Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in California

Last week after visiting my son Jon in San Luis Obispo, I headed up to Pollock Pines to visit Tom and Judy. It was quite the experience. Cloudy and gray most of the time. Plus with all the recent flooding, there were landslides, swollen rivers, sinkholes, dams threatening to burst, and the saddest was seeing houses in water halfway up their sides, trees drowning, and lots of standing water where there had not been any before. We took a trip up to my nephews house and stopped at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. 

It is an incredible place that celebrates the discovery of gold in 1848, on the South Fork of the American River at Sutter's Mill, in the town of Coloma located in El Dorado County. Yes the grass is that green from all the recent rainfall, so green it hurt!

I love cloudy days,  especially when they are the backdrop for one lone tree in the green, green grass; kind of a melancholic's dream.

This is the South Fork of the American River, swollen from rain, muddy and belligerent.  It was awesome.

The ruins of the original Coloma jail are still standing in the park. Below you can see how small it is. Above you can see how the men were kept in.....heavy iron doors. The inside was so miserable and dreary that I couldn't even take a picture of it. A brutal place to be incarcerated.

Reflections in the gray water. How cool is that? I just love it.

We then took the shortest State Hwy, California 153, up the hill to the monument.

The monument to James Marshall, the man who first discovered gold in the mill he shared with his buddy John Sutter. Once the gold was discovered, the lumber mill was abandoned and everybody and his brother began panning for gold. The mountains behind the monument, are alive with the late afternoon golden rays of the sun... the only gold I saw at the park!

Me and my sister Judy, brother in law Tom, niece Michele with little Jade Rose and Kelly with Carson and Olivia. Great times with great people. Blessings to you all! Susan Little

Joshua Tree National Park, California

A lone Joshua Tree in Joshua Tree National Park. Last week, after visiting with Cara, Ethan and Wyatt in Arizona, I stopped in the desert to look for rocks and take pictures. I love the Saguaro cactus, as they look like people and are so very strong. Birds nest in small holes and little spaces where the arms grow out from the trunk.

This one reminded me of a mother and child, holding tight to each other.

I stopped in Joshua Tree National Park to camp for one night before heading home. I did get my $10.00 Senior pass which allows me to get into the parks for free for the rest of my life and get 1/2 price on all campsites within the parks. One happy old person over here.

Joshua Tree is so incredibly beautiful. I had to change campsites once, as  one other old person was certain I had camped next to him because I was over the moon for him. In truth, I never even saw him until I had set up camp, then he wouldn't leave me alone, so I quietly packed back up and drove away when he wasn't looking. Sometimes a girl's got to do what she has to do.

Gorgeous Cholla Cactus. Even though they are gorgeous, they are vicious and attach themselves to any part of your body that touches it. I got poked in the foot, then when I tried to pick it out of my foot, it got stuck in my finger, then when I tried to get it out with the other finger, I got poked again. When you get poked, the needles stay in your clothing or skin, and it hurts like you cant believe.



I walked all through the desert taking pictures, and enjoying the scenery. What a place! Huge boulders, amazing Joshua Trees, ocotillo, cholla cactus. So amazing.

This is the campsite I ended up at. No strange men, just lots of wide open spaces. I brought enough wood for a campfire but not any food for dinner. I did have tea with milk and some Fritos. A very nice couple from Canada came over and joined me at the fire. So interesting to talk with them.

I walked around behind my campsite and found the most interesting trails and scenery.

Just at sunset, Michael, the Canadian, climbed this rock directly opposite my campsite. I grabbed my camera and got a shot of him at the top.

On the week before, on my way home from Cara's, I stopped in Whitewater Preserve which  is just outside of Joshua Tree. It is a beautiful preserve with a small year-round creek running through it. Endless trails, gorgeous scenery, and it is free to camp there! Still haven't camped there, but love to stop and walk through the trails.

 Ice cold water runs down the wash.

 On the day I stopped there, I had Cara's dog, Ollie, and together we walked through the trails and explored. Ollie loved it!

Snow capped mountains made the preserve even more beautiful. Thank you Lord for a wonderful day! May God bless and be with you and yours. Susan Little