Gold Rush People

The Marshall Gold Discovery State Park in Coloma, California is a place I’ve visited several times. It’s the spot where in 1848 James Marshall found some shiny flecks of gold in the river whilst working for his boss, John Sutter. As they say, the rest is history. People came from all over the world to look for gold hoping to get rich quick. (Not many actually did.) Those folks were called “49ers” and they later founded a professional football team.

The park is a magnet for school field trips and there were several going on when we arrived. At one point I found myself surrounded by a gaggle of 5th graders. It was slightly discombobulating.

Oh, My Darling, Clementine

Dad is back in town, so we spent the day together hiking and just goofing around. We started at the confluence of the North and Middle Forks of the American River near Auburn, California, which is a great spot. We then hiked up the North Fork to Lake Clementine. As we were watching the water spilling over the dam, Dad was humming a silly song about a Gold Rush miner’s daughter tragically lost in the river. He assures me it is not based on a true story.

In real life, please don’t go in that river, especially in early Spring. That water is cold, fast and dangerous!