A Gold Mine for Young Readers

Little may remain of the gold that drew thousands of dreamers and schemers to the American Wild West, but there's a mother lode of adventure to be mined out there. Many of the old towns are alive and well, still surrounded by soaring forests and roaring rivers--and mapped for all posterity by the likes of John Muir, Mark Twain and other great 19th century writers.

Muir, in fact, wrote the book on environmentalism--and more than one. Our National Parks, The Yosemite and The Mountains of California helped shape the nation's attitudes on conservation. Some would argue that were it not for his impassioned writings, little of the rugged Western wilderness would have survived.

After trekking much of the West, Muir settled in Martinez, 35 miles northeast of San Francisco, co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892 and served as its president until his death at 76 in 1914. In Martinez, visitors can roam the grounds of the John Muir National Historic Site; hike Mount Wanda, named after one of Muir's daughters; and snack on ripe fruit from the orchard that helped bankroll his conservation activities. In Muir's 17-room mansion, young children will enjoy seeing the toys that belonged to Muir's daughters; older kids will gravitate to the "scribble den," where Muir did his writing. Among the artifacts on display: a spear presented to Muir by Native Americans in honor of his courage.

Muir was a serious student of natural science, but his contemporary Mark Twain was a class comedian whose best subject was human nature. Twain tried his luck at mining in the little gold town of Angels Camp, a 2 1/2-hour drive east of Martinez; a replica of his one-room shack sits on top of Jackass Hill. His comical tale of a compulsive bettor, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, made Twain a household name and inspired an annual Jumping Frog Jubilee, held the third weekend in May in Angels Camp. Current world record: 21 ft. 53/4 in., set by Rosie the Ribeter in 1986. Visitors to the area can see two other record holders: a 44-lb. crystallized leaf gold nugget, purportedly the world's biggest, worth $3 million, at the Ironstone Vineyards; and the giant sequoias, members of the world's largest living species, in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Twain visited Bret Harte, another gold-rush writer, at Harte's cabin near California Caverns, where, according to local lore, Twain spelunked and found inspiration for the cave in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Nearby Columbia State Historic Park is one of California's best-preserved gold-rush towns, with many original buildings.

Two hours east of Angels Camp is Yosemite, beloved by Muir and, judging from the crowds, by the rest of the world as well. Make reservations for stays of overnight or longer and arrive early in the day. The best way to escape the hordes is to borrow a page from Muir and take a hike. There are a multitude of trails to choose from, but Yosemite Falls, one of Muir's favorite features, is a good destination. "When the afternoon sunshine is streaming through the throng of comets, ever wasting, ever renewed," Muir wrote of the falls, "the marvelous fineness, firmness and variety of their forms are beautifully revealed."

About five hours north of Yosemite is Virginia City, Nev., where Samuel Clemens adopted his nom de plume. The conventional wisdom is that "Mark Twain" comes from the riverman's term for water two fathoms deep. Joe Curtis, owner of Mark Twain's Bookstore, offers an alternative theory. Clemens used to order his whiskey two shots at a time in Virginia City, telling the bartender to put it on his tab: "Mark me for twain [two]." Twain wrote for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise in the early 1860s, chronicling the town's gold- and silver-fueled rise. His recollections of that time also appear in his autobiographical Roughing It. The population has dwindled from 28,000 to 800, but the town remains lively. Families can stay at one of several 19th century hotels and tour the museums commemorating Twain and the strike-it-rich era. Children will particularly enjoy going underground to visit the Chollar Mine. If you can, time your visit to coincide with the Bonanza Days Gunfighter Championships, June 18-20, or the Storey County Jumping Frog Jubilee, July 16-18.