Placerville
(et
Environs)
Placerville is named after a kind of gold (placer gold)  that was
discovered in the hills nearby in the late 1840's. Placerville used to
be officially known as "Dry Diggins," and was nicknamed
"Hangtown" (They took claim-jumping seriously!) before it was
incorporated and officially  named Placerville in 1854.  Placerville
was also on the line of the short-lived Pony Express, and is the home
of the newspaper, The Mountain Democrat, the oldest continuously
published newspaper in California, published since 1851.
Life has the most interesting twists
and turns. One moment we’re in the
central highlands of Mexico, living on
the edge of a beautiful sleepy lake,  
and suddenly we’ve moved to
Northern California to a beautiful
mountain town surrounded by every
kind of terrain and lakes imaginable.  
Placerville is nestled in the midst of a
majestic landscape – the snowy
Sierras rise in the background, the
velvet rolling, tree-speckled El
Dorado Hills in the foreground.  
Above Placerville, land rises towards
an invisible line where all  trees other
than the pines cease to flourish.  
Just a few minutes away from
Placerville, grape vines have begun
their trek across the supporting wire
trellises, spring’s  rich green
promise  feathers  apple and pear
tree branches as they reach outward
and upward, bursting with blooms.    
April 30, 2008
On the way to Lake Tahoe
Monterey, California
(ACWA Conference)
One of our Neighbors
Dinner with EID Board Members
(left to right: George Osborne, John
Fraser, Bill George, George
Wheeldon, and Gen. Mgr. Tom Gallier)
A Visit to the Monterey Maritime and
History Museum
Fisherman's Warf, Monterey, CA
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Listening to the jazz of Jazzmin at
Cozmic Cafe, Placerville
Dear  Friends  Efigenia and Joaquin
At the Marshall Monument
Old Sacramento Schoolhouse
Ready to board the Delta King
Pony Express Monument
C
A

S
T
A
T
E

R
A
I
L
R
O
A
D

M
U
S
E
U
M
Dinner on the Delta King
First Dinner on
Dining Room Table
Anniversary Flowers from Tom!
Looking out from the Marshall Monument, not far
from where CA gold was first discovered
Deer Surprise
The deer had stopped coming
to visit our yard around three
weeks ago.  Maybe it was the
warmer weather, we thought.  
Maybe they had moved up to
higher ground, towards the
white-capped sierras that
frame our Eastern landscape,
we thought.  But a week and a
half ago, we discovered the
reason why we had not been
visited lately by our
mule-eared friends.  The doe
returned to our yard,
cautiously watching over two
tiny, perfect fawns frolicking
through the grass.  Although
they were still suckling, Mom
was already trying to wean
them as they attempted to
take a drink of milk in between
their munching on soft green
leaves in the garden. The
next day, the whole family
arrived, the doe with her
watchful eye on the fawns,
and the buck, with his velvety  
horns  already emerged from
his forehead.  Yesterday, the
doe came up to the patio to
munch the tender tops of the
pink rose bush, before she
returned to the apple trees in
the lower driveway to see how
many little green apples she
could reach up on her
haunches.
May 2008
EID Employee Picnic,
September 2008