We drove up Saturday morning, and claimed one of the last camping spots. Then we went looking for mushrooms and flowers.
On the way to the first trailhead, we drove past this small meadow of flowers, right next to the road:
Five Spot:
On Sunday, we left the car parked and explored around at the campground (since Sonja found mushrooms nearby). There was a trail along the river, past some swimming holes and on a boardwalk through a meadow (not shown):
While Sonja looked for mushrooms, Andy and Leilani looked for gold. This is Motherlode country and long ago, Andy had told Leilani how to look for gold. Now was our chance to get rich, so we found a place to buy the gold pan and shovel on the drive up, and Andy tried at several places along the river.
In the end, Andy found the gold in the practice kit, and perhaps two tiny flakes of real gold at this spot:
Everywhere else was a wash. At least we found a gold bug…
So back to the flowers—a Snowplant:
Unknown:
Our neighbors at the campground had a little girl that came to visit. Leilani was happy to have a playmate, and played very nicely with Ashley, even though she was much younger:
Later, Leilani buckled herself into the front seat of the car, pretending to be a big girl:
