Day 16 – The Forest and The Ghost Town…
We wake up in a magnificent forest that looks a lot like the forest of Fontainebleau. There are rocks, pine trees (with giant pine cones) but also a river. We decide to take a walk in the forest for a while and eat there before setting off for the city. There’s a place called Silver City Ghost Town there. A real ghost town?! We’ve got to check it! “Côme! We’re gonna visit a ghost town. See some real ghosts!” – “Really?!” (He’s all excited) – “Hum… no… it’s just an old town… But who knows?!”
After a short drive, we reach the city. There are a lot of old wooden houses, one of which is an antique shop. A gentleman in the shop greets us. He looks like a time traveler from the 1800’s. He’s got a plaid shirt, jeans, boots, long hair and a long beard (ZZ-top like). Everything here feels like we’re back in time. The gentleman tells us we can visit the old town for a fee. So we first visit the antique shop and then head to the town. There are about ten buildings to see, vestige of the 19th century town: two saloons, a prison, a post office, a chapel, the sheriff’s office, the doctor’s office, etc… The place is great! It feels like we’re in an old western. There’s a collection of old objects and even signs that tell us about the history of the place. That’s where we learn that the prison hosted one of the West’s last great gunfighter, Newt Walker…
After this little trip back in time, we set off for Sequoia National Park. Before hitting the mountains, we stop at a gas station to fill up the tank. It’s a good thing we did and it’s a good thing our card didn’t work at the pump either because when we talk to the clerk, she tells us that we definitely need winter chains to go to the mountains and that the park is closed anyway because of the heavy snow and a storm that is scheduled for tonight… So we backtrack to town, to be able to connect to the internet and get some information. As soon as our phones are connected, we receive an alert from the government. We’re right on the edge of a winter storm warning area. We then check on the National Park’s official website: the park is closing tonight and won’t reopen until March 17th. Seriously!!!! Doo is disgusted. We try to look for a fallback solution but Yosemite Park is also closed. There’s nothing we can do…
So we decide to stick around here and wait for tomorrow. Maybe the sky will clear up and the park will reopen. In the meantime we do our laundry and go back to the forest…
Today, Côme:
Did not understand: how a oil lamp was working.
Learnt: that pine cones could be enormous.
Enjoyed: walk around the Ghost Town.
Julia:
Did not understand: why the prison was in the middle of the town.
Learnt: that people preserved old towns.
Enjoyed: to imagine life during the gold rush.
Doo:
Did not understand: what was the use of some of the objects in the Ghost Town.
Learnt: that the Silver Ghost Town is host of the oldest building in the valley.
Enjoyed: time travelling.
Burger counter: 09 (still)