Gold Rush Days

 

Labor Day Weekend in Sacramento means one thing – Gold Rush Days in Old Sac. They cover up the normal cobblestone streets with dirt, have docents all dressed up, and have shoot out shows in the middle of the street.  It’s been a few years since we’ve gone, and the weather wasn’t too hot so we decided to go early in the day to beat the crowds and we went on Saturday, not actual Labor Day.

We parked in our secret (shhhh don’t tell anyone) FREE parking area that we found during the St Patty’s day parade and have parked there ever since when we go to Old Sac. It’s closer than even the $8 an hour parking!  It does require a 6.4 minute walk to Old Sac, crossing the Tower Bridge.  In all the years and times we’ve been to Old Sac, we’ve never seen the bridge go up.  As we were parking, Jacob said, “I wonder if the bridge ever goes up. We’ve never seen it working.”

As we started across the bridge, we looked down the river and saw the train bridge had opened and was letting a boat through, and the boat was heading our way.

 

 

 

Just then  we heard the loudest horn you’ve ever heard. It came from the top of the bridge we were crossing!  Then lights and bells on the bridge started to go off and gates closed across the bridge, closing it to traffic.  We proceeded walking past all the signs that say “GET BEYOND THIS GATE YOU HEAR THE WARNING BELLS” so we hurried to get beyond the gate.

Shortly after that, a gate closed blocking walking traffic as well.

Right next to us on the road, these HUGE steel pillars came up from the ground, just in case a car blew past the crossing arm. These would sure stop you!

 

And then the middle of the bridge started to rise!

 

 

 

 

When it was up all the way, the boat sailed calmly through, and then the bridge came back down again. 

 

We were so lucky to be there just at the right time!  It was very cool to watch it and be right there.

 

We then walked around Old Sac and watched some shoot-out old west shows, and heard an extremely loud cannon be shot that made our ears ring for about 15 minutes after it went off. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back to the car, we found this very disguised geocache hidden in a hollowed out branch. Hannah was the one to find it, and she wanted to make sure I wrote down that it was the first cache she found by herself in “about 5 years” she said. She was very proud!