Posted on

Gold Prospecting Adventures (Gold Panning)(Jamestown California)

Address: 18170 Main Street Jamestown, California 95327

Gold Prospecting Adventure is located in a small town called Jamestown. It’s about 3 hours drive from San Francisco via I-580 East & CA-120 East. Gold Prospecting Adventure offers a variety of gold mining adventures for the past 40 years. There were two gold rushes at Jamestown one in 1849 and in 1880. Jamestown is a gold rush town, one of California’s original and the gateway to the Southern mines.

Our drive was fun and passed through a couple of smaller towns and back-country roads. When we arrived at Jamestown it really felt like a mining town with narrow roads and old structures. We saw a statue, branch jail, Jamestown Museum, Hotel, antique stores, and local restaurants. We had to check in at the store and were instructed to drive for a few minutes to the small creek to meet our instructor. There were a lot of gold panning or mining supplies, shovels, pan, samples of gold, a bag of sand for panning, and many more antique items. As we arrived at the small creek, we were greeted by our instructor named “Table Top” Terry. He was nice, friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and good with kids. We walked around the creek and found our little spot to dig for gold. We brought our own water boots but they have one available onsite. Terry gave us a brief history of gold mining, how to set up the sluice box, and explained to us the basics of the gold panning and sluicing process.

The creek area is secluded, clean, with lots of trees for shades and beautiful green grass. We wore all our water boots, grabbed our shovel, buckets, strainer, and proceeded to dig for gold. The creek water was a little bit cold but we later got acclimated to it. So, I dug deeper into the creek and dumped it into a deep plastic bucket with a large strainer on top of it. Then, my wife and daughter dumped all the big rocks on the side of the river. The purpose of the strainer was to sort out all the big rocks. We then proceeded to bring the deep plastic bucket with water into the location of the sluice box to separate the gold from the gravel. Terry helped us throughout the process and we all jumped for joy when we found our first gold flakes on the sluice box. Our hard work finally paid off digging through the river and sorting things out. We ended up finding 7-10 small gold flakes and decided to call it a day. We end up staying in the area for a while and enjoyed nature. We all played in the river, relaxed, and threw rocks at the water. After all the fun we then proceeded back to the main store to return our supplies and bought a few souvenirs from Jamestown.

Overall, it was well worth the price, hard work, and patience in looking for gold. We all had fun, quality family time, and a unique experience that we will never forget. Even though we didn’t find a big golden nugget for us to retire, it’s still one of the most memorable family “Strike it Rich” adventures. There is effort and hard work involved because if looking for gold is easy then we will all be rich. Enjoy!

Tips: Bring bottled water, towel, sunscreen, extra socks, or clothing as you will get wet due to standing in 6 inches to 2 feet of stream water. You will also be tumbling, and walking over river rocks. Just enjoy the experience and walk around the town and explore the area. A sluice box is used as a tool to separate gold from gravel and is used in a river or creek. Gold panning is traditional mining that separates gold from a placer deposit using a pan.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about the Gold Prospecting Adventure in Jamestown after your visit in the comments below. And kindly subscribe, comment, and share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Posted on

Fishetarian Fish Market in Bodega Bay

Address: 599 CA-1 Bodega Bay California 94923

Fishetarian Fish Market opened in 2012 at Bodega Bay by Shane Lucas due to his passion for fishing. Shane Lucas has sold fish for over 20 years in the wholesale fish business. The restaurant serves fresh seafood, gluten-free and vegan daily on their menu. It’s a great place to stop for a quick bite of fresh seafood when driving up the coast. Fishetarian is about 1 hour and 20 minutes from San Francisco via US-101 North ( 85 miles). Fishetarian Fish Market is open 7 days a week from 11 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Our drive to Fishetarian was very fun, scenic, and had a few winding roads. The view of the beautiful Bodega Bay during our travel was well worth the drive. We even stopped by at the famous St. Therese Church and the Potter Schoolhouse from the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie “The Birds”. We arrived at Fishetarian around 11 a.m. and end up parking on the side of the fish market in front of the dock with a view of the bay. We were surprised to see that there were a few people already in line ahead of us. We ordered through the order window and waited for our name to be called. All the outdoor picnic tables were separated to adhere to the Covid-19 safety regulations. We even saw a few customers with their dogs having lunch and enjoying the gorgeous view. The weather was beautiful and sunny but later became windier in the afternoon.

