The Mark Twain Trail to Journey's End

I resumed my Mark Twain spotting activities on Highway 49 as I travelled through Angel's Camp and Calaveras County, of Jumping Frog Fame.

Calaveras County loves Mark Twain. Every year they hold a jumping frog race and there are a number of local landmarks that pay homage to one of America's favourite sons. Frogtown road is one of my favourites, but there are plenty more. There are many statues, paintings, murals and souvenirs of frogs, plus the Jumping Frog Motel, Frogtown USA RV Camp, and Froggy's Auto Wash. There is also replica of Mark Twain's cabin, where he lived with friends for three months between 1864 and 1865 after having unsuccessfully trying his hand at gold mining.

The original cabin burned down (fire was something of a recurring theme of his time here) but was rebuilt using the original chimney and fireplace. It is of particular interest to the serious Twainophile because, as they say, "This is where it really started." Twain had been a lousy newspaper editor and an even worse newspaper reporter. He had even been a seriously underemployed magazine freelancer. He had written stuff before. It was Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, written with pencils in this cabin that launched the career of an American literary giant.

The cabin is on Jackass Hill, which was not named by a young Mark Twain, but certainly could have been. There is a Jackass there to this day. It was in this part of the world that Mr Twain had many of the experiences which later fed into not only The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which first brought him fame, but also for Roughing It, which I have always loved.

Heading further south into Yosemite National Park, the Cream Puff and I traversed the highly elevated and highly memorable Ebbett's Pass on Scenic Highway 4. It is a high, narrow, winding and thrilling ride with fabulous views from a number of points along the way. If you ever attempt this journey for yourself please remember to set out with a full fuel tank so you don't have to worry like I did about how far you are from the next gas station. Just so you know, it is a long way. It is a great road and one of the first things I said to my speed happy Daddy upon my return was that he really ought to go and drive Ebbett's Pass as soon as possible.

As I approached the North Entrance to Yosemite National Park I paused to take these photographs. I was still feeling hurt by missing out on Lake Tahoe, obviously. Note the yellow grassy hills and the scrubby foliage. This is California. The Beach Boys only reported on a narrow strip of coastline. The rest is dust and dry grass.

Oh yes, and big roads.

Getting back to Fresno was both a relief (I made it!) and a sadness (it's over). It had been an extraordinary adventure, filled with extraordinary people and experiences, but it required an extraordinary effort as well. How nice to rest for a while, sleep in the same bed every night and hang out with family and friends until the next journey begins.