Woo-hoo, a clear day! Friday, 9/18/20

Oh my goodness, when I opened the back door this morning and gave the air the "sniff test," I didn't smell anything ... nothing, except perhaps a tiny breeze hinting of fall ... the sun was low in the September sky, and migrating Robins were filling our Dogwood trees.  No smell of smoke, and our A/Q was measuring in the "moderate" range rather than hazardous or unhealthy for the first time in what seems like forever.  Fact is, we could see across the trees without that layer of gauze we've seen since the hot days, fires and smoke began five weeks ago.  We were surprised to see cloud cover, as though rain might be in order, but none fell and those gray clouds gave way to a stellar blue sky peppered with fleecy white clouds (below).  Hallelujah!  You can really appreciate a day such as this when you haven't seen the likes in a while!

All that adds up to a "hiking" day, but the high country A/Q measured in the unhealthy class.  No thanks, we chose not to go there!  Locally, we could spend a couple of hours hiking the trails at Empire Mine St Pk, a few miles away in Grass Valley, and so off we went.

We couldn't recall when we'd last been there, but this blog comes in mighty handy.  Posting tells the tale and I looked it up on the label at left on your page.  Our last visit was March of 2017 (wow!).  I guess I don't need to add that neither the Visitor Center nor any other bldgs was open due to COVID. 

I don't know how we do it, but we managed to walk 5.5 miles in circles!  It isn't possible to get lost in this compact state park, altho we traipsed all over, doubling back a couple of times, but WE DIDN'T CARE.  We were thrilled to be Out and About today and enjoyed each minute of the two-and-a-half hours we wandered around.  Other like-minded people were here, bikers and walkers and joggers, each one happy to acknowledge the beautiful day.  (Most were masked or stepped off the trail.)

This particular section winds through a miniature Manzanita forest.

Dried flowers mingle with Manzanita.

Look at the fascinating pine bark of a mature Ponderosa pine:  Yellow-brown to russet-colored and broken up into scaly plates separated by deep, irregular fissures.  To me these plates are composed of picture puzzle pieces.

We see so much old mining paraphernalia, none of it recognizable as such to eyes a century later.  What we did notice, along with the fresh breeze, was falling leaves.  After a hot, dry summer, isn't that a happy sight?  After all, the autumnal equinox is next week.

Tailings are a fact of life in a gold mine.  The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."  Between 1850 and its closure in 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of gold, extracted from 367 miles of underground passages, so sayeth Wiki.  And all that produced tailings.  That hill you see above and much of the ground we walked on is or had been tailings.

I forgot to add that horses are allowed on many area trails in the park, and we dodged a whole lot of horse apples to prove it.  Jimmy said one section we were on should be renamed "horseshirt" trail, but read that word without the "r."  (And, he didn't really say horseshirt, either.)  The very cool horse above was wearing red sandals!

More old mining stuff.  I can't say equipment, 'cause I don't know what it is/was.  Like most of the trails we hike, these were up and down.  We hiked to the top of Osborn Hill and then down roundabout somehow or other.  We both like walking on pine straw -- it's the best at cushioning the path.

This is the first time I've seen painted rocks left on stumps, and I saw two.  Plus a SF Giants baseball cap hanging on a branch.  Somebody will nab it up.

More tailings of some sort.

We finally made it back to Smartie and it was 12:30.  I'd packed no lunch, knowing we were close enough to go home for lunch.  But today was different.  As we ended our trek, I suggested to Jimmy that he could take me out for lunch.  He said okay, but where?  We haven't been into a restaurant since, what? February? March?  Long time.  We were in the neighborhood of our favorite little Mexican restaurant, El Milagro, in Grass Valley, so we drove the short distance to see if they were open.  Sure enough!  Patio seating or inside the dining room.  We chose the empty dining room.  We felt safe.  The waiter was masked and everything looked clean and wiped down.  And we ate, oh my, we ate a fine lunch.  And tomorrow we'll finish the lunch leftovers!

Jimmy's humongous poblano sauce burrito.

Mmmmmmm

Oooh, my poblano sauce chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice.

Muy delicioso! Muy bien.

Back at home, I put Roma tomatoes on to bake for tomato confit, and then went into the garden to pick another pint-plus of my own yellow cherry tomatoes.  Jimmy read for a bit on the back deck.  We puttered.  You understand what I'm saying?  We were outside!  Tomorrow is supposed to be another 75/°ish day, oh the joy of it all.  The bliss.  We're ready.

Hiking Osborn Hills, Friday March 3, 2017

Our options to go hiking this time of year are sort of limited, that is, if we don't want a long drive.  We get tired of traipsing the same places, too.  Many local trails are muddy now and, of course, higher elevations are buried in snow.  I remembered that Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley had some nice, easy trails, and it's close.  We needed to run a few errands in that area, so that cinched it.

We bypassed the Visitor Center, instead aiming straight for the trails.  From the parking lot, we veered off the Hardrock Trail onto Osborn Hills loop,and realized, Hey, this is a new one for us ... we've never been on this section.  With 14 miles of scenic trails in the park, I suppose it's easy to miss one or two!  Well, we like new adventures.  I'm pretty sure that's why we travel, our love of new places and adventure.

