Eureka!

We needed a place to go, to get away for the day. Somewhere that wouldn't cost us anything (other than the price of gas.) The funny thing is, we are surrounded by fantastic places to visit where we live. They are right under our noses and we often forget to venture out. Maybe it's because for so many years we have been weighed down by diaper bags and strollers. Well no longer, sister!



Jerry suggested Coloma. Eureka! Perfect idea. The place where gold was discovered (so there was much to see and learn) and the south fork of the American River. Ahhhhh.... my feet could use some cool river water.

Our children loved, loved, loved the river. They even got a little more wet than what we had anticipated. Oh, well. This should have been no surprise to us. Our kids love water (as most do.) There was so much to see, too. Rafters, kayaks, a couple people panning for gold and one (crazy) lady that was swimming in the river. Burrr.



As for the education that I thought our children would get from Coloma, I was wrong. (This should be no surprise to me, either.) We tagged along behind one of the tours for a brief time, but it was a chorus of "when can we go to the river" and "can we climb up there" (on top of the mill where it's restricted.) Needless to say, we were slightly disruptive to the group of people who actually wanted to hear the history of this rich land. The one thing they did pick up on was that there was gold in them thar hills!

We came home with pockets full of "crystals." Treasures, all the same.



I found my own treasure through the lens of my camera. I thought I would pee my pants at the opportunity to get this close to butterfly! One actually landed on Luke when he was playing in the river. I think this is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Pop over to my flickr account to see more butterfly pictures.

Oh, and one more treasure - we found these strawberries on our drive home. A nice treat for the end of July!