Placerville, also
known as Old Hangtown, was once the second largest city along the
Mother Lode during the 1849 gold rush, but the gold in the immediate
area was quickly depleted within two years and people moved on. Just
8 miles north (on a narrow winding uphill and down switch back road)
is the town of Coloma -- the site where the first gold was discovered
at Sutter's Mill in 1848. After a brief visit, we headed south along
Highway 49.
Many of the old towns along this historic route have preserved
their historic districts. Some towns are still thriving communities
where people shop from and live in the old buildings. Some have their
historic districts separate from the rest of the town. Some have just
ruins here and there. One of the most charming towns along the route
is Sutter's Creek. The problem with this whole section of the Sierras
is that most the old buildings are now touristshitshops or art
galleries....and if you've seen one touristshitshop, you've seen them
all. Some have a museum of old mining equipment and local history.
Some have nicely painted storefronts. Some of the people are friendly
and warm. Some are cranky and hate tourists.....which makes for an
unpleasant touristshitshop experience ;) Most of the time we drove
through the town and looked......and if we wanted to stop, we did. If
we didn't, we drove on.
There were just a few places I wanted to stay and explore along
the route. Chaw'se, the Indian Grinding Stone
State Historic Park was one such place. It is just a few miles
east of Jackson. This was the place where the WiMuk Indians gathered
every fall to grind acorns for the winter. The rocks have deep
grinding holes from centuries of use. I enjoyed the interpretive
center -- it is well written history that does not glorify the miners
but tells the story of the demise of the native peoples of the area
during the gold rush. There is a round house built in the park that
is now used to by the native people to build strength and pride in
their heritage. I found it a peaceful and comfortable place.
In San Andreas (was the fault named after San Andreas or was the
town named after the fault?), there is the jail and courthouse where
Black Bart was held and tried. I couldn't go into the courthouse
because they were holding a trial there that day.
All along the drive we kept smelling smoke, tasting smoke, seeing
the mountains covered with a thick haze of smoke. We settled in
Murphys that night and turned on the news. There were now over 150
fires in the Sierras....most of them following our trail. Mt. Shasta.
Lassen Volcanic Park. Reno. Lake Tahoe area. I started to wonder at
the connection.......naw. The news said they were lightening fires.
Whew! The worst fire at that time was exactly where were were going
next: Mariposa county. We watched the news carefully to see if the
road to Yosemite was closed...open...closed.
Murphys is off the route on a highway back to Carson City. It is
an old historic town where Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Horace Greeley and
President Teddy Roosevelt once stayed. We were intrigued by the
historic hotel and made reservations for the night. The town is only
a short strip along the highway -- as many of these towns are -- but
people live and work there. Our hotel parking lot is used as a
Farmer's Market every Thursday evening -- the night we stayed there
-- so we were able to talk with the people and look over the area's
goods. The shops are the same....touristshitshops and art galleries.
The restaurants are rather highend California Yuppie cuisine. This
was not a Gold Rush community but a stopping place for travelers up
to the high Sierras -- skiers, hikers, golfers. As charming as the
town looked, it didn't have a healthy "vibe." The hotel room was
dirty and hot, the Pepsi machine broken *gasp*, and the bugs ate me
alive. We woke up early, checked the news for fires, and headed up to
the Calaveras Big Trees.
On to Day Four
