California Mother Lode - there's still gold in them thar hills

The first treasure California began to surrender after the Gold Rush was the oldest: her land.
                                                     John Jakes (author, 1932-)

A truckload of grapes on their way to market. Auburn, Ca.
(Photo by the author)

The state of California is one and a half times bigger than the land area of the whole of New Zealand, so driving times and distances can be quite staggering in comparison. Here in the Central Valley, long and relatively straight, flat highways dissect the land, connecting towns whose names are familiar to many a reader or viewer of the good old "western" - Stockton, Sacramento, Sutter Creek, Lodi, Modesto, and Walnut Grove are but a few.  The variations in the climate and landscape is also quite apparent, and this diversity has enabled the area to become the breadbasket of the state - as well as a great modern marvel, the Central Valley Project. Due to the uncertainty of adequate rainfall, the CVP has harnessed the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to provide a network of canals and irrigation for the orchards, vineyards and agricultural lands of the San Joaquin Valley. The area now yields an abundance of produce - some of which often ends up on supermarket shelves in New Zealand. 

Newly planted strawberry fields, Central Valley, Ca.
(Photo by the author)

However, it was something much more alluring that paved the roads to wealth in California - Gold! The historic town of Auburn, in the heart of Mother Lode territory,  was one of the earliest towns established when gold was discovered in California in 1848. A  picturesque little spot, this history is celebrated throughout town. An impressive statue stands as a tribute to the discoverer of gold here, Claude Chana, and the elegant late 19th century Courthouse still stands proudly overlooking the town.

Statue of Claude Chana,
Auburn, Ca.
(Photo by the author)

Gold and mineral mining is still done today in some area locations, including at Roaring Camp Mining in Pine Grove, another small rural town in this golden state, and a place I love to visit. Meanwhile, the planting and harvesting goes on, under a spectacular, but fast waning Harvest Moon.

Harvest Moon on the wane, Pine Grove, Ca.
(Photo by the author)