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| Motherlode charm - 2/3/2008
Volcano is a charming town in the California gold country, population 100 people. One hotel, one bar, off the beaten path. It is above the fog and below the snow. Once a year in the spring Daffodil Hill opens with thousands of daffodils. It is close to a lovely wine growing area, the Shenandoah Valley, which specializes in Zinfandel and dessert wines.
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| Observations - 12/31/2007
Jackson, California is a great place to live for retirees. The city and country police and the highway patrol are all over this place. Also, there's all kinds of shopping and medical facilities here. Besides, it's a beautiful place with mostly ideal weather, an it's away from big city traffic even though we're just an hour from Stockton and 1-1/2 hours from Sacramento. This is Gold Rush country so there's lots of history and we're only 30 minutes from big snows and skiing. It can get hot in July and August but there little humidity. Snow and freezing temps are a rarity.
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| FORMER AMADOR COUNTY RESIDENT FOR 26 YEARS - 1/1/2007
I moved away from Amador County in 2003. I lived in the county for 26 years in Pioneer, Jackson, Sutter Creek, Pine Grove, and Plymouth. The county is beautiful, especially up Highway 88 heading towards Pine Grove and Pioneer. If you are an outdoors enthusiast, you'll find lots to do. There's the Mokelumne River, several lakes both in the high country and lower down, close proximity to the Kirkwood Ski Resort, etc. Take a trip up Highway 88 to Hope Valley in the fall for breathtaking fall colors. When I first moved to Amador County, I thought I had died and gone to heaven!
I raised both my daughters in Amador County. The schools were okay and there was no parks and recreation department. Once your kids get a little older, there's nothing for them to do beyond school sports (which I discovered costs an arm and a leg to participate). Maybe because the towns are so spread apart, attempts at creating activities for teenagers have failed. The town made even skateboarding illegal, so kids couldn't even do that without being harassed by the cops. I saw a lot of drinking and drug use among young adults - which in fairness seems to be everywhere. There are no junior colleges and not many jobs, especially during school breaks. The county is growing and new businesses are finally coming in, so maybe that situation will improve.
You're at least one hour from Stockton or Sacramento, which is where the kids will need to go if they want to go to college and still live at home. There's not much to do in the evenings. There are some nice restaurants and bars and there are a few annual events such as Dandelion Days in Jackson, an occasional blues festival, etc. Volcano has a community theater which is really great and I think Sutter Creek also has a community theater which has struggled to stay open.
There are nice shops sprinkled around the county and downtown Sutter Creek has lots of antique shops. When I first moved to Jackson, downtown had a lot of great shops, but it has been stuggling over the years to keep businesses alive. There is also the Shenandoah Valley which has some of the greatest wineries and wines around and which have many events throughout the year. Also the Amador Flower Farm is one of the best plant nurseries around.
There is definitely a "good old boy" mentality in the county. Gas prices are higher in Amador County than all the surrounding communities.
While I made some really great friends and had a lot reward
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