STILL COLOR IN THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA
When I was a summer sheriff deputy, looking for a lost hiker in the Stanislaus National Forest, I heard the click of someone putting a shell into a chamber of a weapon. I stopped short, looked at my partner, he pointed to the left--standing with a shotgun pointed at us was an old looking man: long hair brushed back into a ponytail; eyebrows, bushy as a squirrel's tail; piercing blue eyes; clothes, brown with dirt; and his black boots cake with mud.
"Who are you?" he yelled. " We're looking for a lost hiker." "You are!" "Have you seen anyone who seems to be lost?" I yelled at him. "Ya, he's here asleep." The old man looked at us, shooked his head, and said, in a deep voice, "Follow me."
We walked about a quarter of a mile to a cluster of trees, near a hill. In among the trees, there was a mine entrance. The old man said, "Don't tell anyone about the 'gold hole' --you understand! It's mine, and no one elses." "Are you finding color?" I asked. "Enough!" he said.
Through out California, near our national forest, our national parks, our rivers, and our lakes there are privately owned gold mines. As an example, there are approximately two hundred eighty plus claims within ten miles of Yosemite National Park and the Emigrant Wilderness, near the Sonora Pass. About seven thousand three hundred ninety claims were staked out within the last four years, according to the "Environmental Working Group."
If you want to see gold nuggets that were take out of the hills near Yosemite, go to Jamestown, California. Some of the gold is on display in the stores on the main street. By the way, if you come across a no trespassing sign, which is near a gold mine, back off, go around the mine--because you can get shot: Owners do not like strangers around their property. It has been known that some mine owners shoot first and then ask questions.
Oh, the lost hiker was found fast asleep in the mine.
Just remember, "There is still color in the hills of California."
