Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Flipping of the wrenches

On most ratcheting wrenches there is a lever that turn the wrench from forward to reverse. From remove to install. Tonight was the night I got to "flip the switch". This simple action represents much more than just lefty loosy righty tighty. It is a sign of forward progress. A symbolic representation that the half way point has been meet, and actions from this point forth are towards the side of order rather than chaos.

About a week ago, when my buddy Ralf was visiting, I set forth on the task of dropping my transmission and replacing the clutch. I didn't really need a new clutch. Mine worked ok for the most part, except that it would slip if I dumped the clutch fast on a hard launch. It would slip under a few other circumstances as well, but I won't go into that. Another reason I wanted to drop the tranny was to do an inspection. I have been hearing some really bad noises coming from the tranny and clutch, and figured that I should take the time to inspect it in a controlled environment, rather than having something explode on me while running triple digits through the desert. I knew this job was going to take some time so I scheduled it for the winter, when the Z stays parked for several snowy months.

To my surprise everything looked OK. The clutch plates were in good shape, the throwout bearing spun smoothly, the seals held the oil where they were suppose to be. However when I drained the tranny fluid I found bits of gear teeth on the drain magnet. No problem, I'll just put these with the others I found the last time I drained the gear oil. But it was pointed out to me that the teeth were not the syncro mesh teeth as I presumed before. Those are made of brass and do not stick to the drain plug magnet; these were gear teeth. And the notchy shifting I experience was only to get worse till I couldn't shift altogether. Well dang...that couldn't be good. So I am currently looking for a new/used tranny. Though mine is still operational, I figure that the work involved in dropping the tranny is worth me replacing it while I have it out.

Along that same note, there are a lot of "while you are in there" type of repairs. One is the Rear main oil seal. The Z's RMS is a bit special. Rather than a simple seal pressed into the engine block there is a RMS retainer. (OK so other cars might have this as well and I just don't know about it) The RMS retainer contains not only the RMS, but a oil pan half moon seal, as well as a retainer gasket. While you have the transmission out, you might as well replace the seals.














When replacing a clutch, the throwout bearing and pilot bushing are two must replace items. These usually come with a new clutch. I did not have a pilot bushing puller, and thus used a chisel and hammer. Not too fancy, but it got the job done.

According the service manual a fancy drift and bearing separator are required to press the old throw out bearing off the sleeve. Instead, I used three sockets of various sizes and my home vice to press the TO bearing off. Getting the new bearing on simply required a swift whack of a hammer to a carefully placed socket. I have heard a golf ball also works.


With the new RMS in place, I was able to bolt up my new flywheel. Rather that just installing the stock flywheel back in, I opted for a RPS segmented lightweight flywheel. Oh so shiny. I thought I would take a picture of it cause (if everything goes right) I will never see it again.
http://www.specialtyz.com/rpsflywheel.htm

Though I am still a long way out from completing this project, I am making good progress. The wrenches have been flipped!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Epoxy Night


When I was younger (about five years ago), it was a special night when a batch of two part epoxy was mixed. There are a bunch of different kinds: Jb welb, PC7, plastic weld, Bondo, we each have our favorites, but they all share the same basic feature. Two playable chemicals, that when mixed, undergo a chemical reaction and become solid. The product is a true testament to science. I have known countless "saved by epoxy" stories. What would have been a pile of scrap can now provide years of service, by mixing a simple batch of your favorite two part.

One typical epoxy night can yield, not only a bunch of fixed stuff, but a good time as well. These pictures are from epoxy night 2005.

















Yes that epoxy is some powerful stuff. Just look at the stuff possible from one epoxy night.

But those days of late night boozing and stirring are behind me. Now I simply mix small batches and repair daily mends.
Tonight's batch of epoxy repaired a pole tip that had been "skied off" this weened, and desk drawer for work. But every time I smell those epoxy fumes it brings me back. Ahhhh the glory days!

Spa 2 go - Insulation - 5 of 7

This is how my Spa 2 Go looks on a snowy day. Not quite the poster child the advertisements portrayed. However there are three key improvements made, that makes my tub work so much better, then when it came from the factory. These are: pump hard cover, floor insulation, and top ridged cover.


