Howdy, folks!
I’m in Fair Oaks, Orangevale, Citrus Heights and Sacramento!

On the way up I stopped in Angels Camp and Murphys, two really cool Gold Rush era towns.

Here I am with the frog at the front of the World Mercantile & Gallery of Arts in Angels Camp.  They have an open mic every Saturday night from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  You might find me there one of these days!  They also have art classes, Family Karaoke, and Drum Circle nights.  Pretty cool!

Angels Camp World Mercantile & Gallery of Arts
1267 S. Main Street, Angels Camp, CA 95222
209-890-7155
There’s always someone there to tell you what’s going on!
Angels Camp World Mercantile

I also checked out Mercer Caverns, just a mile up a small road from Murphys main street.  This is a great ‘living cave’, which means that it’s wet and the formations are still growing.  In fact, if you stare at a stalagtite for at least a few hundred thousand years, you’ll actually see it grow!

Wet means water is dripping all over the place… and if you get a drop on your head – it’s called a ‘cave kiss’ and it’s gook luck.  I was at the end of the group and got my shoelace caught on one of the steep stairs on the way back up… I almost ended up spending the night – and it would have been a very dark night for sure!

I highly recommend this cave.
It extends about 160 feet down (almost straight down) and requires that you be in good physical condition and be able to get through rather small ’squeeze ways’ and climb very steep and small stairs,,, while ducking under rocks and formations (that you shouldn’t touch!).

Anyway… let’s not forget why I’m here – to visit schools and talk about writing and illustrating!

MON:  Le Gette School
TUES: Oakview School
WED: Howe Avenue School
THUR: Pershing School
FRI: Kingswood School

Wow! – check out these cool poems!  Here’s a few of the posters… nice work, kids!

Most classes post their poems outside in the hallways, on their doors or in their windows so everyone has a chance to read them!  It’s lots of fun to tour ’round the school and see all the great poems and drawings!

Here’s one where each student drew a picture of themselves and then wrote a poem about their personality traits!  Good idea!

I suppose you could call this one
‘Le Gette’s Pets’!

Pretty cool – don’t you think!?

Oh, Boy,,, more great poems and posters!  This is just a small sample of what was waiting for me!

Of course, I can’t post pix of ALL the posters from ALL the schools… so you’ll just have to trust me that ALL the posters and ALL the poems and ALL the drawings are GREAT!!!!

Thanks, Sacramento area schools for a really fun time!

On my way home, I couldn’t resist visiting another cavern… this time it was Black Chasm in the Gold Rush town of Volcano.  This is also a really neat cave – goes pretty much straight down and takes you through a few pretty tight spots!  But it’s worth it!

I just had to stop and take a shot of the green hills…

I should also mention that after visiting the cavern, I stopped in Volcano for a little something sweet!  Doesn’t that look good?  Well, this picture is all that’s left! Thanks to ‘Humble Pie and Coffee Shop’ for this tasty treat! They have lots of different kinds of pies and cobblers – I went for the peach pie and yes, that is a big scoop of vanilla ice cream – with a bite out of it!

Notice the daffodil on the table?  That’s there because the daffodils are blooming right now up on Daffodil Hill just a few miles up the road from here… a place where the pioneers planted daffodils that had been brought from Europe (or so I gather).

So, there you have it…
my Sacramento area tour!
- Mr. Mike