Gold Country 11

Autumn in the Sierra foothills is a time to shop, sip and slow down and smell the apples

BY GARY PETERSON

It wasn’t until I stopped to think about it that I realized how much of my free time over the years has been spent in the Gold Country. Placerville? Been there. New Melones? Skied that. I’ve gone houseboating on Lake Don Pedro, camped at Folsom Lake and Lake Camanche. For years my family has celebrated the Fourth of July in a cabin beside a creek equidistant from Angels Camp and Murphys — the perfect staging area for day trips to Sonora, Jackson and Sutter Creek.

No matter the duration of the stay, or how long I’ve been away, it always calls me back.

Why? You have to work to find a housing tract. You have to work to find wireless and cell service. Meandering two-lane roads, ubiquitous throughout the area, force you to slow down and look around. A visit makes you feel as if you’ve been somewhere. And never is that feeling more welcome than in the dead of fall, when the region’s people, mild weather and slower pace of life act as de-stressors.

Example: A recent trip began with a visit to The Red Apple, a roadside bakery and produce stand on Highway 4 just below Arnold. On the menu were apple pie, apple turnovers, hot and cold cider, jams and jellies — all homemade. A small white dog wandered the grounds. “That’s Sammy,” a man said. “He’s older than sin.”

That seems fitting. After all, The Red Apple itself is venerable, dating back to 1890. It’s the kind of place that might not draw a second look in the Bay Area — after all, there is the commute to consider. But on a fall day, a chill in the air and nowhere to have to be, it’s a good get — surrounded by pines and festooned with red, white and blue bunting. One can almost hear John Mellencamp singing “Ain’t that America, for you and me ...”

Farther up the road just past Arnold is Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The trees are indeed plentiful and massive. Even the pine cones are supersized.

From an overlook, ridge after ridge of pines disappear into the distance. An ambitious trail, four miles with a 1,200-foot drop, is accessible near the overlook. A more gently undulating trail can be found near the visitors center. The scent of the pines and the long shadows of autumn combine for the kind of soothing milieu those of us in the workaday world seek but rarely find.

That’s not just vacation brain talking. It’s cliche to describe a time or place as a throwback to a simpler era. It rings true in Gold Country. Start with the historic downtowns in Sonora, Angels Camp, Murphys, Jamestown, Jackson and Sutter Creek that foster community events. Some are bigger than others but all seem to have a candy store, a bookstore or an antique shop straight out of a period movie set. Wander into a thrift shop and you might spot the 1960s coffeemaker your parents used, a box of vintage beer bottles or rusty license plates, a long-forgotten childhood board game or honest-to-goodness vinyl records — is that Dean Martin on the cover?

The area also is wedded to its common heritage. It seems every town has something historic to explore. What looks like a children’s playground in Sutter Creek is instead a collection of mining tools, including rail cars and water cannons. Murphys has an old jail cell. Many Gold Country towns feature opportunities to pan for gold, among them Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, which has gold panning on weekends.

One could be forgiven if it seems as if wine tasting has become the new gold in the Gold Country. You can’t swing a jumping frog on Main Street in Murphys without hitting one of its several wine-tasting rooms. Sutter Creek has a cheese-tasting room, and is among the Gold Country towns where one can find oil-tasting rooms, too.

Take it from someone who has played in the snow and baked in the sun on a ski boat in Gold Country: The temperate days and chilly nights of November represent the area at its best, with a glass of wine, a slice of cheese, a creek gurgling in the background and the promise of the holidays and community activities that bring them deeper meaning.

3spots For Drinks Other Than Wine

1 Murphys Pourhouse

A rotating selection of craft brews is available in 4-ounce samples ($4), full glasses ($10 or $16) or bottles ($5-$20). Cider and wine are also available, as are deli sandwiches. There is seating inside or outside in a family friendly bucolic beer garden complete with a corn hole bean bag toss and live music on selected dates. A small lounge area next to the bar is perfect for chatting or playing board games.

