Letter to the Editor: The state of Spanish Springs Ranch breaks my heart

In reference to Spanish Springs Ranch (in Meadow Valley), it just breaks my heart to see it in its current state. I drove by there a month ago on an antelope hunt, and memories came flooding back of an Outdoor Writers Association of California meeting we held there many years ago. Everything about it was fantastic, but the smell of juniper and juniper firewood in the fireplace overrides a lot of it. RC Roberts was a bit of a drinker, but we enjoyed his company, and even had dinner with him at his personal home in the Madeline Plain one night. The stables and horseback riding, the ponds, the wildlife, the huge dining building and excellent food all made for one of the most memorable trips of my life. It was so depressing to see the dilapidated entrance where fountains used to be, and maintained lawns, and the long, sweeping road back to the ranch. Spanish Springs Ranch, I believe, died because of lack of advertising. Anyone who ever heard of it or saw it would want to visit there. One of the fondest memories of my 76 years now deteriorating into dust….where you can still find the tracks of wild horses, antelope and deer in the dust.

Bill Karr, Outdoor Writer

Placerville