HISTORIC COLUMBIA GOLD PANNING

My entourage visited the historic mother lode town of Columbia. The ranger there gave us a taste of what life was like during its hey dey, 1854 to 1895. Above, Marie tried on a bonnet from the dry goods store. It was a good way to keep her out of one of the 40 saloons that lined the short streets of Columbia.
I tried to put them all in jail again, but no dice. The jails are just a wee bit small. They didn't really have much crime in those days, mostly drunks and, well, stabbings.
Richard looked so good in the typical beaver hat, we would have bought one except they don't sell them anymore.

I told them they have gold panning for the kids, here. The made-for-the-trade flumes are filled with gold bearing gravel, well, maybe not. You might see a fleck of gold dust, but the kids don't care. They pan away, keeping cool for hours and return home with dozens of tiny gem stones. To my surprise, the big kids enjoyed it just as much. We bent to the task, hands in the cool water and searched for gems.
But, gold was hauled out of this area by the stage load. Wells Fargo was then a transportation system much like a modern UPS.
This original set of Wells Fargo assay scales measured 2 1/2 million ounces of gold.
And there is still gold in them thar hills.
Pat has a golden twinkle in her eye. She wants to go for the pot of gold.

TOILETS AND MORE

It rained, a little, for my out of town guests. In Murphys you can be a tourist in your own back yard. We walked the Main St. and visited the wall of ovations, the museum, Tea and Tiques, the famous Murphys Hotel bar, etc. but, the big hit was the toilet store. Better known as IDEA BATHROOM MACHINERIES. Hey, we locals know the good spots.

Mid-Westerners had never heard of a gold flume, and we visited one flowing nearby. I was surprised at myself and how much I knew about gold mining and hydraulic hosing, and panning.
The famous gold nugget at Kautz Ironstone Winery gave Pat a slight case of gold fever. (A pair of earrings worth, anyway.
The old goldrush Murphys Pokey was used to hold drunks, mainly. Luckily, it only had room for two.
Here we are, doing the "say cheese" photo at the famous Murphys Hotel. (I think one of us looks like an idiot tourist and she lives in Murphys.)

ENERGY OPTIONS

Four plus years ago, I opted to have solar panels put on my roof. I've been very happy with that decision, in fact, soooo happy I wanted to have solar on my cabin in Oregon. However, Oregon's Pacific Power would not offer net metering in 2005. I'm pleased to say that Pacific Power of Oregon now offers net metering. And, Oregon's Independence Station is planning to be the greenest building in the world with solar, ethanol, water catchment and reuse, plus other green features. Right now, in California, the Alameda County Jail has the biggest solar installation in the state. Green is beautiful. Its catching on and it is so profitable. Here is a list of my electrical bills for a two story 3000 sq. foot home in Murphys. 2005-$178.45, 2006-$210.18, 2007-$222.44, 2008-$72.83. That's per year folks. In all fairness, on top of that you have to pay the meter reading fee each month which comes to a little over $60 per year. Even so, solar pays and the price of electricity is going up. My next investment is to buy smart power strips which automatically sense when computer monitors, televisions and other electronic equipment is idle and automatically cuts the power. Electronic power "leakage" uses over $2 billion a year that could be saved. Do yourself and the planet a favor and go green.