SOLO ROADTRIP: N. SIERRA NEVADA [CARSON VALLEY & GOLD COUNTRY]

i had a slow morning as there was no rush to my next destination. i drank my lukewarm coffee as it had been so hot, my cooler was no longer doing its job. i drove by the lake hoping to do a short trail, but i could see driving there were literally clouds of mosquitoes. i had never seen mosquitoes like that. if a mosquito is around, it will find me, so that was a no go. there was one brave man fishing and wearing shorts - what an animal.

i made the drive through the dessert to the carson river valley, which was so beautiful & different. there were fields of greenery & the mountains in the distance. the first stop was genoa, the first settlement in what would become nevada territory. i decided to have breakfast & coffee at a the coffeehouse in town as i was early. it was so pleasant and cute with crafts hung throughout the shop. it was so nice, i ended up getting a second drink later. i had a ginger tumeric latte & a lavender matcha latte.

the reason i was in genoa, was to visit the mormon station park, the location where a trading post was established for those traveling the california trail in the wagon days. the state park includes a little museum & the grounds that share information about the history of the station itself & how people travelled the trail. the mormon station is also a part of the pony express trail.

 

the statue in front of mormon station

the cabin that houses the little museum. i learned that wagons were normally painted red & blue.

the town is pretty small, with a few buildings on each side of the street housing food establishments & shops, including the oldest bar in nevada (1853). most of the buildings are from the mid 1800s.

genoa

there is even a metal cowboy alien!

on my way back to california was the antique trail through a few of the smaller towns in nevada. to be honest, most were skippable. there were only a few worth going to. i stopped in both minden & gardnerville. the antique store down the road from genoa was the best one. it was in an old home (you do not see those often). it was well curated & had a friendly dog. i found treasure. 

the cool antique store down the street from genoa

there was also a cool antique mall in gardnerville (i found an old death valley souvenir ring! - my faovrite national park)

to cross back to california, i would have to drive through eldorado national forest & make quite a bit of elevation. i did not do too much research in advance & am super unfamiliar with mountains (i have only been to the snow twice in my 33 years). i was not expecting the views. lots of water, greenery, & even snow! it makes sense why there would be snow, but i did not expect to reach such high elevations so snow in june felt like a treat! i really would love to explore this area more. i could see a storm coming in, so i made my stops shorts. i did end up having to drive winding roads through a storm, which made me white knuckle a bit.

on carson pass is a little visitor center; elevation 8,500+ ( part of the PCT)

one of the lakes, and the storm coming in...

eventually i arrived to the sierra nevada foothills & indian grinding rock state park, my campsite for the night. i arrived late, so was not able to spend time in the visitor center, but was warned about the mosquitoes. maybe it was because it was a saturday, but the park was busy with a lot of families.

the park has the largest collection of bedrock mortars (chaw'se) in north america 

miwok dancer

the park has a hun'ge roundhouse that is used by the miwok for events (it is not open to the public)

i found a frog friend while showering. scared the shit out of me. i also took a record 4 minute shower with 1 token.

i decided to be brave, walk away from the campground, and watched the sunset from the open meadow down the trail. i had the view all to myself & the few deer that stopped by. this was a highlight of my trip. enjoying the solitude while being fearful of the dark.

the reconstructed miwok village

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before leaving, i hiked a small trail in the park (and was the only one)

this day would be filled with visits to small towns along gold country & the sierra nevada foothills. the first stop was angel camp. a place i have been wanting to visit (i learned about this place reading a gold rush book in college). in town, is the regional museum, angel camp museum. the musem talks about the local history & the regional gold country. the museum is known for it's large carriage house. i talked to one of the curators and she talked about the reason why their carriages are in such good conditions is because many are local & as the region is dry, they do not get water damage.

the museum also has an exhibit about the annual frog jumping jubilee (inspired by a mark twain story about a contest in angel's camp - i told you he would be back again)

this carriage had the most intricate painting

a reproduction of a stagecoach (it's huge)

a mortuary & funeral carriage

the museum had a resident redwood tree

angel camp

i love taking pictures of small town post offices

my next stop and where i would spend most of my day was columbia state historic park. the park preserved a few blocks in the town of columbia & most of the buildings are rented out to businesses that have an old timey flare to them. unlike some other gold rush cities, by chance this one was less looted & vandalized so it was a good candidate for preservation. columbia was one of the largest gold rush mining cities in california in the 1850s. this is such a different setup. normally buildings like these are in ruins or small museums, not businesses like they once were. such an immersive experience & a special place. i talked to one of the workers and she said the park is thinking about ending this partnership because it is so expensive to maintain the buildings (the park owns the building & leases to businesses). when i was there, there was a little house on the prairie show reunion with the cast, so it was more festive but not very busy.

columbia state historic park

towle & leavitt (my favorite shop; like a girly antique store), i was tempted to buy a bonnet (i bought a cowboy hankerchief instead)

the visitor center has a room where you can dress up (i love that shit)

admire the chicken door

an exhibit on wells fargo

i stopped in the mercantile for a chomp stick and cherry cola (this is the best cherry cola i have ever had)

a cute coffeehouse

there are also stagecoach rides.

one of the outdoor vendors for the special event was tintype photography (they are not here all year(. i love old timey photos (i normally due the dress-up ones) so i knew i had to do this. i am happy to give my money to a small business like this; a family who dresses old timey & does old timey photos. they had to do it twice since they under exposed the first time. i got to keep both. 

tintype photography was used mostly used in the 1860s & 70s, but was still pretty commonly used until the 1930s. the experience is humbling. i remember seeing these type of photos and thinking everyone looks old, but this type of photography picks up on the slightest contrast & details. it enhances any blemish, wrinkle, shadow, or sun damage.

it was getting late in the day, but my last stop was jamestown. the town is known for being one of the stops on the way to yosemite. today, it is an old mining town with some cute buildings and local businesses. it feels very small town & for a weekend in the summer was not busy. i stopped at the antique shop / coffeeshop / ice cream parlor where i had a very pleasant conversation with the owner. she was an ex-hitchhiker /motorbiker who settled down in the area. she talked about now she once use to travel & camp alone, but now as an elderly woman too scared too. she told me i should really visit yosemite. i want to go one day, but never consider it in my plans because it is such a busy place & has a pretty small window of traveling when there is no snow (i am scared of driving in snow of frozen roads). i really enjoyed our conversation.

outside the antique store

inside the antique store

around town was a little shady, so i did not stay for long.

i then made my way back to the bay area. i am trying to do more of these short little trips while i am living up north, so hopefully i will have more posts. i already did one one-nighter nearby (which i plan to go back to when it is greener) & have another short trip in a few weeks (we will see how that goes as we are in the middle of a federal shutdown and this involves federal land). i did just return from my 3+ week international backpacking trip so that will be next for the posts.