Travels in the 2nd half

  Sacramento, California, is a wonderful city to visit. There are a lot of things to do, exploring the history of the state and local outdoor life. One great way to spend a day, especially if you are traveling with children, is to visit William Land Park, on the city’s south side. William Land Park is about four miles south of Old Sacramento, along the Sacramento River. It is named for one of the early European residents of Sacramento. He is best known for building the Western Hotel in town in 1875. The park has many attractions, including picnic areas, running paths and a public golf course on its 207 acres. One place to start your visit is at the Lotus Pond. It was built originally as a duck pond. In 2005, park gardener Daisy Mah planted on lotus flower in the pond. Over the years that one plant has multiplied to cover almost the entire area of the pond. Nearby is Fairytale Town . This is an attraction for children with activities based on many traditional fairy tales and nurser...

  The city of Sacramento was built as a river town, along the Sacramento River. It was founded in 1848 near the junction of the Sacramento and American Rivers. Sacramento was a place that boats could easily reach from San Francisco, and became the gateway to California’s Gold Rush. The area along the river became the center of town, with stores and warehouses doing brisk business. When the Southern Pacific Railway was built it passed right through the city. Today you can visit both aspects of the history in Old Sacramento. The Yellow Bridge, over the Sacramento River Old Sacramento is a five block long stretch along the river. Thanks to “urban planning” is has been cut off from the rest of the city by highways and bridges. But the twelve square blocks of the historic district have been maintained in their original condition. The buildings date back to the late 1800’s, and streets are paved with cobblestones. The stores in the neighborhood no longer are set up to equip miners. Inst...

  The Empire Gold Mine was the largest, most profitable gold mine in California’s history. It was located in the area that became the town of Grass Valley , about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento. Today that mine, out of service since the 1950’s, sits at the heart of a California State Historic Park. Going down to work in the mine In 1850, gold bearing quartz was discovered in the mountains of California. Gold in this form is much harder to mine. Since it is not pure, you can’t pan it out of the water. Instead “hard rock” methods must be employed. The rocks have to be drilled or blasted from the ground, and then crushed to a powder. The powder was then mixed with copper covered with mercury. The gold and mercury mixed together formed an amalgam that was separated from the copper. Then the gold was purified. In 1905, the mine adopted a method that used cyanide instead of mercury. These methods both created issues of water and ground pollution. The cleanup of the area went well into...