Floor Insulation. Not long after I installed my tub did I find myself under the deck. It was a cold winter day and I reached up and touched the decking right under the tub. The wood was warm. That could not be too efficient I thought, so I went to insulate the floor. My first attempt was to use fiberglass insulation. I unrolled and cut sheets of insulation and tacked them to the deck joist. This did not last long, and the moisture from the winter soaked the paper and the fiberglass. The wet paper was not able to hold the weight of the wet fiberglass and it ripped through. A week later I found 90% of the insulation on the ground. My next attempt was to use ridge foam insulation. I bought three sheets of 4'x8'x3/4". Using two and a little of the third sheet, I was able to trace out a patterned for the tub and the power pack. This works great.


During snow storms I found that the tub could not keep its temperature up. I decided that the stock doughnut cover was not insulating enough to protect it from the heat drawing snow. The extra sheet of ridge foam on top of the tub provided an extra barrier to the elements to keep the tub toasty.

After the first snow storm with the S2G, I noticed that the power pack unit would become completely buried in snow. This could not be good for it, so I went about building a wooden cover. I figured a cover would keep the power pack working better if it was not buried in snow. I also felt that the UV protection was good for its longevity. Two requirements I had was that I could access the control, and that it could support a humans weight. Below are is original "napkin" sketch.
Internal framing and a hinged door made my requirements a reality.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sorel 1964 Pac Boot Review

When most hear the name Sorel, an image of a winter boot pops up. Like Xerox or Kleenex, a company has defined a product. Established by William Kaufman in the early 1900, Kaufman was building winter boots in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, before any of you readers even knew of snow, or the cold, or even life... In 1964 Billy we the first to combine a leather boot upper with a rubber sole and removable felt liner. That boot is still around today, and in fact is keeping my feet warm as I type. Two features of this boot that make it great; the removable liner and the minimal wavy thread.




An average foot has 250,000 sweat glands, and can produce up to a pint of sweat a day! A PINT!!! Man if foot sweat was beer... So where does all this sweat go? Into your sock, then into your boot. In order to be totally and completely water proof for the life of the boot, the boot relies on totally water proof material, PVC coated leather (not available back in 1964), and rubber. Not a fancy one way membrane that claims to be waterproof and breathable, but ends up being both not water proof and not breathable. Membranes like that also tend to only work for short period of time before they wear out, and the more abuse they are exposed to, like being pounded to the ground, the shorter the life span. Also since it is a delicate membrane it must be sandwiched between tougher materials, which is not usuualy water proof and will become totally wet and freeze; dry yet very cold. So back to my point; with a removable linear, one can easily pull the boot apart and let the insides dry out.

When I was a kid, one measure of how cool your shoes were, was by how aggressive the sole pattern was. If that still held true, I would not be given a positive review on these boots. With the 1964 pac, there is little more than a few wavy lines and some texturing. But on snow and ice, thread make little difference as far available traction goes. You do need some thread pattern on the bottom of your shoe but it doesn't make that great of a difference. The really cool thing about this thread pattern is that is sheds snow very easily. A simple tap of the boot and it is clear of snow. This actually aids traction cause the thread is self clearing, and able to dig in with each step. And the most important thing about easy clearing thread is that it doesn't track snow into the house like other boots, that leave little squiggles of packed snow to melt on the carpet.

These boots however are considered my outdoor "slippers". I do not lace them up tight and I can slip them on and off with ease. I do not go on long hikes with these on. I just go from my house to the car, to the office, walk around the grocery store...

I have had these boots for less than a year and they have held up so far. I did get them directly from Sorel as a manufacture warranty replacement (that says something). My last pair, not the 1964 or the other ultra classic Caribou, did not hold up so well; but that my Friends is a story for another time...

http://www.rei.com/product/674940 Look under reveiws MrPulldown

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Spa 2 Go - Filter Maintance - 4 of 7


Maintenance is the key to keeping your Spa 2 Go healthy and working. There are only two primary components of maintenance: Filter and water chemistry.

Let's talk about filters. The S2G uses a special filter, it is primarily composed of a pleated paper filter element with a foam filter ring. Because of this special feature the filter is not universal. Instead special filters need to be purchased from S2G or its distributors, at a cost of approximately $50 for two. If you are a new S2G owner, buy a set. The filter pictured to the left is NOT the one you want. Instead you need the two stage filter pictured to the right. The proper orientation of the filter is as shown, foam ring down. This is a very crucial aspect of the filter and I will explain later.

