The John Shinnick 58 California Counties 58 County Pledge
Counties 19-24
19) PLACER
This is I-80 as it runs through Placer County. I've been to Placer County several times since it is home to the annual HUGE golf tournament. These pics "58 County Pledge" have to be things I haven't done before and I surely hadn't experienced a traffic jam in the Sierras before. On 9/30/10, I was caught in the aftermath of an oil truck spill. Dane Robinson, Monroe Hatch, John Randall and I were heading to HUGE and had this unexpected hour and a half wait. At least it was scenic!
22) YOLO
Ah the joys of a college town. In 1995, The city of Davis spent $14,000 to build a tunnel under the Pole Line Road overpass so the local toads wouldn't get squished. There were problems. At first toads didn't use it, so they added lights. Then the birds learned to wait for the commuter toads to simply emerge from the other side. Lunch!
This side of the tunnel is at the corner of land belonging to the US Post Office. One account says the local postmaster did the decorations, another said it was a local artist. It was featured on a 1999 episode of The Daily Show. They set up cameras, but saw no users. Neither did I during my 15 minute stay on February 28, 2018
20) SONOMA
Most fans of the famed "Peanuts" comic strip know that Charlie Brown's dad was a barber. So was Peanuts creator Charles Schulz's dad. Charles Schulz was a resident of Santa Rosa but as a kid, he spent significant time in the midwest. This is the actual barber pole from Schulz's dad's barber shop, now housed in the Charles Schulz Museum located in Sonoma County's Santa Rosa. I was there on 4/5/10. GREAT STOP!
21) NAPA
On August 20, 2010, one of my every-now-and-then bands Damn Neighbors played at our buddy Monroe Hatch's wedding. During the service, I played guitar backing the maid of honor on the ever-present "Wedding Song" as well as the beautiful bride's "When You Say Nothing At All". I forgot that visiting the V. Sattui Winery would be new to me and didn't bring a camera. Lynn Robinson, however, took this pic of me warming up in beautiful Napa County!
23) SACRAMENTO
There's a huge gap between stops in my 58 Counties as I awaited the reestablishment of my website, but I HAD to get new golf clubs. This place was recommended highly, so on June 6, 2013, off I went. It's in the city of Sacramento, it's huge, has a driving range and full 18-hole golf course. The first round I shot with them I thought I'd set a new personal best, but re-adding, I'd only tied it. Nearly two years later, however...
24) EL DORADO
So how did California attract people before Disneyland? Gold! It all started right here in Coloma when on January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall found some of it at Sutter's Sawmill. Marshall whas actually Sutter's partner. The mill wasn't even completed when he made the discovery just downstream from the waterwheel. I was there on October 12, 2016.
There is a replica of the mill itself at this park, but the original is long gone. Instead the site is marked by this small monument denoting California Registered Historical Landmark #748. The only original buildings left are a couple of shops built by Chinese owners. Also on the site is a replica of a Nisenan village. They were the inhabitants before gold was found. I don't think they got any of it.
