I just have a few things to show that I couldn't resist memorializing before the year ends. I know there's a big gap between posts, but it would take too long to tell it now, so I'll just offer the latest or can't-miss-its and call it good.
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| Dick's Christmas Tree and the Duck Yard |
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| Sara and Dick admire the Tree |
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| Sara and Sue Juno came by to help me set up the Big Village. Jeffery did the "electrics" for me. |
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| Here's Jeffery plugging everything in. |
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| Craig, Bob J. and Grant stay out of our way, but remain in the jolly company. |
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| Sara invited me to go Christmas treeing with her, Grant and family. Tiny Taylan with the Grants-parents. |
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| Kinley, Taylan, Kristine, Sara, and Grant with their trees. |
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| I love my Village Ladder. |
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| Hey, some elf added more to the Duck Yard. |
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| They're seeding the verge down by Concow as Jeffery and I head out of the canyon |
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| It's the Talking Christmas tree in Nevada City! I guess she is a long-time tradition at the holiday event. |
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| One of the holiday streets at the Victorian Christmas in Nevada City. |
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| You can rent this for your vacation. |
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| Rockin' the beer barrel staves. |
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| Santa and sleigh enter Nevada City stealthily. |
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| View of Nevada City in the daylight. Such a quaint town! |
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| A vintage sign in Grass Valley |
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| The Bank |
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| A stuffed reindeer |
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| This park was a highlight of our gad-about adventure. |
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| This sign names what I'll show you in the next photo, but it doesn't really explain it. Apparently, Mr. William Rowe designed a way to escape from the mine if the main shaft caved in and this was the result. |
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| Curious edifice |
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| It's a contraption. |
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| The main yard with lots of gear on display. |
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| Jeffery and I took a walk around the perimeter before the tours began. |
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| Doesn't this view just calm your soul? |
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| This info-board explains how toxins are being filtered out of the ground. You don't want to drink the water, that's for sure. |
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| The water was spraying fountain-like from the center ring in the pond. |
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| I had so much fun kicking the thick leaf piles as we walked along. |
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| The green house has opalescent window glass! |
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| Pretty! |
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| We get a glimpse of The Cottage, which we will be touring soon. |
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| The whole park was decked for the holidays. This is the Club House main room. |
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| The wood gleams so beautifully. |
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| This is the Bar in the Club House. |
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| The Club House. |
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| One grecian urn! (there were two of them, actually) |
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| Better view of the Cottage, which was owned by Mr. Bourne (who hails from Boston) |
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| The light fixtures were all really interesting. |
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| Loved the brick-work in this door frame. |
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| The dark/light values inside made it hard to get a good photo, but here's one that turned out. |
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| The main living room in the Cottage |
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| Mr. Bourne's bathroom |
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| The Kitchen |
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| Butcher's Block table was coveted by all the tour attendees. |
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| This is the Mine Manager's Office building. |
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| One section of a stamp mill, which crushes the gold-bearing ore after it's extracted from below the earth. |
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| Here's where the workers came to get into their work clothes and then to ride the man skip into the shaft |
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| Here's where the workers get onto the man skip and head down to their day's work. |
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| Blurry shot of the Man Skip. You sit all in a row, with only a slat of wood for a "seat". We loaded onto the Skip, and they give you an "experience" of riding down into the mining shaft as the workers did. |
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| Here's the shaft, and the path to the gold. |
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| Here's my toes as I sit in the front of the Man Skip. |
Anyone want to come out and do the tour with us next time? We really have lots more to see at this excellent park. In the spring/summer, the gardens are supposedly very worth seeing.
MERRY CHRISTMAS - HAPPY SOLSTICE - JOYOUS NEW YEAR - PEACE- HEALTH- LOVE
