Our first stop was at Empire Mine State Park. In 1850 George Knight stubbed his toe on a piece of quartz, discovered it was laced with gold and put Grass Valley on the map. In the visitors center we watched an informative movie (made in the 1950's) about the history of gold throughout the ages and in particular the gold in California. We learned about the various ways gold was found starting with the panning method, continuing on with man's ingenuity to the "rocker-cradle", the sluice and then hydraulic methods. Empire Mine was a deep rock shaft mine, one of the deepest in the US (11,000 feet), with tunnels snaking off the main shaft on many levels with 367 miles of passageways. Grass Valley became the richest gold mining town in California.
The mine operated from 1854 to 1956 during which it produced almost 6 million ounces of gold. During those years because of strict safety measures and "modernization" only 26 fatalities occurred in what was a dangerous job. Cornish miners moved here from England to work in these mines. This ancestry still influences the current population.
After the movie we all went on a self guided tour of the property visiting the offices furnished with period furniture, the safety and rescue area, the opening of the shaft
and the "boneyard".For more info see http://www.empiremine.org/.
Dee and Tom had sneaked away to pick up our special treat lunch. In the shade of some very tall trees at the picnic area we had Cornish Pasties (pronounced Past-e), a traditional food. They are flaky baked delicacies, rolled and crimped by hand filled with fresh vegetables including onions,
potatoes and parsley and some type of meat such as chicken or sausage. The enjoyment continued with dessert "Apple Figgy" Pastie filled with apples mildly spiced with cinnamon and a touch of raisins. So far our caravan has completely lived up to the "wines, mines and more educational and gastronomical" title and we are only halfway through.
While eating lunch someone casually asked John Ham
if there were any geocaches in the area. He replied there was one within 100 feet of where we sat. And the hunt began. The hint was near something rust colored. First they looked in the trees. Then Barb McCray (a beginner geocacher) spotted a rusty pole on the gate. Eureka......they found it and we all got to see what a microgeocache looks like. Inside the stainless steel capsule was a log paper where finders enter their name.
In addition to the mine area, inside the park are 10 miles of hiking trails and grounds with the owners cottage, gardens and a club house. Living history at the Empire Mine State Historic Park is one of the main attractions of the Park. Volunteers dressed in 1905 period costumes gave us a tour of the Cottage and talked about their lives there. The people in residence today were the butler, the maid, the housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Bourne (mine owner) and their daughter.
Our final stop for the day was out in the countryside at the Pilots Peak Winery located in Penn Valley in the northern Sierra foothills. Lynn & Jacque Wilson and Len & Nancy Stevens are the owners of this small and delightful winery. They grow some of their own grapes as well as buy from local vineyards. Then they make the wine and bottle it, currently producing about 2500 cases. 
We were lucky enough to arrive along with several tons of grapes and saw them dumped into the crusher (named Lucille in honor the Lucille Ball grape crushing scene) and then transferred into stainless steel tanks.
In a beautiful setting on a tiered, stone-walled terrace we sample a "flight" of four of their wines. As each wine was described we also learned the history of the winery and what "fun" they have in their retirement career. Of course good wine and good food go together and we sampled an assortment of appetizers adding to the experience. Their motto was truly fulfilled: Pilots Peak Winery - the Wine the People the Place.
Relaxed and perhaps a little sleepy, we made our way back to Sacramento to enjoy the evening.
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