Set a filter replacement schedule. Two weeks is ideal, a month at the maximum. Follow the instructions that came with your hot tub. The filter fits within a protrusion, both in the filter tank and one the filter cap. Make sure it is seated before attempting to screw down the lid. If not you can crack the filter foam clip ring. With a new filter in place, the old filter can now be cleaned. I usually use a handled shower head for the cleaning. Be careful of using too strong a sprayer that might tear the paper element. The paper element is fairly tough material and can withstand many washings. You just need more than one filter so that you can swap out the current filter. Do not run the spa without a filter. It is very easy to jam the impeller with debris.

Most filters should be cleaned from the inside out, or back flowing. This filter however is difficult to do so, due to the small inner orifice. I however will still start from the inside, then move to spraying down and dislodging material from in between the pleats. I always finish off with a final spray from the inside out. Next comes the foam ring. Actually I unusually clean this off first. Be careful trying to remove the blue ring which clips to the filter body. Though it holds the foam ring in place, this blue clipped ring easily breaks. Try your best to clean the foam, but you will most likely find out that the foam just falls apart. If it does just throw away the foam. This is the reason why most people just buy new filters. Finally I fill a small bucket with water and put a dollop of bleach in it. Sink the filter and let it soak over night. Spray the filter off before allowing it to dry.



If you suspect the foam ring to be deteriorating at all discard it. Bits of the foam ring can easily become lodged in the pump and jam the impeller. Go to a fish tank supply store and purchase a sheet of generic filter foam, pictured to the right. A sheet can be had for less than $10. The picture above shows the "stock" filter and foam ring at the left, and homemade foam section in the center. The replacement foam ring is quite dirty in the picture. Take the fish tank filter and cut a strip of foam material, and Viola, new foam filter!!

With three filters you can rotate between them, and always have a clean filter ready to go. Final, a note of caution. After a filter change, it is easy to forget to turn the system back on. If you live in sub zero climates, this could be very bad for your tub. Also when the system is shut down it resets itself of 100 degrees. This is usually a tad cool for most, and you might go a few dips before you realize that it is at its default temp setting.

This next section is extra credit reading on why S2G changed there filter design and it has to deal with pump cavitation. Now if you are into pump tech, you might disagree with some of the following details. I did not go back and reread chapters in my Fluid Mech book before I wrote this. How ever the logic is basically sound.

To put it in a nut shell, the old filter design provided too much flow resistance for the pump. So a foam ring was added to insure that enough water reached the impellers of the pump unit. Since the suction is located at the center bottom of the inner filter tube, the foam, needs to be at the bottom so that the water can reach the pump.

The term used is available head. Which is the available amount of pumping medium for the pump to draw from. I forget why the term "head" is used, but I always think of, head of foam on my beer, as an indicator to the available amount of beer there is in the glass. The resistance of the paper element, might have increased due to the washing. The paper membrane could become clogged and flow less, then when it was new. However it is common practice to wash spa filters, and thus suggest that there was a design flaw, which S2G corrected by a new filter. Without the proper available head, the pump can and does cavitate. Cavitation is commonly thought of as a water pump, pumping air. I have heard the term incorrectly used to describe a boat propeller when it comes out of the water and spins in the air. A pump impeller however can cavitate even if it is submerged in water but does not have the available amount of head. The reduction of pressure, or vacuum created by the pump can actually draw gases out of solution. If you fill a syringe halfway full of water, plug the end, and pull back hard on the plunger, you will see gas bubbles appear in the tube. Same thing happens on the leading edge of a pump impeller. These gas bubbles form violently and can cause pitting and damage to the impeller blade. But the real damage cavitation does is the vibrations. It destroys the pivot that the bushing or bearing that the impeller shaft rotates about. The S2G pump can cavitate if the filter tank is not bleed properly, or if the filter is installed with the foam ring towards the top, and the pump is not supplied with the nessary amount of head.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Valentines Day - The Big Four

February rolls along each year with a certain degree of anxiety. From the unpredictable winter weather, to the day we combine our extra quarter of a day each year to observe. But more than the celestial laws or the sky's can produce, it is President's and Valentines Day that produce the most anx for the month.

