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[JCZ]

Terrie and I went for a morning ride up in the gold country.  We left Elk Grove via Wilton.....only a couple of miles from the house.



We passed Rancho Seco nuclear power plant.  It's deactivated now however, they still have all the fuel rods there.  I think it's been closed for ten or fifteen years.....not sure if they even have a long term plan for the spent nucler rods.







This time of the morning most bikes are headed up into the hills, not down out of them.






As usual, two lane roads and small ol' gold mining towns were the order for the day.........
This is the sleepy little town of Ione.  About the only thing going there now days is a couple bars, a couple restaurants, a couple stores and a large men's prison.





Soon we arrive in Jackson.  Two old two lane highways intersect in this town....Hwy. 88 which runs east and west and Hwy. 49 (the gold country highway of 1849......thus it's number) which runs north and south.  Jackson actually has a couple active gold mines closed to the public and operating as a mining business.  They also have a couple of mines that are inactive and open to the public, even though they both still have gold in them.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them closed to the public in the near future, if the price of gold keeps climbing.



Main St. is a real ghost town on Sunday mornings......



But we did find out where the geezers hang out.....



We stopped at the edge of town for gas and then a little bite to eat.  We made a mental note to remember this place.....the ombience, food and prices were all great!   Thomi's Breakfast & Pastries however, they had a nice looking lunch and dinner menu as well.  Terrie made a comment "no wonder it's the only place in town that's packed on a Sunday".........I figured the churches probably were too.

[JCZ]

We pressed on, further up in the hills.....



Many of the Nor Cal group have been to Electra Rd. beach with me over the years.  It's on the Mokelumne River just off of Hwy. 49.  It's back in about 4 miles on a road that the goats try to avoid, less than a lane wide at points and is a dead end road at the powerhouse dam (owned by the utility company).  The utility company has put in pit toilets, tables and b-b-q's at several of the beaches along the road.  It's a white water river but the beach all they way at the back is a large sandy beach surrounded by many trees, crystal clear water that you can see huge trout in and just a fed degrees above freezing (melted snow run off).




The only calm streatch of the river, due to it being almost flat and no large bolders in the river, is under the Hwy. 49 bridge.  Amazing the difference in the rive a mile up or down river.







the little gold mining town of Mokelumne Hill....







Leaving Moke Hill, as the locals call it, we get on Hwy. 26 East (not "the 26"!) and further on up in the hills....

[JCZ]

Next town we came to was West Point, where they'll have the annual Lumberjack Days Oct. 1, 2011.  This looks like it would be a fun event to attend (anybody inerested??).....  http://www.leendee.com/LJDays/ljdays.html.... http://www.gocalaveras.com/lumberjack-days 

[JCZ]

Plymouth, Ca. was our next stop.  Just took a little break in the town park, drink Gatorade and visited for awhile....









Home is only about 25 miles from here and it's up in the mid 90's today so we're headed back to the barn....

















Mackey Rd. is just down the street from our home.....just a beautiful tree lined street that's a welcome ride when it's in the triple digits....

[JR]

Beautiful pictures JC! Looked like an awesome day to ride! Thanks for sharing, God Bless!

[OhioDave]

Beautiful pictures JC! Looked like an awesome day to ride! Thanks for sharing, God Bless!

 

[spydglide]

Thanks for the ride today JC.  spyder

[1sharprdkg]

Great pics and ride report! Thanks for sharing.

[Buy early]

As always, thanks for sharing JC! Always enjoy your photos and reports.

[Keithincda]

Beautiful ride, thanks for sharing! 

[Midnight Rider]

Nice ride, JC.

Two questions:  How do you aim your DSLR while riding?  And, what helmet is Terrie wearing now?  I thought you guys wore N-103's, but her's doesn't look like a 103.

[110tHunDer]

Nice ride, JC.

Two questions:  How do you aim your DSLR while riding?  And, what helmet is Terrie wearing now?  I thought you guys wore N-103's, but her's doesn't look like a 103.

I'm thinkin' you're only seeing the best one of about 20 or 30 attempts on the one pointing back to Terrie!

[Midnight Rider]

I'm thinkin' you're only seeing the best one of about 20 or 30 attempts on the one pointing back to Terrie!

   That's what I'm thinking too, Brian.  I know JC shoots a Nikon hung around his neck, and you can't frame a shot without putting your eye to the viewfinder.     He's probably just had a lot of practice "shooting from the hip". 

[JCZ]

Nice ride, JC.

Two questions:  How do you aim your DSLR while riding?  And, what helmet is Terrie wearing now?  I thought you guys wore N-103's, but her's doesn't look like a 103.

I ride without hands if I have to adjust the focus.  Even shooting behind me.....sometimes I just point and shoot, other times I'll use both hands.

Yes, we both have the N-102 and N-103 and she now has the Nolan Trilogy....I think it's called the N-43.

[Midnight Rider]

I ride without hands if I have to adjust the focus.  Even shooting behind me.....sometimes I just point and shoot, other times I'll use both hands.

Yes, we both have the N-102 and N-103 and she now has the Nolan Trilogy....I think it's called the N-43.

That's why I didn't recognize it.  Nice looking lid, and the sunshade looks very functional.