Armed with the best book for our kind of road less traveled exploring, we left Nevada City for home traversing one of 65 itineraries on California's Scenic Byways.

We stopped at the South Yuba River State Park. Tucked away in scenic and historic Nevada County, this Park has a little something for everybody, which we plan to thoroughly explore when it's warm. The park boundaries meander for 20 miles along the river, and include four historic bridges, miles of hiking trails, and the nation’s only wheelchair-accessible wilderness trail, the Independence Trail. 
In the 1860s the Bridgeport bridge was constantly used day and night, with passenger and commercial traffic beating a path to the silver mines of Virginia City via the Henness Pass. Today at 229 feet, David Wood’s bridge is the longest single-span wooden covered bridge still in existence in the United States.
Early pioneers, the Kneebone family, lived here from the 1850s through the 1940s. Through the years, they ran a farm and ranch, built the stone walls still standing at Bridgeport, operated the barn to provide hay and rest for hardworking horses, worked as teamsters, and ran a swimming resort and gas station.
Continuing on our path, French Corral, the 1st of the historic mining camps to spring up along the ancient San Juan River channel, was settled in 1849 by a Frenchman who built a corral for his mules. Very soon afterward, it was discovered that the area was rich in placer gold, and a town quickly began. The brick walls of the old Wells Fargo Express office built in the 1850s and equipped with iron doors, and window shutters, which once guarded millions of dollars in gold against would-be robbers, looks as though it could stand for generations to come- the only visible memory of this once thriving town.
Each town we passed called out for an explore. Many promises were made to return and discover all the treasures that await our next road trip.
Anytime we can end a trip with a rainbow sighting, it's a very good trip!