If you are a male and in a relationship, there are FOUR days a year that you can not forget. Do you know them? Valentines, Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas. The Big Four. Interestingly enough if you were to say "Big Four" in Chinese, it is a homonym for "Beat to Death". Which is what will for sure happen if you were to forget one of these most sacred days.

Valentines days, in particular is quite a pickle for an involved man. Though often times not, this is one holiday where the man shoulders the responsibility for a successful celebration. Sorry guys I have no insight on this, except to remember what the big four really mean.

This Valentines day however was the biggest powered day we have had this season. And lucky for me my lovely wife happens to love snow almost as much as she loves me. So we skied all day Valentines day!

We had a nice Valentines Day brunch the following Sunday.



But what about Presidents day? What about it it allows it to rival the importance of Valentines day. Well for starters, many get this day off of work and school. Situated in the middle of ski season, this holiday represents one of the biggest money generating weekends for ski resorts. Living in a resort town, the influx of traffic is also very noticeable, being one of the highest traffic volume days of the winter. But for me it was what happened 12 years ago that will always pit Valentines and Presidents day against each other.

Amidst a particularly difficult break up during the month of February, 12 years ago, a three day weekend presented itself as a perfect weekend to head out into the desert to do some offroad wheelin. Presidents weekend happens to fall on Valentines Day more times than not. And thus what was a weekend to get away, became a anthem to anti conformity. To thrust that finger high into the air, and give a big FUCK YOU to a holiday that left you feeling worse about yourself, more times than not.

So for the last 12 years I have spent Valentines/President's day exploring the desolate and cold, winter deserts of the western United States. But it isn't till you are out there that you realize what you miss most in your life. It took me many years before I learned what the most important thing in my, in our lives is. So if you have not yet figured it out, I'll spare you some hard learning and tell you: Companionship and Love.

wild horses of the Black Rock Desert, Nevada (2004)

Driveshaft Balancing


So as you might have guessed it, my blog is not the only place I babble my thoughts on the web.




Thursday, February 12, 2009

Morning POW Sessions

This series of storms that have been hitting our area is a god send. Not only for us skiers and boarders, but for the rest of the state as well. Winter Snow pack=Summer Water. Got up early this morning to make some turns before work. Got in the lift line a line at about 8:40AM and got 4th chair when they started loading at 9:05. There was about 10", not epic, but on top of the stuff we have been getting all week, it was al ight!



After a few runs Leslie and I hiked out to the High Traverse, and dropped in on some freshies. The chunks of fallen cornice were not too bad. Looking back at my tracks, it was so pretty I had to snap off a picture.


Back at the office now, sitting here with a big "perma-grin". Got a decent morning 7K of vert. Time to crank out some work, so I can do it again tomorrow!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Taken, What a movie thrill ride

Once in a while a movie comes along and captures the attention of a generation. This wasn't one of them. However it did completely engross me for two hours. In fact it was one of the best "Spy" type movie I have seen in a while.

Liam Nelson plays a retired spy, who has his daughter kidnapped. The plot is pretty simple, but the story is well put together. Nelson's character Bryan Mills plays a cool headed bad ass. I actually think that he is really a Jedi Knight in the movie, but they don't go into details. The fact that Nelson looks like a regular guy, makes the movie so much more real.

Yahoo Users gave this movie a -A, while the critics gave it a C.

I'd personally give it 4 out of 5 skis. My only gripe was two scenes that were a little too much, and made you snap back into reality and say, "Hollywood" under your breath.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

EPA, wood stove

Man I love mine!!! I had the fortune of picking up a small wood burning stove for close to nothing last spring. I never installed it due to the complexity of the installation, and the high cost of stove pipe material. This winter though, I bought the necessary attachments and installed the stove on my hearth.


A standard wood burning stove pumps approximately 60-40 grams of smoke into the air per hour. An EPA approved stove pumps 7.5 or less grams per hour.


http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/technical.html

It is said that burning wood through a EPA stove release less CO2 than allowing the wood to naturally decompose in the forest. Each year I apply for a wood cutting permit with the US Forest Service, and purchase 2 cords worth of tags. I cut only dead or downed trees, thus removing potential wildfire fuels from our over fire controlled forests.

http://www.woodheat.org/

Most recently I added a "Cold Air Intake" to my stove. This allows fresh air from the outside (garage) to be feed directly into the stove. The fireplace has an ash trap, which I tapped into to access the "outside". The door of the ash trap is inside the garage and I leave it opened. Hope nothing decides to crawl in to my stove. Initially this addition was for warmth and safety. Interior oxygen depletion is a safety concern. And drawing inside air for the fire creates a cold draft across the house. A surprising side effect is the increased efficiency of the fire. An efficient fire, not only produces more heat, but also decreases emissions due to the a more complete combustion.


