Jamestown, California
March 17, 2013

I can’t believe my good fortune on this trip.  First, the great weather, and now a stop at a great Gold Rush Town on the way home.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would miss something important if I didn’t check out the Irish Day Parade in Murphys.  Yesterday morning, I backtracked to Murphys from Sonora and arrived just as the parade started.  It was worth the stop. Here are some photos of the parade.

Irish Day Parade

Irish Day Parade

Irish Day Parade

Irish Day Parade

Grandma & her Irish ducklings

Irish Day Parade

I left Murphys, heading South, around noon and arrived in Jamestown in mid-afternoon.  Jamestown is a quaint old gold mining town that has a rich history.  My first stop was Mooney’s Irish Pub on Main Street.  I was immediately attracted to this Pub by all the bikes parked in front of the Pub.  The locals greeted me warmly and wanted to hear all about Ollie’s sidecar.  Here are some photos, including a photo of Mike, Dave and me (Mike has the Irish green hair).

Biker Bar in Jamestown

Dave, Mike & Bill

Downtown Jamestown

On the recommendation of my new best friends, I spent the night at the Jamestown Railtown Motel. The rail reference is to the gold discovery in the summer of 1848 at Woods Crossing, west of Jamestown, which led to arrival of the Sierra Railway steam passenger train in the summer of 1897.  One of the locals told me that, when they dug up Main street recently, they re-discovered gold.

I have changed my heading to Costa Mesa.  My current plan is to ride North on Highway 49 to Jackson, and then head West on Highway 88 to Highway 395, which proceeds Southwest along the High Sierra mountain range, one of my favorite mountain ranges in the world.

I should be home in 2 days.

Bill