Trip Report - Sonora

This is the first of a number of trip reports this year, as we have plans to visit much of the American West in the months ahead. One of the primary reasons for this travel is to decide where to call "home" once we exit Southern California permanently (date uncertain).

Much of the last week was spent in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties, which is currently the favored destination once all our things are packed and loaded onto a moving van. It is still California, but it is far enough away from the densely populated areas and close enough to the Sierra Nevada mountains to have a character completely different than the rest of the state.

It was interesting to talk to a number of realtors in that area to learn more about neighboring communities and to get their take on local market conditions (we have no plans to purchase real estate anywhere for at least a couple years, as we wait to see how the Great American Housing Bubble resolves itself).

During these discussions, which were all very cordial and consisted mostly of looking over maps of the area while asking a lot of questions about nearby communities, the same question was asked of each real estate professional, "So, what do you think of all that inventory piling up in Sacramento and the Bay Area?"

The responses were significant in that they spanned what is likely the entire range of emotions currently being felt by real estate professionals - everything from acceptance to denial.

The reality based realtors casually acknowledged the heady growth of recent years and have accepted the likelihood that those days are over and that there are difficult times dead ahead. They correctly noted that less populated areas do not experience the same extremes as say, San Francisco or Sacramento.

The realtors steeped in denial immediately flashed the deer in the headlights look and after a brief pause began discussing micro-markets that are completely unrelated to other areas - the "all real estate is local" argument which immediately preceded the "don't wait to buy because prices will only go higher" advice.

These were very informative exchanges - we were mostly interested in learning more about the area, but couldn't help make it a little more fun by asking a provocative question or two.

Gold in them 'thar hills

Columbia State Historic Park was once again visited, and this spot never disappoints. To step back in time for an hour or so is always refreshing.


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Some snow on the ground and temperatures in the high 30s were a nice break from the monotony of balmy Southern California winters. Cleary, one man's monotony is another man's paradise.


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The streets being paved seems to detract from the authenticity, however, that is a very practical consideration to which few have probably given much thought. The Deadwood series on HBO probably captures the street scene much better than the pictures above and below (ankle deep mud when things got wet), though it's hard to imagine that people swore as much as they do on that program.


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The Wells Fargo office is located between the assay office and the bank. It seems that Wells Fargo was more into the transportation business than banking back then.


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In California, nearly all building from the gold rush era are now gone, as they were hastily constructed of wood and at some p0int in the 1800s burned down (a notable exception is Bodie, California, which is a fascinating place to visit). What original buildings remain are all brick, and that is what makes up most of the main street in Columbia.


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Stage coaches coming and going during the day, except for Monday and Tuesday for some reason, must have been just like you see on Gunsmoke, except of course these stages often times left with gold in the strong box, its security entrusted to the guy without the reins in his hands, the one "riding shotgun".


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Much of medicine at that time seems to have been trial and error (again we can't help but think of the HBO Deadwood series for some gruesome depictions of medical care at the time).


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If only Dr. King were still making "Life Pills" today.


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For some reason this dentist's office captures our imagination.


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This is probably why.


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All in all it was a great trip, and we are looking forward to visiting the area again this summer.