Monday, March 28, 2011 - started in Loomis, Placer County, California.
El Dorado Hills – Latrobe Road. Stopped to check out some large oak trees on hills with green grass. Spotted a hawk feeding in a field. The hawk flew to a telephone pole and wasn’t bothered by the passing cars. I was hoping he would stick around, but he made one fly over then took off over the hills. Following the old photo adage of “always look behind you” I spotted a nice composition of green hill, trees, and muddy vehicle track.
Oak Trees on a Hill - El Dorado County, Calif
We got off the “highway” and went exploring on Cothrin Ranch Road and spotted a nice waterfall near Gold Creek Road. The water was really flowing thanks to all the recent rain that California experienced and we shot the waterfall from a good distance away as the waterfall was on private land.
We continued to explore along Bullard Drive and worked our way over to S Shingle Road. There are a lot of nice horse farms and few vineyards in this area that could provide nice opportunities. We made a stop in Plymouth for lunch at a local pizza establishments and then continued to Fiddletown via Fiddletown Road. Fiddletown is a unique rustic, Gold Rush type town that also would be worth exploring. We traveled to Highway 88 via Shake Ridge Road.
Heading northeast on Highway 88 we started encountering snow along the side of the road around 3,000 feet elevation. By the time we reached the Mormon Emigrant Trail turn-off there was several feet of snow on the ground and we were traveling thru a plowed “tunnel” with the only view on either side being the snow bank that the snow plows keep cut back. We made a quick stop at the Kit Carson pass and the only thing visible at the parking area and ranger station was a path to the door of the public restroom. We took a few photos at Caples Lake where the lakeside resort and cabins was closed due to the vast amounts of snow. We also checked out the Kirkwood Resort area and my brother was amazed at the lack of skiers despite the abundance of great snow.
Snow at Mormon Emigrant Trail - March 28, 2011
We continued on Highway 88 passing through Hope Valley which was a totally different scene than it was a few years back when we explored the area in search of fall colors. We headed northwest on Highway 89 and headed toward Echo Summit on Highway 50. We travelled down Highway 50 and made a short stop at a great Italian coffee and gelato shop in Placerville. Continuing down Highway 50 we continued back to Loomis via Folsom Lake and Granite Bay.
Of course, at the end of the day some of my favorite images were made right at my brother's house in Loomis!
Japanese Magnolia blooms - Loomis, California
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