Columbia State Historic Park is one of the gems of the California Gold Country. To walk the boardwalks is to step back to the 1850s and the era when men and women came west to dig for their fortune. We came up with Mark and Ellen for a weekend getaway in our motor homes.
We started with luncheon at Kate’s Tea House, a beautifully restored shop serving excellent lunch choices, tea filtered at the table, and scones that seemed to float above the plates.
After lunch we headed to the “Diggins,” an annual celebration and re-enactment of the days when Columbia boomed. The tent city was populated with folks wearing authentic garb and talking about their life in the mining town. Since paper money was not trusted back then, the medium of exchange was either gold dust or eagles. We traded our worthless paper for eagles. Store keepers told how their goods arrived, whether by wagons across the plains or on ships around Cape Horn.
A theater was set up to present the music and songs written and heard by the gold miners.
The sun was pouring down on us and, since there was no A/C in the 1800s, we sought comfort in the motor homes.
In the cooler evening, we went to the City Hotel for a prix fixe dinner and evening of music and Mark Twain. Our salads, salmon or steak, and chocolate mousse were excellent.
Before and between courses, Dave Rainwater serenaded with music from 1861 on his banjo, guitar and fiddle.
Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, told us tales of his adventures in the Gold Country including drinking at the What Cheer Saloon in the Hotel. This was a delightful and delicious evening.
Ellen’s blintzes stoked us for our trip up the hills to see the Sequoia Gigantea in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Our 5K volksmarch took us beneath these red bark-covered behemoths. We traipsed along the path
climbed a massive stump
and peered way up to the sky to see the tops of the trees.
Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Murphy’s Historic Hotel. After a wee bit of shopping we returned to the campground to enjoy the end of a lovely weekend.
After lunch we headed to the “Diggins,” an annual celebration and re-enactment of the days when Columbia boomed. The tent city was populated with folks wearing authentic garb and talking about their life in the mining town. Since paper money was not trusted back then, the medium of exchange was either gold dust or eagles. We traded our worthless paper for eagles. Store keepers told how their goods arrived, whether by wagons across the plains or on ships around Cape Horn.
A theater was set up to present the music and songs written and heard by the gold miners.
The sun was pouring down on us and, since there was no A/C in the 1800s, we sought comfort in the motor homes.
In the cooler evening, we went to the City Hotel for a prix fixe dinner and evening of music and Mark Twain. Our salads, salmon or steak, and chocolate mousse were excellent.
Before and between courses, Dave Rainwater serenaded with music from 1861 on his banjo, guitar and fiddle.
Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, told us tales of his adventures in the Gold Country including drinking at the What Cheer Saloon in the Hotel. This was a delightful and delicious evening.
Ellen’s blintzes stoked us for our trip up the hills to see the Sequoia Gigantea in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Our 5K volksmarch took us beneath these red bark-covered behemoths. We traipsed along the path
climbed a massive stump
and peered way up to the sky to see the tops of the trees.
Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Murphy’s Historic Hotel. After a wee bit of shopping we returned to the campground to enjoy the end of a lovely weekend.
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