HANGTOWN

Welcome to Placerville, or Hangtown as the locals prefer. It is the county seat of El Dorado, in the heart of the Gold Country. This was once the place where bandits were tried, convicted and hanged in the large oak tree in the center of town. Now it is a quaint, tourist town in the Sierra foothills, just 8 miles from Sutter's Mill, where the gold rush began.

I arrived here two weeks ago, knowing a little about the area. I've been here before, but not for many years. Our friends Rod and Kay married us in their front yard 8 years ago and Susan and I traveled through the gold country about 10 years before that with our puppy, Durango. These were the reasons why I accepted the position here in Placerville...great memories!

Downtown is lively with outdoor markets twice per week, lots of cool shops and restaurants, and my new favorite bakery, Sweetie Pies. Bicycle Bob from The Placerville Bike Shop is already hooking me up with some local riders and things are starting to settle in for me.

So I'm off for breakfast and then a ride around the country side. I'll post more pictures soon!