Early last week, Steve and I took a few days to enjoy the atmosphere of the old gold rush towns of Northern California. We concentrated on Nevada City and Grass Valley. Fortunately there's a RV campground at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, right next to Grass Valley. It rained all day on Monday so we stayed nice and toasty inside but it was absolutely gorgeous on Tuesday.
Look at the colors of the trees at their pond - the place to be if you're a duck or goose. And of course it wouldn't be complete without the carved miner and his cart.
Near the campground was the Empire Mine State Historic Park which is home of the biggest gold mine in California. It was open until the late '50s. I especially like the rusted gasoline pump, the quilt like wood gates, and of course the mine shaft itself. (Those miners were hearty and brave souls!)
Then there was Nevada City itself. Wow, there are lots of restaurants in both Nevada City and Grass Valley. Makes me wonder what it looks like when it's tourist season. Fortunately it's off season otherwise we wouldn't have been able to find any place to park the RV. As it was, Steve had to maneuver quite a bit to get it out of the way. Gorgeous blue skies, rusty old ironworks, and storefronts galore. We had a nice breakfast at a little diner and then just wandered up and down the streets of downtown.
Lovely! I have a friend who has a place in Grass Valley and she's invited us to visit -- looks like we ought to!
Posted by: Cheri | October 29, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Hi Tami. I have been following your blog for some time and how ironic that you visited Nevada City recently. I just spent the day hosting the NC Chamber Visitor Center since I live in NC and volunteer my time. It is easy to see why you enjoyed your time here. We all fall in love with this wonderful historic town.
Posted by: Saucy Chick Sherry | October 31, 2009 at 05:21 PM