There were 3 of us at our party which includes 1 kid and 2 adults. We ordered both the grilled garlic butter oysters which are $15.99 for 6 pieces, grilled bbq sauce oysters topped with cilantro and green onions which are also $15.99 for 6 pieces, clam chowder on a bread bowl for $12.99, crab sandwich for $19.99, and fried calamari for $13.99. Our name was called by the staff from the pick-up window and carried our orders to the table. Luckily we found a nice picnic table closer to the bay water with an obstructed view of the Bay. My wife loved the flavorful grilled bbq and garlic oysters while I enjoyed the savory popular crab sandwich. My daughter enjoyed their famous clam chowder on a bread bowl and it was very delicious with fresh ingredients.

Overall, we enjoyed our fun lunch experience at Fishetarian Fish Market especially eating outdoor on a sunny day at a picnic table on the beach overlooking the beautiful Bodega Bay. It’s a great quick stop spot with good quality food and a great view on your way to the Sonoma Coast.

Tips: Make sure to call in or order your food online ahead of time to avoid long lines. And get there early to find parking as it is limited and shared with the Lucas Wharf Bar and Restaurant. Bring a sweater or a jacket as the weather can change quickly to cold and windy since it is on the bay. The outdoor picnic tables on the beach are usually busy and people are waiting for them to be available.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about Fishetarian Fish Market after your visit in the comments below. And kindly subscribe, comment, and share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Click here to find a hotel close to Fishetarian Fish Market in Bodega Bay.

Posted on

Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park (Arizona)

Address: 220 Prison Hill Rd, Yuma, AZ 85364

Situated on a bluff in Yuma Arizona overlooking the Colorado River stand the ruins of Arizona’s famous Territorial Prison. In 1849, countless immigrants crossed by Ferry from Yuma to California. The territorial prison was authorized by the legislature in 1875. The first few prisoners were law violators such as the legendary stagecoach robber Pearl Hart and continued in operation for 33 years where all inmates were moved to a new facility in Arizona due to overcrowding.

It took us about 10 minutes to get to Yuma Territorial Prison from our Hampton Inn Hotel. It was very hot and humid at the time of our visit. We were greeted by the staff members and we paid an entrance fee of $14 for adults(14+), $8 for youth(7-13 yrs), and free for children (0-6 yrs). The staff member escorted us outside and briefly explained what to see, expect, and safety rules. It was a self-guided tour and we just followed the arrow or signs from each area of interest. I even saw the famous Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge built in 1915 and is a through truss bridge spanning the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona. It was the first highway crossing of the lower Colorado and is the earliest example of a through truss bridge in Arizona.

The surrounding area is well maintained and clean with some benches available to sit down, rest and enjoy the view. One of the best part of our tour was the air conditioned Museum where it showcased or stored some of the inmates history, background including the women prisoners. They even have a room where to show a movie about the prison’s history.

The most interesting and memorable experience was going inside the individual cell, dark chambers, seeing their beds how the prisoners daily life back in the days. We even saw a guard tower near the entrance which provides a good view of the Colorado River and the local areas.

Tips: Bring bottled water as the weather is hot and humid in the summer. There is also a pathway leading down to the river underneath the Ocean to Ocean bridge where people were swimming and having a picnic.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or what you think about the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Posted on

Packway Materials unique art metal sculptures display

Address: 22244 Cassell Road Cassell, Ca. 96016

The large junk metal art sculptures were built by two brothers named Will and Richard Hathaway. It is located in Shasta County and about 2 miles from the intersection of Highway 299 and Highway 89. It is about 4 to 5 hours away from the San Francisco Bay Area. The unique metal art sculpture display can be viewed from the main road or from the comfort of your car. And the unique metal art display is made up of various construction supplies and other unusual materials. There were a lot of ample parking spots when we visited on a weekend.

We accidentally saw the metal art sculpture of creatures and dinosaurs after our visit to Burney Falls. It’s about a 20 minutes drive from Burney Falls. The metal sculptures were visible from the main road so we decided to pull over, walked around, and took great pictures. Some of the large metal art sculptures that we saw are dragonfly, penguin, dachshund, a rock man, an ant, 40-foot long dinosaur, giraffe, caterpillar, UFO, tin man, cat, a spaceship, snowman, and many more other creatures.

Overall, it is a fun stop if you are in the area and see fantastic arts made out of fun stuff. Great creativity and a fun area to explore and to walk around. The place also has a collection or display of a variety of old trucks.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments or what you think about the Parkway Materials metal art sculpture display after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.