The thread that holds together... by derats
The thread that holds together California's Gold Country is the aptly named Highway 49. It connects the small, quaint and hospitable towns that sprouted up overnight 150 years ago in the foothills east of here. While the Gold Country suffers from the usual tourist traps, its history is also beautifully preserved.You?ll see everything from the creek where gold was discovered to the trees where speedy justice was handed out. Take time to visit Calaveras County, where Missouri-born journalist Samuel Clemens wrote as Mark Twain; the hamlets of Placerville and Coloma, towns where the saloons once outnumbered residents; and Nevada City, the jewel of the Gold Country, with its old Victorians and perfectly preserved main drag. Many of the old mine towns still exist, and some of the mines can be visited today.