Today we went to Empire Mine State Park about 50 miles from our house. This was Izzy's 1st State Park visit. It was awesome. It is an old gold mine circa Gold Rush to 1953 and there are cottages and rose gardens on the property. The mine shafts are 8000 and 11000 feet down. They have lots of artifacts to look at and the area is beautiful. It is in Grass Valley (Northeast of our house). We loved it and wish we could have stayed longer but the smoke was getting too bad (the wind must have shifted). Izzy was a real trooper. We borrowed Auntie Jess' baby carrier and she would try to climb out if Paul didn't move so she could see. There is still a lot more for us to look at and some trails to hike so we look forward to getting back up there real soon.
