Digging for Gold

Back in the day ... way back in the day ... the surrounding land around the Chef Families' town was more than just the foothills. It was where many people visited during the Gold Rush.

Being the daughter to a history buff, my dad (Ms. A's Papa) was on a mission to learn more about the gold rush, the process of finding gold, and grinding down compounds to "find" the gold. Quite interesting, I must say.

What is even more interesting, is that people still pan for gold today. It is such a "hush hush" kind of hobby that most people don't say anything about it. They don't want you to find their secret spot. In fact, I just found out this past week that our neighbors frequently go into the mountains to pan for gold down the river. Who would have guessed! They must have found a great gold spot.

In the shopping areas just outside the foothills you can find gold museums, information on gold hunting and stores to purchase all the supplies you need.

Although we didn't find any gold during our excursion, we did gain a richness of understand of the industry and why this area was so popular to settlers long ago. We toured a gold mine, visited with a museum representative and toured around a few of the shops.