain burger places. Their burgers were pretty good, nothing crazy or very experimental, but I remember really liking their French fries. 

We really enjoyed their wine selections. The town had a range of wine and a variety of different types of tasting rooms to experience.

We enjoyed taking a walk around the neighborhood, admiring all of the small house architecture. They also had a small park and gazebo, the perfect place to takes breaks if you happen to have young kids with you.

We thouroughly enjoyed the town and especially the wine. It was an ideal first wine tasting experience.  

Grover Hot Springs, CA

Fall has rolled around, although it's difficult to tell here in Sacramento, and we wanted to squeeze in a last camping trip for the summer. 

We has planned on visiting Pinnacles, but  the weather report said it would be in the nineties when we were there, so we decided to change gears and quickly research a new place.

I'd desperately been wanting to fit in some fall color this year so we headed out to the Sierras and lucked out that there were openings at the Grover Hot Springs campground. 

It was a decent campground, with flushing toilets and coin operated showers. We stayed at sight 74, next to the trickling stream in plenty of shade. There wasn't much privacy, but we expected that and didn't spend too much time in camp.

We did a lovely 5 mile round trip hike that took us up to the Hope Valley Overlook. At the base of the trail is a small cabin community for renters, called Sorensens. The cabins were surrounded by brilliant yellow fall color, with a walking path and seating running between them. Each cabin had their own hammock, tempting me to see if anyone would notice me hanging out when I wasn't actually staying there.

The hike itself rose around 1,000 feet, starting off amongst the beautiful fall color and leading to an impressive overlook of Hope Valley. From there we could see the spots of yellow and orange littered around the whole valley. The hike was moderate, elevating our heart rates, but not pushing us very hard. 

After a quick decent back into Sorensons, we took a drive around the valley, getting some more impressive views of fall colors and giving James a chance to take some photos in the light of the setting sun. We saw quite a lot of photographers taking portraits in the trees.

The next morning we did something uncharacteristic of us, and slept in. Then we headed over to the developed hot springs. It cost seven dollars to get in and had two pools, a changing room, shower, and bathroom. Rinsing off before hand and swimsuits were mandatory. 

There was one hot spring pool, enriched with minerals, that ran between 102 and 104 degrees farenheit. It was three feet deep and had seating all around the pool. Next to it, for when the heat got difficult to bare, was a regular swimming pool that quickly cooled us down. 

It had great views of the mountains, but the pools weren't shaded at all, which was a complaint of James, since he doesn't handle sitting in direct sun very well. 

Aside from a few kids, we were easily the youngest people there, so apparently it isn't a very hip thing to do, although we enjoyed it. Still, we prefer undeveloped hot springs, but it was the perfect little getaway before the cold sets in.

Walks at dawn

Double rainbow on the trail down to the lake

One of my most cherished camping traditions is taking a sunrise walk.  While back home I take every chance I can get to sleep past 6 am; when I'm camping I find myself out of the warm tent and into the bracing morning air as early as 5 in the morning.

There is nothing quite so peaceful as a stroll through the transition from night to dawn.  Early mornings are particularly magical in the mountains where granite peaks light up with soft alpenglow and ridges create a mesmerizing dance between shadow and light.

Twin Lakes, Bridgeport, CA

In late June of this year I made my first trip to the Eastern Sierras on a camping trip with James and his aunt and uncle.  Having spent my childhood camping in the verdant North-Western Sierras I was unused to the steep granite peaks of the High Sierra and the dry climate in the sierra rain shadow.

Our destination was the beautiful Twin Lakes near Bridgeport California and gateway to the Hoover Wilderness.  At an elevation of 7000' the two lakes lie end to end at the bottom of a steep glacially carved valley.

From 395 and the town of Bridgeport, Twin Lakes Road meanders through bucolic pastures, past a dude ranch and into the Twin Lakes Valley. Along this route to the lakes are a collection of