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Tioga
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Historic Highway 49: Auburn & Placerville South | |||||||||||||||
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For more Murphys, Calaveras Big
Those interested in Gold Rush history
will find oodles of information in most libraries and online. We found the
www.comspark.com website
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We will start the route from the north heading south, as we have covered most of the southern section in other itineraries. Common throughout the length of this drive are the wineries and gold rush era history with plenty of other pleasurable distractions including theater and art, regional crafts, music, farmlands and oh...so much more! We started with getting to old town Auburn and finding the "Omelet shop", a little restaurant (who's name escapes me) in downtown that specializes in serving omelets with 78 different recipes to choose from. I ordered the roast beef, tomato and red onion with a dollop of sour cream and it was delicious! Victor's was more traditional but just as enjoyable. This restaurant seems to collect an interesting crowd of local cowboys and charming characters. Seeing as we had gotten a flat the day before, we decide to get it fixed at the Big O tire shop a block off the main street so we could spend the hour checking out the cute shops. We found a few that were note worthy including one of the loveliest nurseries, Belle Flore Gardens, (1125 Lincoln Way. 916-660-9701) located right in the middle of downtown at the Lincloln-High Street V. The shop is a work of art and I could have wandered their offerings for hours, instead we bought some mums and wandered down to Pioneer Mining, also on Lincoln Way. This store has all the little bits a prospective gold panner might want and the big equipment a career miner needs. The store is at once high-tech with the floating pumps and old world with the pans and vials of gold flake. This was another stop I could have spent far more time in. High street is at the intersection of the Nursery and Lincoln way and splits off up the hill a bit. Worthy of exploration with a few comfortable stops for a beverage break and night time live music. We next head off to find the California Welcome Center where we have Hotel Charlotte and StayNearYosemite.com brochures distributed from. A very helpful staff. I bought two things here that were touristy-kitch. The first is one of those shake-it-up-and-it-snows globes with a carrot, and 2 charcoal bits and the heading: California Snow Man. The second was a vial with real California gold flakes and a certificate of authenticity. This makes a good discussion piece at the Hotel Charlotte. Most folks haven't seen gold that is unprocessed. Good stop! From Auburn we head south on 49 to Placerville. You will meander through some of the prettiest farm lands in the foothills. You will want to have on hand the El Dorado County Visitors Bureau publication, it maps out the agritourism stops (Farm Trails) and wineries along the way with a handy list of open times and schedules. We chose to stay overnight in Placerville at the newly remodeled Cary House Hotel with a new owner. We very much enjoyed our stay here. The room was a one bedroom apartment with a living room and kitchen. The rate was under $100. Perhaps this was a midweek special. The breakfast was very light, requiring us to dine shortly after leaving. The Hotel sported beautiful antiques along side plastic relics. An odd juxtaposition that we hope the new owners will change, especially in the public hallways and lobby. Parking was free and we were centrally located in downtown and could walk everywhere. We explored town looking for a good lunch stop before heading out to find the wine tasting stops. We "discovered" Powell's Steamer Co. on Main Street, (530) 626-1091, also under recent new ownership. Turns out we "rediscovered" Powell's for dinner too. Not much choice on a Monday night in Placerville.
We scoot down the road a bit and find Jodar with a nice port to try out on our friends back in Groveland. I decide this is a good time to look at that handy El Dorado map with open/closed times. We find Madrona Vineyards to be near where we are and head for High Hill Road and the farm stops along the way. We bought a case of apples from High Hill Ranch and enjoyed some fudge from the Fudge Factory Farm before we found Madrona. Good wine and a beautiful setting! Returning to Placerville we find ourselves looking for a good dinner with a nice wine list. We go where the Hotel recommends, Tomei's 384 on Main Street only to find that Monday is not a good day here either, though the restaurant looked like something we would enjoy. The menu was a tasty read, but we know nothing more than this. We walked around a bit and found a few chains type places and decided it would be better to go back to Powell's Steamer Co. again and try something else on the menu. We weren't disappointed. Others have since recommended Cafe Luna also on Main Street. The next day we decide to head to Fair Play, famous for dozens of wineries. We are traveling on one of the loveliest roads, scenic and serene. It is not a day the wineries are open. I can't remember why I didn't check this. Except on the weekends, none of these wineries are open for tastings, though the drive is worthy any day of the week. Heading south again you come to the towns of Plymouth and Drytown. Small places who's history dates back to the Gold Rush. Plymouth is now a wine center with a great number of little wineries spread out to the east of town along a figure 8 route in the Shenandoah Valley. Next we come to the charming towns of Amador City and Sutter Creek. Sadly, most folks will now miss these villages as they have just completed a bypass. If you are touring the area, make a point of going through, not around. Both of these outposts are just lovely. In Amador City one finds but a dozen little shoppes in a distance of three blocks with one curve and is then out of town again. A place we have hear great reviews on, but haven't been able to enjoy ourselves yet is the Imperial Hotel, once a stage coach stop, still serving food of great renown. Sutter Creek is far larger with several hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, galleries antiques, curios and restaurants lining Main Street. We stayed at the Hanford House, just around the corner from Main Street and were able to walk everywhere in the downtown area. We enjoyed wine tasting two doors down at the Sutter Creek Wine Tasting co-op featuring three vineyards. Not that the wine was great, but the art displays on the walls had me captivated, and they are open until 6pm, an hour later than everything else. We enjoyed a great traditional Italian meal at Bellotti's the cornerstone of the newly remodeled American Exchange Hotel and member of our own Yosemite Chamber of Commerce. Heading south again, one hits the county seat of Jackson and our frequent easterly turnoff to Lake Tahoe, where we leave off this itinerary route. You can pick up more stops along the way from our Murphys itinerary. |
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In our years of traveling throughout the Groveland
and Yosemite
regions we often find ourselves on Highway 49, an intriguing route that is
sometimes twisted, occasionally steep and always scenic. Our last trip took
us up to Auburn and Placerville, both are noteworthy and great stops if
you are approaching Yosemite from Tahoe or heading south from Interstate 80
or Highway 50.
Following the map and Victor's
memory we began seeking out winery tasting rooms. Our first find was
Hotel Charlotte
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