Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gold Country
Why Go?
Hollywood draws the dreamers and Silicon Valley its fortune-hunters, but this isn't the first
time droves of young folk looking to hit paydirt streamed into the Golden State. After a
sparkle in the American River caught James Marshall's eye in 1848, more than 300,000
hungry prospectors from America and abroad started digging for gold in the Sierra foot-
hills. Soon California entered statehood with the official motto, 'Eureka,' solidifying its
place as the land of discovery and opportunity.
The miner forty-niners are gone, but a ride along the aptly named Hwy 49 through
sleepy hill towns, past clapboard saloons and oak-lined byways, is a journey back to the
wild ride that was modern California's founding. Between the quaint antique stores and
sprawling wineries, fading historical markers still tell tales of Gold Rush violence and ban-
ditry. Many travelers hardly hit the brakes while rushing between California's coasts and
mountains, but those who slow down will be rewarded with a taste of the helter-skelter era
that first kick-started the heartbeat of this state.
