Don’t Miss the Equinox Countdown

In my book, the fall equinox is if the saddest day of all. Maybe you weren’t even aware of it, but be warned, the Summerkiller is headed right your way. Like it or not, you’ll wake up three mornings from now (Sept. 22) to find that summer has disappeared--stolen away like the lovely Greek goddess, Persephone, who, according to legend, is forced to live in the dark underground for the next six months.

Take my word, things are going to get a lot worse before they slowly begin to get better in late March. Every day will grow shorter and shorter and shorter, and colder and colder and colder.

Unless you’re a mittens and boots kind of person, this is pretty grim.

The cherries are already gone, sweet corn is getting tougher. Soon sunflowers and fresh tomatoes will disappear from the scene entirely. Soon shorts and pretty summer cottons will be consigned to far corners of the closet and comfy lawn furniture will packed away.

Winter is not a fun time unless you happen to be a pumpkin or a snow man. Even then glory is cruelly fleeting.

So what can you do about the fall equinox?

Very little, unfortunately, except enjoy the good times while you can.

Perhaps the most magical thing one can do while still blessed with warm weather is visit Roaring Camp, a functioning gold mine and resort. Your departure point into another time is Pine Acres Resort on Highway 88 just beyond

Pine Grove. Trucks leave at 5 a.m. and return at l0 p.m. for evening trippers, or you can stay on at the camp for what’s left of the summer. (Roaring Camp closes for the season Sept. 29.)

A visit to Roaring Camp centers around gold panning and story telling, great steaks, and natural beauty that must be seen to be believed.

Yes, this really is the Roaring Camp that Brett Harte wrote about. You’ll have stories of your own to tell once you’ve made that 1200 ft drop to the valley floor, mostly done by switchbacks.

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A simpler pleasure, very different from Roaring Camp is teeny-weeny Andrae’s in Amador City. There’s an inviting front deck, facing out on Highway 49, but to my mind, Andrea’s best seating is on the narrow footbridge at the back of the building. The setting is bucolic now, but just imagine the gold panners of yesterday. Standing shoulder to shoulder over the stream.

Currently the babbling book is down to a trickle but the surrounding area remains lush and green. Try brie and roasted red tomatoes sandwich with artichoke-lemon pesto. And don’t forget the coconut macaroon cookies.

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Thomi’s in Sutter Creek is another of those dreamy do nothing places. I love to sit in the small outdoor grotto facing onto Hanford Street and envision life like it used to be: stage coaches rounding the bend, gold panners in the creek and newly rich miners gambling away their nuggets in rinky-dink saloons

down the street. Everything old is new again on this corner overlooking clapboard and brick buildings that are part of a lively history reaching back more than 150 years.

* * * Villa D’oro is another summer time favorite. Imagine a romantic Italian trattoria transported to the Tulolomne forests. The result is both casual and chic. This month out door dining remains a precious treat. Thinks majestic mountain vistas and fragrant pines. The Mediterranean style cooking will transport you to that dreamy Italian holiday that you dreamed of taking this summer but never quite managed.

VITALS: Roaring Camp, phone: 296 -4100; Andrae’s Phone: 367-1352; Thomi’s Sutter Creek, phone: : 267- 1108; Villa D’oro, Phone 586-2182

The September equinox occurs the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from north to south. This happens either on September 22, 23, or 24 every year. On any other day of the year, the Earth's axis tilts a little away from or towards the Sun. But on the two equinoxes, the Earth's axis tilts neither away from nor towards the Sun

Pictures Roaring Camp:

Trucks take diners to the canyon floor at Roaring Camp.

Guests dine at long table at Roaring Camp

Andraes Bakery-Restaurant is a picnic oasis on Highway 49

Thomi’s Café is a leafy retreat in historic Sutter Creek.

Villa D’Oro in Tuolomne offers a piney outlook on warm summer nights, 4 pictures.