All the gold in California

I guess I'm dating myself with that song, aren't I? But I couldn't help thinking of that song as we decided what our adventure for the day was going to be. Brian and I took the kids to Marshall Gold Discovery State Historical Park to see what we could see. We had some very nice weather, warm enough that most of us didn't need jackets, just long sleeves. The kids were excited to see where James Marshall first found gold at Sutter's Mill. They wanted to try their hand at panning, but I think we will wait for warmer weather, when they could actually get into the water. That will involve buying pans in the museum store, something we didn't want to do today. I think Joel's favorite part of the trip was finding sticks on the short hike we took to the discovery site. He found one large piece of a branch that looks like some kind of huge phaser-type gun. He said he didn't need to buy souvenirs, since he found some. That kid is a hoot.

We also saw a group of kayakers going down the American River. By the time we saw them, we (and they) were in the calmer waters near the discovery site. If we had stayed up near the replica of the mill longer, we could have seen them in a bit faster water. They looked like they were having a good time.

I think we'll go back in warmer weather and perhaps when there are some special events scheduled. Funny thing is, we just missed a big event last weekend... on the 20th, they had a special day to commemorate the anniversary of Marshall's discovery, which was on January 24, 1848. I imagine the kids would have gotten a chance to pan if we had gone then.