The first thing we did after setting out was to detour around a washed out road, rerouted onto a bridge over Little Wolf Creek (above, looking left and right from the bridge). We've used the washed out section before to get onto other trails and never saw a drop of water in the creek. Big changes this year! Little Wolf Creek was a major factor in the massive sinkhole in Grass Valley that was splashed all over the news media about six wks ago, caused by too much rain/run-off at one time.  That 70' deep by 80 ft-in-diameter sinkhole is still there, surrounded by huge piles of dirt on three sides, covered in heavy-duty plastic topped with tires.  Till the rainy season ends, I guess.

The sign in front of this cement, uh, structure reads "Prescott Hill Mine." I could wander all I wanted around these mining trappings, with abandoned mine shafts and stamp-mill foundations, etc., and still wouldn't be able to figure out the whys and wherefores of most stuff I see.

[A bit of history: The Empire Mine State Park area contained a complex of mines that were developed to get at gold-bearing rock veins below the surface. There were at least five mines in the Osborne Hill area, with varying levels of mining activity from the 1850’s into the 1930’s. Most easily visible are impressive remains of the Prescott Hill Mine which, combined with several neighboring mine properties in 1903, had a shaft down to 1,750′ and was active into the early 1930’s.]  I found this paragraph online.

We know what these piles are:  Mine tailings.

Enormous mounds of crushed rock left behind from the ore mining days.

The trees at the top of the photo are tall Ponderosa pines,

dwarfed by the size of this rock pile, turned a dull rusty-brown by pine needles.

Rated moderate, we hiked up and up on this loop trail, not really sure where it would lead, but it was fun to climb.  We couldn't calculate exact mileage since one trail merges into another, but we put between three-four miles on our feet.  Above, we passed next to this no-access road -- and no trespassing people or horses!  Stay out, Mr. Ed. 😉

  

I wondered about this ... Jimmy says it's a very large valve.
I am no wiser.

With rain and snow in our immediate forecast, again, today we enjoyed a pleasant day of filtered sun and moderate temps, and a lovely walk through a mixed oak and conifer forest.

Buzzing bees alerted us to a few (early) blooming Manzanita bushes.

But these will never bloom again -- part of a "dead" forest.

It was a grand hike on a late winter's day, perfect for us who like to get Out and About, exploring. Making up the southern arm of Empire Mine SHP, Osborn Hills was not exactly wild, but it was intriguing.  Looks like there are more trails on this map that we need to check out.  We're always ready for new ventures!

Critters and Christmas Combined -- Nov 27th & 28th

Sierra Rose Alpaca Farm in Grass Valley held an open house on Friday afternoon, Nov 27th.  Having just enjoyed a big, yummy breakfast with our friends, Donna and Danny, at Awful Annie's in Auburn that morning, we thought a stroll amongst the alpacas might be a fun capper to Black Friday.  No shopping for us today!  Not much traffic, either, tho we wondered if we'd get caught in any shopping crowd messes on the road.  We didn't, and it was a lovely day to be Out and About.

Farm owner, Howard (left), gave our small group a guided tour.  I think the large alpaca's name (front) is Jessica, and she followed Howard around like a faithful dog.  He said it was unusual for an alpaca to bond with a human, but she had.  Her five-month-old son, Sam, in his cinnamon-colored coat, stands directly behind her.  Sam was more skittish, but we could pet Jessica's back and neck easily.  Jimmy is behind the lady in the red jacket (we didn't know the other two ladies).

This little girl's name is Rose, and she's also five months old.

As you see, some of these ladies have pretty fancy hairdo's!

There are two types of alpacas: Huacayas produce a dense, soft, crimpy and sheep-like fiber, and most of the alpacas in my pictures are this type. Suris, like the one above, have silky pencil-like locks, resembling dreadlocks but without matted fibers.  Alpaca fleece/fiber is soft, durable, and luxurious.  A silky natural fiber, it's very valuable.  While similar to sheep's wool, alpaca fiber is warmer, not prickly and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.  All of the alpacas in this long pen were ladies.  Boys and girls are kept apart until a baby alpaca is wanted.  No, we're not thinking about buying one.  Be hard to transport it in the RV! 

Alpacas are sweet, docile animals, who hum softly to each other as a way of communication.  I like.

This girl is a blue-eyed white alpaca, which is not a desirable trait, as they're often born deaf (who can tell?). They shouldn't be mated to a male blue-eyed white, and there are other restrictions regarding mating.  Strange to see blue eyes, especially with the horizontal pupils. 

I saved the best picture for last!  What a face!

* * * * *

On Saturday the 28th, Jimmy and I popped in at Empire Mine's holiday open house. This State Historic Park is in Grass Valley, and is full of gold history!  To quote from their brochure:  "Open for business from 1850 until its closing in 1956, Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of gold."  That's the equivalent to a box seven feet long, seven feet high, and seven feet deep filled with gold -- hoy! -- too bad they don't give samples! The park contains many of the old mine buildings, and today volunteers were manning exhibits.  Also, 367 miles of abandoned and flooded mine shafts exist below the mine and the City of Grass Valley, which is a little bit scary to contemplate.

