Blogs from Nevada City, California, United States, North America

The next morning (the 26th) I got up and started heading north with the idea of checking out oyster places in Tomales Bay. Crossed the golden gate bridge, pretty interesting foggy coastland in the morning, the environment looked rather similar to the first farm I visited in socal between escondido and temecula. Temp may be a bit cooler but not by too much, which is a bit surprising since the difference is roughly 475 miles north. Found a place selling oysters, bought a few - more expensive than I was expecting so I took it easy on that, chatted with the guy and left - headed east towards Petaluma then I made arrangements with the next farm as to time I'd show up in Nevada City. First, I headed to Sacramento and looked for interesting places ... read more

Today we hiked the West side of the South Yuba Independence Trail, just North of Nevada City off of Highway 49. The Independence Trail is built on the original water course of the 1856 Excelsior Ditch. This canal carried water from the South Yuba River to the hydraulic gold mines in Smartville about 25 miles away. The Excelsior Ditch is an ingeniously designed and constructed facility made up of a combination of earthen and rock walled ditches and wooden flumes. Because the Ditch was designed to transport water, its nominal gradient makes it well suited for an easily accessible trail. From the beginning of the Independence Trail in 1978, Sequoya Challenge (a non-profit corporation) has constructed trail and facilities suitable for accommodating individuals with a broad range of physical challenges. In recent years, a partnership between ... read more

After much rain, we finally got a week-end of some fine weather and decided to take a short drive along Highway 49 and the very scenic South Yuba River Canyon. This day we made two stops, first at the old Highway 49 bridge. The old Highway 49 bridge (1921) an outstanding example of the concrete Rainbow arch-style construction which was very common in the 1920's. After over 70 years of use, the bridge was closed to automobile traffic in 1993. The old bridge is now used for foot traffic and for viewing the spectacular river canyon, it is a good spot to river-watch and access to the water. During the summer after the winter rains and the spring snow melt, the turquoise water slows down and turns crystal clear making for a great swimming hole. Our ... read more