Details: Open six days a week (closed Tuesday) at 350 Main St., Suite B, Murphys; www. visitmurphys.com/murphyspourhouse.

2 Alchemy Wine and Beer Bar

This side-by-side market and cafe offers the largest selection of craft beers available in Calaveras County. Alchemy was created by Jason Wright (chef and co-owner of Bahama Billy’s Steakhouse and Bixby Martini Bistro, both in Carmel) and his wife Sandie. The varied menu (“elevated American comfort food”) ranges from Nachos Forever! and fish tacos to glazed salmon, fried calamari and Dungeness crab cake.

Details: Open Thursday-Monday at 191 Main St., Murphys; www. alchemymarket.com.

3 Murphys Hotel Saloon

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and homemade pub grub is served at Murphys Saloon, tucked inside Murphys Historic Hotel, “in an atmosphere straight out of the 1800s.” The 30-foot long wooden bar made up of a single plank has been in place since 1856. Visitors can enjoy draft beer, cocktails and the warmth of a pot-bellied stove in the winter months. The saloon decor includes moose, elk and deer heads donated by local hunters, prints of Custer’s Last Stand, Sheridan’s Final Charge at Winchester and a 31-star U.S. flag. The atmosphere turns decidedly 21st-century on weekends, when there is frequent live music.

Details: Open daily at 457 Main St., Murphys (often standing room only from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.); www.murphyshotel.com/saloon.

A large display showcases pumpkins for sale at Zimmerman’s Hilltop Market off Highway 49 in San Andreas.

Vintage Book Stores

1

Hein and Company Used and Rare Books

When entering, be mindful of the wide booknado twisting from floor to ceiling. And while Hein & Co. has no shortage of titles, or reading nooks in which to browse through them, a most pleasant surprise awaits upstairs. There, a recent renovation has transformed what was a staid, static space into Baker Street West, a mock-up of Sherlock Holmes’ London. With “Wolfe and Boar Pub,” the “Toy Shoppe” and re-creations of the flats once occupied by Holmes and Dr. Watson, it’s the perfect setting for tea mysteries and book readings. Be sure to spend a little time with the cats who have the run of the place — Emily (Dickinson), typically upstairs, and Edgar (Allan Poe) who tends to favor the first floor.

Details: Open daily at 204 Main St., Jackson.

2 Legends Books, Antiques and Old Fashioned Soda Fountain

This makes a good first impression with its yesteryear-themed ice cream shop at the front of the building — featuring carved wood accents, brass rail, player piano and large historic cash register. From there, up and to the left is an antique store. Right and down the stairs are cases and cases of books. Continue toward the back and ... is that the sound of running water? It is. Through a cutaway in the back wall, a small rivulet of water trickles down over rocks and stones. A sign there bears the legend of Rocky, a gold miner who didn’t have much luck until he tossed a penny into a creek.

Details: Open daily 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at 131 S. Washington St., Sonora.

DON’T MISS

Above left: Historical displays with antiques and books are in the basement of Legends Books in Sonora.

Above right: The world’s largest crystalline gold leaf specimen is on display at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys.

Ironstone’s Crown Jewel

They call it the largest crystalline gold leaf specimen in the world, and who’s to argue? On display inside a walk-in vault in the Heritage Museum and Jewelry Shoppe at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, it weighs 44 pounds and is 98 percent pure. Discovered by the Sonora Mining Company on Christmas Day in 1992 — “Oh, Santa, you shouldn’t have!” — the specimen is the largest piece of gold mined in North America since the 1880s. According to a pamphlet available in the museum, crystalline specimens can sell for as high as $6,000 per ounce. That would peg the value of this bauble at around $4 million.

Details: Heritage Museum and Jewelry Shoppe, Ironstone Vineyards, 1894 Six Mile Road, Murphys. www.ironstonevineyards.com.