Lunch, A Mining Town & Chicken Wings

After celebrating a decade of being grandparents, we left the Bay Area and took the road less traveled (by us at least). Interstate 80 (I-80) runs through Northern California's Gold Country and passes through the region's historic gold mining towns. We were eager for a detour.

Lunch in Loomis was a repeat for me but a first for Steve. Loomis began in 1850 as "The Grove," then became Placer, Smithville, and Pino before being named Loomis in 1890, after pioneer James Loomis. The community was founded by gold miners, later became a major fruit-shipping center in Placer County, and officially incorporated in 1984 to preserve its small-town character and prevent annexation by its neighbors. Today, Loomis retains its historic charm, with landmarks like the High-Hand and Blue Goose fruit packing sheds, a nod to its agricultural past.

A delicious meal was had at High-Hand Nursery, home of the Loomis Fruit Growers Association, which has been in continuous operation since it was incorporated in 1901. The LFGA constructed the High-Hand Fruit Sheds in 1926 as its central packing plant. During its years of peak operation, the LFGA employed up to 100 workers at the Sheds during harvest season. Here they packed and shipped local “Mountain Grown” fruit, under the HIGH-HAND label, to major markets around the world.

Steve appreciated the authenticity of the historic shed. We promised to return for the weekend concerts hosted in the vastness of this very cool building.

What an idyllic setting for dining al fresco.

A 1.5 mile detour found us in the quaint village of Dutch Flat. This historic burg was founded in 1851 by German immigrants and became a wealthy, bustling Gold Rush town known for its hydraulic mining, which peaked in the 1870s. It was also an important Pony Express stop and a hub for the Central Pacific Railroad. The town's decline began after hydraulic mining was banned in 1884 due to environmental damage. Today, Dutch Flat is a historic, well-preserved community and a California Historical Landmark No. 397.

An oral history lesson was given to us by Anne, a docent at the Golden Drift Museum.

Dutch Flat was once such a popular destination, Mark Twain lectured there several times.

Theodore Judah, the chief engineer for the Central Pacific Railroad, evaluated a route for the first transcontinental railroad through Dutch Flat, and the original subscription for the railroad was made at Strong's Drugstore right here. Wild!

We ended our time in Dutch Flat as many people who lived here did, at the cemetery. One of the founders, Allen Towle, has his final resting place here. Per his obituary, he was born at Corinth, Vermont, and died at Oakland. He came to California in 1856 and engaged in mining. Eventually, he and his brother George went into the lumber business, establishing what was to become one of the leading and wealthiest lumber companies of the state. The town of Towle is named after them.

The Nicholls family is thoroughly represented here beginning with father Phillip who was born in Cornwall, England in 1826.

"THIS MONUMENT HONORS THE CHINESE PIONEERS WHO PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE HISTORY OF DUTCH FLAT - FROM THE EXCITEMENT OF THE GOLD RUSH TO THE MONUMENTAL CHALLENGE OF BUILDING THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD AND BEYOND. AS MINERS, MERCHANTS, AND LABORERS THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS HELPED SHAPE THIS COMMUNITY.

THIS CEMETERY, WITH OVER 300 GRAVESITES, STANDS AS A SOLEMN YET POWERFUL REMINDER OF THE THOUSANDS OF CHINESE IMMIGRANTS FROM GUANGDONG WHO PASSED THROUGH DUTCH FLAT IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE IN "GOLD MOUNTAIN." THEIR LEGACY IS ONE OF RESILIENCE, PERSEVERANCE, AND REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT."

What a history lesson, found on a brief detour.

Our final stop was at Olympic Village for a very fun event... a first for us.

"Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings is a charity event where participants pay a donation to vote for the best wings from local restaurants and the best band from local musicians, with all proceeds benefiting the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS). The event features a competition among six restaurants and six bands, with attendees receiving voting tokens to cast their votes for their favorites."