Placerville is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills where U.S. Route 50 crosses State Route 49. It is the location of three traffic signals along U.S. Route 50, which is otherwise a freeway.

Downtown Placerville is about 1,867 feet (569 m) above sea level,[1] while unincorporated areas of the city range from 1,800 feet (550 m) to nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 square miles (15 km2), over 99% of it land.

Kaze makes the drive Saturday morning, taking his time and enjoying the scenery on the Highway 50 East without pushing his truck too hard as it ascences into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. He completes the 40 minute drive in an hour, and checks into the National 9 Inn on Broadway for $60 a night. It's hot and dry. He leaves his suitcase in the room and his truck parked in the lot, and heads out on a hiking trail. His goal is to get into the forest where no one will see him, and he will have some privacy. It isn't too difficult.

When he is sure that he is not being observed, and knows how to get back to the trail, Kaze strips out of his clothes, folding them neatly and packing them into his backpack, and hangs it up high enough in a tree to avoid animals getting into it.

Then he attempts Shapechanging into an eagle! His first attempt fails, painfully, as he absorbs the damage from a Paradox.

1 success


His second attempt succeeds, barely.

failure


1 success


Kaze flies! He soars up and out over the forest and the surrounding area, covering a wide territory and perching high atop the tallest trees. He rides the winds for the next hour before returning!

When he returns, he gets dressed and eats and drinks from the supplies in his back pack. Then he hikes to another spot, and in the afternoon, he makes another attempt at Shapechanging into an eagle! This fails worse and more painfully than the first attempt! Battered by the effects of absorbing the Paradox, Kaze gets dressed and heads back to grab a solid meal and get as much rest as he can back at the Inn. He is determined to try again tomorrow.

2 successes


Kaze doesn't set an alarm, and wakes up after a solid 15 hours of sleep. He eats a hearty breakfast at the town diner, a local dish known as the "Hangtown Fry" which includes eggs, bacon, and oysters.

Once again completely alone and unobserved in the forest, he makes another attempt at Shapechanging into an eagle! This time he is able to avoid Paradox, and succeeds more easily in completing the spell!

failure


3 successes


Kaze spends the next hour aloft, soaking up the experience, and then he feels a surge or instinct to swoop down on prey! He is able to resist the eagle's instinct to hunt!

2 successes


Kaze flies back to where he hid his backpack, and dresses. He hikes back to the Inn, checks out and after a solid late afternoon lunch, he drives back home, contemplating what he's experienced and learned.