- Coulterville (Mariposa County)
- Funk Hill (Calaveras County)
- Milton - Copperopolis Road (Calaveras County)
- Downieville (Sierra County)
- Priest Valley (Fresno/San Benito County)
The big source of ambiguity at this point is the weather, as it's been raining off and on for the past week in Northern California. Even if next week is rain-free, the ground will probably still be saturated. This tends to weigh against any dirt road excursions through steep terrain (Funk Hill and potentially Priest Valley).
If the weather had been dry it would be a no-brainer: Coulterville to Funk Hill to Milton (by way of the Milton-Copperopolis Road). Even with muddy roads I can still do the Coulterville to Milton stretch. Downieville and Priest Valley are extremely unlikely - and Priest Valley only makes the list because I've been wanting to go there for years.
Coulterville is only a shopping trip, really. It's the home of the Northern Mariposa County History Center. In the bookstore of the Center should be a book I've been wanting to get my hands on, The Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite: an account of freighting from Stockton to Yosemite Valley by Margaret Schlichtmann and Irene Paden. This is a reprinting (at least the fifth) of a book originally written in 1955 that I've heard amazing things about - in terms of the research on local families and regional history that Schlichtmann and Paden accumulated. I could buy this online from Abebooks, but what would be the fun in that? There is a slight problem with this shopping trip, however. The History Center is only open from 10-4 Wednesday through Sunday. Since my birthday is on Monday, S. teaches on Monday and Wednesday, and I usually meet with my advisor on Wednesday, that could push the trip up to Sunday or back to Thursday. Valea. It's not a deal breaker.
Funk Hill! Man I love the sound of that. I've been on this Funk Hill jag today. This was the site of the last stage robbery by Black Bart. I want to walk the hill and get a feel for the lay of the land so I can make my own assessment as to his skill as a robber (Black Bart has gotten positive historical accounts - I'm not sure if it was because he was seen as an intelligent man - a self described PO8, albeit not a good one - who never shot at his vicitims, or if it was because he was an older dapper white man.). I've found that, for my own understanding, the geographical context of historical events is as important as the actual facts: I didn't realize how much of an idiot Fremont was until I stood on top of Fremont Peak at about the same time of year as he built a fort and declared war on Mexico (no water, easily surrounded, fog rolling in on a regular basis); How fucked up what we did to Americans of Japanese descent was didn't sink in until I walked around Manzanar during the winter; And nothing brought home the absolute absurdity of a camel regiment in California quite like cruising around Fort Tejon; I could go on and on.
Funk Hill was on the main stage line between Sonora and Copperopolis. This all changed when they built a dam on the Stanislaus River to make New Melones Reservoir. Now, the only way to approach Funk Hill is through a series of dirt roads. I spent all evening poring over online versions of the USGS topographical 7.5 minute maps for the area and plotting the best way to get close to the hill. But I really won't know how passable these roads are, under current weather conditions, until I get on the scene.
Ever since I read online that the Milton Schoolhouse had finally succumbed to the elements I've wanted to go re-visit that tiny town. It's also been six years since I last drove one of my favorite roads, high time for a refresher. Since Funk Hill is four miles east of Copperopolis, and the Rock Creek Road takes off northwest from Copperopolis to Milton, this should be a nice alternative if I don't feel like getting stuck in the mud.
Downieville is kind of an ad hoc addition. While leafing through my collection of books I came upon the story of Juanita, a Mexican woman who was three months pregnant when she was lynched by a white mob in Downieville in 1851. Carey McWilliams retold the story as part of an essay on mob violence against Mexican miners perpetuated by white Americans during the early years of the gold rush. Leonard Pitt adds the detail that she was a prostitute in his book, The Decline of the Californios. I'm not sure why I want to go see Downieville - or what makes Juanita any more deserving of recognition than the thousands of other lynching victims. I guess I just hope that not a stone of the town is remaining and that there is salt liberally sown in the ground. Or something.
Priest Valley has been on my list of places to visit for more than a decade. It was the reported location where Joaquin Murieta and his lieutenant Three-Fingered Jack were killed. The reason why I use the word reported is because I'm from Southern California. A little background. Murieta was one of five Joaquins listed as evildoers of the highest order by the State government. The state put up a reward and a former Texas Ranger (for all those of Mexican descent here is the part where you either boo, hiss, or shriek in terror) named Harry Love decided to hunt down a Joaquin, any Joaquin. Love went hither and yon back and forth across the state chasing Joaquins. He didn't have any luck until, amazingly, right before the reward expired he surprised Joaquin Murieta and his band in Priest Valley and killed the leader and one of his henchmen. He cut off the head of one man and the hand of another, preserved these, and brought them back to the capital (the head hung around for fifty years until it disappeared during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake). The government awarded him $5000. Case closed. But not quite. Angelenos knew as fact that Joaquin Murieta was in the southland during the same period of time. Another disturbing fact is that a group of Sonorans and Californios, who were catching wild horses, were ambushed in Priest Valley and returned to southern California to report that Joaquin Valenzuela (not a bandit) had been killed. It probably wasn't the first, and definitely not the last, time a Texan got creative with the truth. (Leonard Pitt has the best run down on this that I've seen. The records of the state are also illuminating).
So those are the potential candidates. I will probably only make the decision as we're walking out the door. Should be fun.
