If you are an individual who loves to learn about the California Gold Rush and subsequent mining in…read morethe Foothills, then stop by Miner's Bend Park in Sutter Creek. Just a short walk from downtown, the park is small but has a lot of cool old machinery and more importantly, lots of great information on Mother Lode mining and the miners who risked their lives daily to extract the precious metal.

Miner's Bend Historical Park, is down the road from the old downtown of Sutter Creek, on old route…read more49. The park is very, very small. One can walk at the pace of a turtle ( figuratively speaking) and probably still do a whole turn in less than 5 minutes. It's at the end of a road of homes and extra city parking spaces. It has no restroom, no play area, and no BBQ pits. It has a couple of picnic tables under a big beautiful sprawling low branching tree. So what does the park actually have and why the heck would anyone go visit it?!?!! Well, the park is actually an outdoor display of historical mining equipment with information boards full of historical facts and archive photographs. Basically a free outdoor museum! Awesome use of open public space and retired mining equipment. It's worth a stop if you are already in the area and appreciate history. Actually the small country town of Sutter Creek is itself a California historical landmark. The old town is a modern refined tourist trap with modern posh boutiques, shops, and eateries; it has a historical charm of the 19th century gold mining California town. The Main Street has its wooden sidewalk and Americano turn of the century look. I call it Main Street but it's officially called old route 49. Nearby homes are older beautifully refurbished Victorians maintained by private residences. Sutter Creek still flows through old town, site of the gold panning days of yore. The Main Street is on the old route 49. The new route 49 was built about 10 years ago that rerouted it away from driving through town. #suttercreekminersbendhistoricalpark

The Black Chasm Cavern is located in the tiny town of Volcano which really feels like a step back…read morein time. I loved that this tour includes some amazing and beautiful natural wonders as well as a little bit of history. The place was very easy to find and a quick 30 min or so drive from Jackson. There is a lovely little store to check out before or after your tour as well. The chasm is a cool 58 degrees which was nice on this 90 degree-ish day. It is a little on the steep side with lots of stairs and a few areas where you definitely need to duck from the rocks but was worth it! The limestone cavern is just amazing with breathtaking stalagmite, stalactite and very rare helictite formations. These helictites look like they defy gravity and grow in amazing curling directions. Incredibly, there is a blue lake at the very bottom of the cavern that can be seen from way above - unfortunately we are unable to access that far down but man I wish I could! We learned the lake has tiny little shrimp that live in the pure crystal waters and the only place they are known to exist, mind blowing. Our tour guide was great and shared so much knowledge and history. History: The chasm was discovered in 1854 long after the Miwok people had already lived in the area. Of course, the discoverers wanted to try and cash in on their discovery so they began charging folks and would literally lower them by rope into a hole in the ground with some candles precariously balanced on a plank of wood. Luckily we have stairs and nicely built platforms with cave lighting to see this amazing magical national landmark. Definitely worth the visit!

This was such a fantastic day trip for our family! We were staying in Angels Camp, so it was a…read morequick, scenic drive of just over an hour to get there. It's super convenient that it's the only cave tour in the area open every day of the week (minus holidays). Our guide was wonderfully friendly, knowledgeable, and patient with all our questions. The stairs throughout the cavern were easily manageable for all the kids--even our 5-year-old handled them with no problem! The tour wasn't crowded at all, which made the entire experience much more relaxed and enjoyable. **A quick tip for future visitors:** Tours start on the hour, so time your arrival for just before to avoid a long wait. It's first-come, first-served, and while there are benches to relax on, there isn't much to do on-site if you end up having to wait for the next slot. Overall, it was a perfect outing and a memorable experience for the whole family. Highly recommended!

The drive here is much more involved than Mercer Caverns with more windy and narrow roads. Once you…read moreget closer the space opens up to a large parking lot and shop you meet at. We were the only ones that signed up for the earliest tour that day and were lucky to have a private tour. The tour has informative history about the caverns with landmarks along the way. The most interesting thing we didn't know about is they have caving adventure tours where you shimny through holes and narrow spaces with a guide but our kids aren't old enough to partake. This was the first show cave in California and townspeople lived in them during harsh winters in the 1800s. There was a bar inside and a church and nails were even given to people to carve on the walls. Because of this there are signs of harm everywhere with soot, broken formations, and dirty coloration from human hand oils and even champagne poured on a rock formation. The caverns are huge and beautiful with some jaw-dropoing rooms. The walking tour is very safe though we loved the slight danger and claustrophobic feel of the Mercer Caverns. When you leave the shop has some cool historical items pulled from the caves on display like glass bottles, etc .. that are worth checking out.

What a cool experience. Got there for the 10:00 am tour, and I was the only guest. The walk to…read morethe cave is only about five minutes, but there's no shade so the earlier the better as the temps heat up. Inside the cave is about 50°. I have no issues with claustrophobia, but if you do there is one tight squeeze that might be a problem. Cash, my tour guide, turned off the lights (after asking my permission) and we experienced total darkness for maybe thirty seconds. It felt like two hours, and I hated it , but still neat and recommend trying if offered. Use the hand rails. They are there for your safety.

