Ride to Mark Twain's Cabin July 2, 2016

I needed a destination so I decided to ride up to Mark Twain's cabin off Highway 49 between Angels Camp and Sonora. It was a hot day with 90s in the valley and 100s in the foothills, but I made my destination and even with the heat it was a fun ride. There was a fire in the foothills off the 4 and I was hoping that the 4 would not be closed down or have any delays for my return since I would not be able to stand sitting idle in the heat.

The cabin sits at the top of Jack Ass hill where Mark Twain spent the winter of 1864 - 1865.  He was a guest of the Gillis brothers, local miners, who lived in the cabin. The original cabin burned and the fireplace and chimney were built in the replica here.

During his stay at Jackass Hill, Twain and his friend Steve Gillis visited a saloon in Angels Camp and heard a story about a jumping frog. Twain returned to the cabin and wrote about “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” The book launched Twain’s publishing career. He and the jumping frog would later be recognized throughout the world. He also gathered material here for his book “Roughing it.” Twain would go on to write another 26 books, including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” before he died in April 1910.

Twain was an author, a humorist and his life was filled with adventures that fed his imagination for timeless storytelling. One of his more famous quotes is, "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."