We have cut down our heating bill this winter significantly, approximately half. More than 3/4's of our heat is provided by the wood burning stove. Can you say win win!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Uphill Kick Turn

In the sport of back country skiing, there is no skill more difficult to master than the uphill kick turn. This of course does not include the down hill skiing part, which I think I will never master. If one does an internet search for up hill kick turn, you are lead to a bunch of websites showing skiers doing perfect 180 degree turns, on relatively flat surfaces. But give me a break, if the hill was so low angle, you would never need to do a silly kick turn (KT), and on the steep stuff, one would have to be extremely flexible and coordinated to pull it off so cleanly.

http://www.couloirmag.com/articles/techniques/kick_turns/kickturns.pdf

Since most of my skiing is done solo, I have developed my own not so orthodoxes methods of doing a lot of these standardized moves. Skippy doesn’t provide me with a very good example for this stuff. But I have developed what I call, “The between the leg pole grab, Kick Turn”. This technique is based on two BC skiing philosophies that I have developed over the years. These philosophies really only apply to the uphill skinning part of things, cause the downhill aspect of BC skiing is just skiing.

1-Static Quadriplegia Motion (SQM). As a skier you have four points of contact with the snow. Two skis and two poles. Often times when traction becomes limited, usually due to the steepness of the grade, one must rely on all four points of contact to keep from slipping and falling. In SQM three points of contact are stationary and only one point moves at a time. My father taught me this when I was a child climbing a ladder, something he was taught in the ARMY. This relies heavily on your pole plants. Ones pole plants can be sturdy enough to support the weight of your entire body, if for only a mere second or two. Try it next time you are out skiing on firm snow. Plant your poles and see if you can lift your body off the ground, even if it requires a little hop. Obviously this is less effective in bottomless powder. Your poles will never generate the equal amount of support your legs/skis will, but they can support a fair amount. An amount enough to keep you from face planting the snow.

2-Deliberate Movements. This is much harder than it sounds. And it also why SQM take some practice to do. We have learned to walk in a very fluid dynamic motion. The more you walk the less you think about it. Long distance hikers and marathon runners have it so ingrained in there brain to put one foot in front of the other, that sometimes it is difficult to not. Instead one needs to walk like a poorly programmed robot. One step, pause, both feet on the ground, then another step. Or in the case of BC skiing: step, pole, step, pole, or step, step, pole, pole. The main reason for this is because we are working with limited traction. A slight pause will insure that the rest of the SQM system has time to catch up, and a slight pause to test if that step is truly going to support your weight. How many times have you seen an uphill BC skier begin to slip and instead to bracing themselves and loading their pole, take several poorly planted quick steps, only to have them all slip and end up on their face.

Based on those two ideas I came up with my kick turn method. Lets take a look at this slope in picture 1. I am coming up and joining the main skin track. I will be making a KT to the right. The first thing to do is to stomp out a nice spot where your skis make good contact with the snow. Pay more attention to the lower ski, for this is the ski that will support most of your weight as you begin the KT.

Plant your downhill (DH) pole right next to your DH ski, pic 2. The pole is to act as an anchor so that the DH ski will not lose traction and slide. This is paramount. Next plant your right hand pole somewhere out to the projected pivot point, pic 3. A key is to make sure that the pole is planted behind the right boot, so that it will not interfere with the KT. (some of these pictures got rotated funny by blogger, and I don't know how to fix)

With three points in firm contact with the snow you can test your stance by lifting up the right ski. Do you have a good stance? SQM baby! If everything is good you are ready to take that first step. Swing your ski out and make the turn, pic 4. Make sure the kick is far out enough that you are not stepping on your DH ski, but not to far that it is impossible to make the weight shift to the uphill (UH) ski. Stomp this UH ski and make sure that it is firmly planted. Now replant the DH pole to the left of the UP ski, pic 5. Plant it close to the ski so it will not interfere with the DH ski as it comes around. Test your new stance by slightly unweighting the DH ski. If all is good time to finish the KT. Pay attention to the DH ski so that it clears the tail of the uphill ski. Twin tips make this a little harder to do. With your left hand pole between your legs, it is right over your bodies center or gravity and can support a lot of your weight, pic 6. The steeper the slope the funnier this looks. But it is not as funny as having you face in the snow sliding DH. With a little practice you can perfect this little move.


Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Spa 2 Go- Fitting repair - 3 of 7

I am on a roll with the spa 2 go repairs. I'd figure since I shared some of what I know/did, might as well share more. And since I was never able to find any repair information, this might be helpful to others.

One of the first things that broke on my spa was the water intake interface between the tub and the power pack. Due to vertical misalignment between the tub and the power pack extra loads were placed on the threaded section of the connector. They then cracked and leaked out water. This happened within 6 months of owning the tub. I am sure I could have sent it in for warranty, but for $90 and the down time, I decided to repair it myself.

You might be able to see the crack that has formed in this picture. This fitting is still usable, and has not totally failed yet. Shame that such inferior plastic was used. Almost like CLP intended this part to fail.
The good thing however is that this fitting is a standardized part. It is simple a garden hose thread, so replacements can be found. The bad part is that the original fitting is bonded to a short rubber hose, and this bond can not be undone. You can get (theoretically) a new fitting/hose section from CLP and make the repair cleanly, but...


A trip to the hardware store should yield you a garden hose female fitting, and a 3/4" coupler.

First take a ruler and measure the distance from the body of the power pack to the end of the broken fitting. Next, two careful cuts need to be made in order to achieve the correct finial dimension. One is across the black dotted line of the new fitting (as seen in picture 2), and one is across the white dotted line of the original fitting (picture 1). I used a hacksaw to make the cuts. Mix up a batch of your favorite 2 part epoxy, and slather it on the body of the new fitting and the stub of the old. Slide the new fitting into the coupler, and apply extra epoxy to the receiving end of the coupler. Now slide the coupler/new fitting onto the old.

PVC cement can not be used in this application. Maybe for the interface between the new fitting and the coupler. But the old fitting is not 3/4" inch stock. Therefor the epoxy is required to fill the 1/16" of an inch gap. Let it sit for a couple of hours and you should be good to go.

I would perform this repair to both intake and output fittings. If one has failed the other will soon follow (though mine is cracked, is has survived 8 months). The vertical misalignment was most likely caused by low tub pressure. Make sure that the tub is inflated correctly, and hopefully you can avoid this failure and repair.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

BC skiing the POW on Tamarack

My favorite back country ski partner and I took off this Saturday in search of some hidden back country powder. It snowed last weekend, and I was sure there was still some freshies to be had. We hit a local area known as Tamarack. Tamarack peak sits just SW of Mt Rose Peak proper. From Tahoe you head over Mt Rose Hwy (431). Once over the summit, look for the large pullout/parking area to the right. There should be a ton of cars parked. Though the area is known as Tamarack, we would not be hitting the peak. Instead I headed towards Mt Rose and the cold north facing slope. The circled area is where Skippy and I found some bottomless POW! The map I used is courtesy of the Back Country, a local shop in the North Tahoe Area. Visit their website for BC ski Beta, under Tahoe Guide. http://www.thebackcountry.net/cart/home.php

From the top of the ridge, just prior to dropping down the backside, you can see Mt Rose Ski resort and Hwy 431.









Skippy is eagerly waiting for me to finish my uphill to downhill transition. I call it skiing, Skippy simple refers to it as running.

A shot towards the south of a large dead tree. I think that Tamarack Peak is that direction.

The final picture, is our run back to the car. This east facing slope was the GNAR. It had warmed up and sluffed, then refroze. It was some of the hardest skiing terrain I have ever encountered.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Crusco's, Heavenly food in Angles Camp

While I was working in Calaveras County last week, all haggard, tired and hungry, I came across a little Italian restaurant in Angles Camp. The food was well priced and the service was excellent. My meal started out with fresh focaccia bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Followed by a simple spring greens salad. I ordered the Crusco: penne pasta, hot Italian sausage, mushroom and red sauce. It was amazing. I usually don't give such great reviews for restaurants but this place was good. Next time you are in or passing through Angles Camp be sure to stop by this place, in old downtown.