These are from our freind's front patio in the Sierra foothills. Just over the ridge in the first picture, to the right of that tree is Coloma, where Sutter's Mill is on the American River. You can stand exactly where, give or take a couple feet, James Marshall first discovered gold. A bunch of meteorites landed in this area last year causing a new "gold" rush. People are still on the sides of the road looking for them. At night from this point you can see part of Highway 50 in the distance in picture number two.
In this area where the fog is, and also to the left, we are just above a couple popular geese and duck routes, watching them fly lower in the valley.