Girdwood Alaska is a year round resort community located only 40 miles south of Anchorage. Girdwood has evolved from a gold mining town to a resort community offering fishing, hiking, rafting, skiing, and other outdoor adventures. Girdwood is located at the base of the spectacular Mt. Alyeska. A fairly easy drive from Anchorage. For more information about Girdwood, outdoor activities, and spectacular photos please visit the official travel … [Read more...]
Redding, CA – Nearby Lakes
KESWICK DAM Lake Shasta gets all the recognition, and rightly so, but less then 15 minutes from downtown Redding is another 1940's era dam and reservoir. Keswik Reservoir was named after Lord Keswick, the president of a mining company. This area is rich in mining history (and we have even discovered some small pieces of gold in the surrounding region). Located directly south of Shasta Dam, this reservoir stretches for miles and it's width is … [Read more...]
Redding, CA – Parks
Caldwell Park Named after a prominent Redding attorney, Claude Caldwell. Features 73 acres with many activities for all ages. During the hot summer months the aquatic park is highly popular - (especially the tall water slide). Open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Also offers a skate park and a bike park for children. But perhaps one of the park's most appealing features is it's proximity to the Sacramento River and access to the Sacramento … [Read more...]
Mt. Shasta, CA – Nearby Towns
DUNSMUIR is located directly off of the 5 freeway about a 15 minute drive south of Mt. Shasta City. Charming and picturesque are often over used words in the travel writing world - but these two words perfectly describe this town. If you are arriving by car, park your vehicle curbside in the historic center of town located along Dunsmuir Ave and take some time to soak up the charm of this town on foot. A town built for photographers. Also known … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Weather
The weather varies a bit from town to town along this stretch of southern gold mining towns. Generally the summers are warm to quite hot and very dry. July through September prime fire season months - where generally no rain falls. By this time of year the vegetation is very dry and will easily burn (especially if after a season of little rain, which can be common). Winters can be cold especially at nights. Some of the higher mining towns may … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Angel’s Camp
Angels Camp is the town that inspired the great Mark Twain to write his short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". This book was his first success. This annual Jumping Frog Jubilee began in 1928 and continues today from Thursday through Sunday the third week of May. A Frog Hop Walk of Fame is located along South Main Street (Highway 49) and bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalks feature the winning frog names from some 85+ … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Columbia
Columbia is a small mining town in the heart of California's gold country. This town is located on Highway 49 at the intersection of Parrotts Ferry Road and also Big Hill Road. Columbia is between an arm of New Melones Dam and the town of Sonora. This town is well worth a visit. In one month in 1850 after gold was discovered nearby, Columbia grew by 5000 people. In 20 years between 1850 and 1870 over 87 million in gold was extracted from the … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Coulterville
Coulterville is located at the junction of Highways 132 and 49. This old mining town used to be a booming community along the first stage coach road into Yosemite Valley. Now with approximately 115 people it is just barely reaping some of the benefits of the tourist boom that other historic mining towns have seen in more recent years. Coulterville is slightly removed from the main mining tourist town areas therefore not as many people drive … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Jamestown
Jamestown is located about 3 miles south of Sonora on Highway 108. This mining town has had its share of history. It is named after a Colonel, George James. Nearby Wood's Creek was extremely rich and provided some sizable nuggets over the years. This creek is named after an Oregon miner Benjamin Wood who first discovered gold in the area in 1848 (one of the earliest gold mining related settlements in this part of California). The town has a … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Mariposa
Mariposa is the next major gold mining town if you continue south on Highway 49 from Coulterville. Mariposa county used to be the largest county in California in the 1800's, extending all the way to Los Angeles. However, it is much smaller today. Mariposa, meaning butterfly in Spanish used to be called Logtown. It used to be a central mining town in the area. Today it is centrally located to Yosemite National Park and is a stopover for many … [Read more...]