Monroe Ridge Trail

Dad suggested a hike on the Monroe Ridge Trail, it's about a 3 mile trail within the boundaries of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park. (Where James W. Marshall found shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building for himself and John Sutter in 1848...this sparked the California Gold Rush.) Adam had never been to Coloma and I was feeling guilty for all the "California experiences" he's never had. So we took Dad up on his suggestion.

Map from: https://getoffyourgass.com/monroe-ridge-trail/

We had difficulty finding the trail head but once we did there was no doubt...

it starts off with some serious gains (totals about 673 feet) and even some built-in steps along the way.

Below: Adam trying to guess where we are on the map. Are we close yet?

Below: The view on the North side of the ridge. Not even close to the vista yet, THAT'S on the OTHER side of the mountain.

Finally! Two picnic benches mark the vista point. 

We're here! Snap a selfie!

Can you see the river in the photo above and below? That's the south fork of the American River.

We should have packed in a brunch. But we didn't...so with no reason to linger (Adam isn't big on lingering)...back down the mountain we went.

Some of these areas are likely gorgeous in the late spring after the leaves have grown and wild flowers are showing off—but this was over winter, still, we enjoyed it and it was a cool day.

We could have continued down by taking the monument trail, and we wanted to. But trees were being felled over the area so it was closed. We followed Marshall Parkway instead (the one way road marked on the map) back down to the car. 

Below: The Marshall monument (which you can see peeking above the trees from the trail.) 

 The road takes you through some historic parts of the town. Gravestones...

 Old church...

 Jail.

 We earned Lunch!

After the hike we went downtown to Placerville for lunch at the noteworthy spot: Timmy's Brown Bag.  Open during lunch hours. It has great Yelp ratings. I wish we had something like this here. We ate there three times over Christmas vacation. (Note: the menu changes.)

Some advice: They have some interesting combinations, but don't be afraid to try them. If you like the ingredients, you'll probably like the combinations they've come up with. 

The only complaints I have are: 

#1 the menu is IMPOSSIBLE to navigate both what's printed and what's posted in the shop...so be patient. 

#2 they sell out of items (each time we went they were out of something.) So again, when you have to navigate the menu a SECOND time because the sandwich you wanted is unavailable, take a deep breath and be patient with the menu. 

This was our favorite: Ham, homemade apple butter, extra sharp cheddar, fresh apples, beet horseradish slaw, whole grain honey mustard sandwich on ciabatta bread. 

If you go, tell me what you got and send a pic!