Hey there, old girl, it’s been quite a while,
good seeing those peaks still roll mile after mile.
That old smoky curtain has lifted away,
and sunlight comes wandering back through your day.

Fire came roaring where tall timber grew,
turning green into gray beneath smoke-heavy blue.
Boots cut the line while the hot embers flew,
with water and grit, those brave crews pulled you through.

Black became brown, then the first tender green,
little shoots stitching life through the burned-over scene.
From ember to timber, from charcoal to seed,
the wild knows the rhythm, the rain, and the need.

And Eureka remembers another old flame,
when gold fever burned and the prospectors came.
Pick, pan, and patience chased glimmer and gleam,
through granite and gravel for one golden dream.

Hey there, old girl, we’ve both gathered some scars,
but smoke has a way of revealing the stars.
So here’s to the crews, and the green pushing through,
to mountains made old and beginnings made new.

Peace. Piece. Peas.

Mr E & Justin Thyme

This is the best state campground I know of in California. The amenities are fabulous. The only deficiency is the lack of pictures of the campsites for reservation purposes. Because this is not available anywhere (at a quality level) I am posting below pictures of all the campsites. I can only upload 50 at a time so at least some of them can be observed. Note that these pictures were taken around noon (two separate days) to show the available shade for each site. If you have solar cells you might want to snag one in the hot sun.

The bear boxes are high up, out in the sun and do not accommodate very tall ice chests. You have to pull the chest out to open the lid to access the inside of the ice chest.

The historic gold mining town is great and they play a video on the history of the gold rush if you ask for it.

I will also provide a map I corrected and labeled that shows the location of all the campsites. Note that some have a grouped parking area (not good for trailers, etc.).

We found a couple of gold nuggets in the streams while there the last time. One was about an ounce or so. The mountain there is loaded with gold. A docent said that if they were to mine that mountain with modern gold-mining techniques the worldwide price of gold would collapse to $250 an ounce.

Oh, just kidding about the gold nuggets (we DID NOT find) but I did learn or read that one camper did look down from the bridge and spotted a gold nugget that weighed in at an ounce. That would definitely make it worthwhile camping in this gold-infested area.

One of my most favorite places to be part of nature. The views are stunning. The air feels wonderful. The sounds are not of people. The dirt road seems to go on forever. -Regina