Columbia State Historic Park (3)

Saloons and spittoons.

Chicken coops.

The tour rapped up.

There's only so much a person can take!



We went over to the museum.



And underneath it too, LOL!



I walked over to the old brick schoolhouse.



Leaving Tuolumne County, I headed north into Calaveras County.



Historic Hwy 49 is a pretty drive through rolling hills.


Full of rich local history and family fun.

Columbia State Historic Park (2)

I took a ranger led tour at Columbia State Historic Park.

The park preserves several Gold Rush era buildings.

Many are privately owned and run as tourist shops.

Some are operated by the parks dept.



A few like the Tibbits House were actually moved from other locations.



Citizen No. 1--people-pulled & people-powered fire engine!


Next stop the Wilson Store.



I've always found industrial age commerce fascinating.



Apparently fire was a serious problem in boom shanty towns.

Columbia State Historic Park (1)

Most Californians think their state has no seasons.

Especially lacking fall foliage.

It's there. Not on the coast or deserts though...

Columbia State Historic Park interprets
the California Gold Rush.

It provides a living glimpse into the past.



When the central Sierra Nevada Mountains bustled with mining and prospectors.



Businesses like Wells Fargo soon followed.



That's where the really money was made:

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (7)

Three black bear encounters.

And this was only my first hike of the day.

I headed back to the camper van.

A snow storm hit Yosemite Park that evening.



I wanted to get to Yosemite Valley and the Mist Trail.


The sun came out.


It was a nice hike back.


The trail passes through this tunnel before the dam.



I no longer need the stick, so I tossed it off O'Shaughnessy Dam.



I headed for Yosemite Valley.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (6)

I turned back at Wapama Falls.

The black bear was waiting for me.

And I knew it.

I had my stick ready.



I sensed the bear was close.



I came around a blind turn. A few feet away in the middle of the trail was the black bear.



The above video is actually the third (last) encounter. I had my iPhone at the ready for the second "suprise attack". But I mustn't have hit the record button.

I was too busy swinging my stick around like Gandalf. I smashed that stick until there was nothing left.



I managed to scare the bear into the brush. He cut up the slope and tried to take the high ground.

I took off down the trail. I followed a wide curve up the embankment and arrived first.



I shouted a quick warning to a couple. They took off in a hurry.

I continued down the trail, warning a few more people. I met a hiker who wanted to see the black bear.

We went back to look but the bear was gone.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (5)

I left the black bear behind.

I'd deal with him twice more on the return.

Even in late November Wapama Falls was flowing.



This is the water that feeds Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.


And the people of San Francisco.


Snow melt from the high Sierras.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (4)

This hike started to pay-off.

The natural beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley emerged.

It really does mirror Yosemite Valley...


And when I say the "natural beauty" emerged...


I really mean it! [Black Bear @ 3:53]



Dam be damned... Hetch Hetchy is still wild, LOL!

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (3)

I took a walk across O'Shaughnessy Dam.

Historical kiosks tell the story of Hetch Hetchy Valley.

The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir was (and still remains) controversial.

How do we balance preservation & conservation
of our wilderness with public use & consumption?

I explored the north side of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.


A tunnel at the end of the dam leads to a trail.


There are two waterfalls: Tucculala Falls & Wapama Falls.



Tucculala was dry.




Water levels are lowest in summer and fall.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (2)

Hetch Hetchy Valley rivaled the beauty of Yosemite Valley.

John Muir intentionally drew the boundaries of Yosemite National Park to include Hetch Hetchy.

After the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco maneuvered to dam the Tuolumne River and flood Hetch Hetchy Valley.



Muir, co-founder of the Sierra Club, fought valiantly but lost.


O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923.



It provides water and electricity to 2.5 million people.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (1)

Historic Rt. 49 parallels the Sierras.

It winds through rolling countryside.

I took Rt. 49 south, to Rt. 11o.


I crossed the Don Pedro Reservoir.


I turned on Big Oak Flat Road.

I reached the Tuolumne River.



My destination: Yosemite National Park.

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

The mountain pass on Rt. 4 was closed.

I took Rt. 88 across the Sierras.

Along Rt. 4 in the foothills is
Calaveras Big Trees State Park.



I took the loop trail.




The North Grove has several interesting features.




A walk through Giant Sequoia is always a treat.




A giant sequoia tree standing tall after thousands of years.




The Mammoth Tree was not so lucky.

It was systematically disassembled

and shipped to New York for display.

There's nothing like an afternoon stroll in a Sequoia Grove...

Black Chasm

I got back on Rt. 88.

I continued down the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I reached the foothills and Volcano, CA.

Black Chasm National Natural Landmark is one of several private caverns in Gold Country open for guided tours.



It was the end of the season.



I had a private tour of the caves.



Black Chasm is rather deep.


It has some of the best formations I've seen.


Stalagmites (not shown) rise from the floor like dust "mites".


Stalactites cling "tight" to the ceiling.


Black Chasm has one of the largest displays of helictite crystals.



Helictite crystals form as water is pushed through rock pores.

The helictite crystal formations seem to defy gravity.


A scene from The Matrix III was shot here.



Black Chasm National Natural Landmark:

Salt Springs Reservoir

The GPS got me lost.

The destination was Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Garmin Nuvi took me off the highway.



A winding road led me through burning forest.



I think it was some kind of controlled burn.


The road got rough...



I descended into a ravine...


The GPS kept recalculating.


Whatever...



I crossed a single lane bridge.



I passed over a working flume.

Flumes direct water over and through the mountains to communities.



I came to a camping area. The road became dirt.



I passed over a fork of the Mokelumne River.



I arrived at the Salt Springs Reservoir.


Several dams dot the Sierra Nevada Mountains.


They capture melting snow-pack.



These dams regulate water flow to farms in the Central Valley.



A nice view of the Mokelumne Valley and PG&E hydroelectric plant.


I decided to back-track to Highway 88.



Salt Springs Reservoir was an unexpected but pleasant detour.