Jackson is a tiny town with a lot of history but its current state is one of solitude. Nothing to…read moredo unless you gamble at the casino a few miles away. Only one race and age group seen when in town. Not too friendly.

Welcome to Jackson!…read more I found out this weekend that there's more to the city of Jackson than the Jackson Rancheria Resort and Casino LoL! We come here often for the casino and its seafood buffet. This past weekend we had a chance to visit the Kennedy Gold Mine (came back for a second time to possibly tour the Mine but we came a little too late for the last tour of the day), we checked out a national historic landmark at the Jackson Catholic Cemetery, the graves of Catholic Miners killed in a disaster during the Argonaut Mine Tragedy in 1922. Fire trapped 47 miners more than 4,000 feet down inside the Argonaut Mine in this city of Jackson. We drove through Jackson's Main Street but we didn't have time to stop and check out the businesses around, for sure next time. There are plenty of museums, more points of interests and historic landmarks and also the Daffodil Hill I want to visit during spring next year! We came to Jackson through State Route 49 but it can also be accessed from State Route 88. Jackson is a little over an hour's drive from our place in Roseville. Review #1135

They did a cool fortune reading and I got the surfer card which made my partner laugh cause I love…read moresurfing

I had an amazing reading with Maili. She was very friendly, informative and positive. The depth of…read morethe reading has helped me with my journey. She doesn't want you to disclose personal information about yourself, instead she wants you to allow her to transcribe her readings. It was an awesome experience, she is very talented and her insights give you a positive outcome and I definitely will see her again and recommend her to family and friends.

Took the guided tour at the Kennedy Gold Mine. Both myself and my boyfriend had not been to the…read moreKennedy Mine other than passing by it when in the area. They have a large outdoor area that has some of the old equipment on display. There is also a small museum area and gift shop. They have a cute little area with trinkets you can purchase. They staff was very friendly, greeted us with a warm welcome when we arrived. We had about a half hour before our tour started so we browsed the museum. There is a restroom located outside the museum in a building just across the walk way. Our tour was just over 90 minutes and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. The tour started in the museum, we watched a video on the mine as well as learned about the placer mining and hydro mining. We visited a few buildings around the property, saw how the large rock grinders work and the machinery used to extract the gold from the sand. How they tested samples. We were able to see the engineers office, the pay station, safe, office and bunk house. They have a small building dedicated to the 47 lost in Argonaut mine. It was really cool seeing all the machines they used and getting a history of the Mine back in its operating days.

Fascinating tour - learned so much about the gold mining industry and the history of the area. Bob…read moredid a great job making it interesting and educational. The foundation has done an excellent job restoring history and making it available to everyone.

Topia has relocated to the landmark Oneto Garage building at 33 Main Street, a perfect venue for…read morethis fascinating, funky, eclectic store. Topia has a great mix, with a European vibe. You'll find everything from antiques & architectural pieces, accessories,jewelry,books,dishes & glasses,luxury PJs & robes,great soy based candles,Mistral soap,gift wrap & cards..... Something for everyone--You"ll love it!

We were up in the area this past weekend and decided to scratch the gambling itch. Once we arrived,…read morewe went to go get players cards, and turns out I haven't been here since 2008, and it's definitely expanded since then. Of course the first slot machine we went to hit and we started up $300, which we essentially gave back as we were chasing the big win. A guy next us said 'It only takes one spin to win' and we took that a little too literally lol. We played a variety of the machines, but the most luck we had was with the Top Dollar Machines, the others weren't lucky this time around. While we only left up $30, we spent 3 hours of fun just playing away. Something I haven't seen at any other casino was a free soda and non-alcoholic drink areas! It's Pepsi products though, so not the best, but at least it's free. I saw people ordering smoothies, which looked really good but we never stayed at a slot machine long enough to get one. We came on a Thursday, and it was bummer that there was only (1) blackjack table going with a $5 minimum. I walked by multiple times and there was never an open seat. Plenty of seats of pai gow or poker though. Maybe it was just the time of day, but definitely would love to try my hand at blackjack next time around.

Jackson Racheria Casino is a smallish casino. They have several eateries to choose from and a good…read morenumber of slot machines from which to try your luck. Dealers and staff were friendly.

My husband and I have visited Avio a few times now and it is one of our favorite places. We take…read moreour friends and family who come up to visit and everyone is a fan. The ambiance is amazing. The owner stefano is very welcoming and the wine...sulfate free?! Yes please!

We stayed at the Airbnb at Avio Vineyards and had a great experience. We did the barrel tasting…read morewith the owner, Stefano, and he was incredibly kind and knowledgeable. He took the time to educate us about the property and the wine, which made the experience feel personal and special. It was a memorable stay and tasting, and I'd definitely recommend it.