Larry & Cheryl's 2009 Travels travel blog

Old Town Columbia

Mining Supply & Gold Panning

Panning for gold

Some buildings were museums, others were shops

Columbia Livery

This was a working blacksmith shop

Columbia Fire Department

The two cell Columbia Jailhouse

Downtown Sonora

Restored & working shops

Shaded walkways for shopping

Beautiful old church

Fire Museum & Senior Center

Interseting home near town

The Car Show had lots of Chevys

And a fancy roadster

Larry drooled over this gorgeous Shelby Cobra !

This Chevy had an amazing paint job - Red Hot

Another impecably restored Chevy

This lovingly restored Ford was beautiful

Interesting 1979 Helder Pack Mule Trailer with a home-made tent.

Back on Lake Tullock to beat the heat

Gidget was enjoying the ride, too.

Bill jumps in to cool off.

Sandy, Larry and I are staying cool under the shade

These teens were having fun swinging on a rope in the cove

Movie Clips - Playback Requirements - Problems?

(MPG - 893 K)

Spiderman splash


Saturday we toured our surrounding area with Bill & Sandy. We were camped just down the street from Old Towne Columbia State Park. Although this park is maintained by the State of California (and about to close down due to the State of California finances), it will still be open to walk around. There are many vendors in the old buildings and they will continue to operate. There was a festive atmosphere in the food and libation vendors and many people were trying their hand at panning for gold and shopping for trinkets and souvenirs.

Then we walked the main street of Sonora with it’s quaint shops. The town was bustling with activity from locals and tourists. Most of the old buildings were lovingly restored and in very good condition, as this is the main shopping for the area. A few miles away there was a Wal-Mart, but this portion of town was getting it’s share of shoppers.

Afterwards we came across a car show in a parking lot. There were many restored 1950s era Chevrolets with awesome paint jobs, a flaming roadster and some older renovated cars. It was apparent that a lot of T.L.C went into these cars.

Sunday afternoon we visited again with McHales and went out on their boat to keep cool on the lake. It was very enjoyable in these high temperatures; even Gidget was enjoying the ride.

In one cove on the lake we came across a group of young people who entertained us with their Tarzan antics as they climbed up a steep bank, grabbed a rope and swung out over the water to make a big splash. They called this one guy “Spiderman” and I caught him on video.

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