The Bourn Cottage was open today, with its living history docents.  We went in and joined the cook for a cookie in the kitchen.  My idea of a cottage is certainly different than the Bourn Cottage pictured above and below.  The grounds are gorgeous.

Holiday music floated over the grounds, thanks to these carolers.

Autumn tree color continues on the grounds,
but it was definitely chilly and we appreciated our jackets.

These fallen leaves are actually encased in ice!

A thin layer of ice covers this shallow reflecting pool.  Brrr!

After touring the grounds and the house, we exited the park proper, grabbed our water, and went for a nice hike in the waning afternoon sun along the Hardrock Trail.  We walked past monstrous piles of tailings, and luckily enough we didn't fall into an abandoned mine shaft!  We pretty much had the trail to ourselves after encountering these two equestrians, tho it was a fine day to be out walking ... it was good for us anyway!

Uh-oh, watch out, sisters together again! Sept 2013

Nannie and "Bubba," my sis and BiL from Baton Rouge, blew into our town and our lives again on Fri, 8/30.  They've been "on the road" in their travel trailer for two-and-a-half months and are sort of on their way home.  Lucky for us, they made Rock Canyon RV Park in Livingston MT a stop in their travels this summer and camped next to us for a week.  Lucky for them Jimmy was catching lots 'o nice trout while they were there!

Saturday morning found us up and atem early so we could get to the Nevada City Farmer's Mkt in Nevada City.  Jimmy, Bubba and Nannie are on the right side of this pic.  We bought some lovely veggies, inc heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard, a cuke, oak leaf lettuce, a fresh-picked bright-skinned eggplant, and a few peppers, but I don't know what kind.  Also bought a bouquet of pretty summer bloomers.  Nice haul.

We bought some very tasty pastries for breakfast at the mkt, which we enjoyed at the old National Hotel Coffee and Espresso Shop.  This hotel has been in business for 130 years and claims to be the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Rocky Mountains.  I can tell you their coffee shop serves the best coffee!

Of course we walked around historic Nevada City, stepping into several of the shops there, including a hat shop....  hint hint:  Notice new chapeau on my head.(to keep the sun off my face).

Saturday evening was dinner out at our favorite - Lefty's Grill in Nevada City.  We asked for a creekside table, but moved inside when the hot sun blasted us.  It was much too warm to eat out on the deck, but we really enjoyed our dinner indoors.

Sunday dawned cooler and partly cloudy, so we took Nannie and Bubba to the Empire Mine in Grass Valley.  The Empire Mine was one of the oldest, largest, and richest mines in California.  Jimmy and I have been here several times in the past year and like visiting, even tho no gold nuggets have ever fallen into the palms of our hands!  We toured the mine area, but elected not to do any hiking on the trails because it was too warm for stuff like that.  We poked into every nook and cranny we could at the mine.

This yard area contains a myriad of rusted machinery used in the mining business, most of which we scratch our heads over, saying, "I dunno, what do YOU think it is?"

I think I KNOW what this was!  Choo-choooooooo....

Bubba and Jimmy and more machinery.

After checking out the mine, we returned to the car and a picnic table - in the shade - to eat lunch.  I wish we all could've gone to the mine last weekend when they sponsored their Miner's Picnic, but here we are this weekend regardless.  The polar opposite of the business end of the mine is the beautifully groomed grounds and home of the Bourne family, built in 1878-1879.  In past blogs, I've posted pictures of the home from the front, complete with fountains and gorgeous flowers, but below is a different perspective.

Nannie poses at the rear entrance of the beautiful Bourne cottage.  All the rocks were gathered at the mine, and look at the fantastic rock work of this place.  Patterned after a English Cotswold Cottage which William Bourne, Jr., President of Empire Mine, fell in love with while attending Cambridge.  Nice cottage (looks like a mansion to me!).

A multi-layered proper rose garden is terraced on both sides of these steps.  A gorgeous Gold of Ophir climbing rose is trellised above me.  Unfortunately it wasn't in bloom today.

Cascading waters lead to the serene rectangular reflecting pool.

A bonus today was the interpretive volunteers at the Bourne home.  Small tour groups were greeted at the door by Sidney the butler, who asked us into the cottage, where Mr and Mrs Bourne graciously showed their home.  Set in 1905 and in period dress of that date, the volunteers really played their parts well.  We WERE in 1905.  Sarah_Kidder was also present, as was Katie Moriarty, the housekeeper.  Mrs. Kidder, seen above, with the four of us, became the first female railroad President of the world upon the death of her husband.  She also became RICH.  When we asked her about the gun on her hip, she replied, deadpan, "In this lawless land, a woman needs a gun."  (Think 1905)  Her Narrow Gauge Railroad was never robbed.  I can see why!