Think Global but Shop Local!

Many artists, stores and businesses in the Coloma Lotus Valley are ready to help with your holiday shopping. Shopping locally saves gas, time and money by staying close to home. Many businesses have extended hours to make gift-buying easier. Consider these local choices:

Gold Hill Olive Oil: Just releasing their new 2008 locally grown and crushed olive oils, many varieties available.

The River Store: Christmas trees, wreaths, mistletoe, kayaks, boating gear, and free cookies made by Dan Crandall's mom!

The Golden Gecko Plant Nursery: Gift cards, stocking stuffers, items for the home gardener, Golden Gecko T-shirts, sweat shirts, and aprons.

The American River Nature Center: Nature books for adults and children, or click here to purchase books through Amazon.com and donate to this non-profit organization.

Gold Rush Mercantile: Period clothing, hats, aprons, bonnets, a large selection of books on gold rush history, music, children's toys, and genuine gold nuggets.

Wine: Need wine for holiday parties or hostess gifts? Stop by and taste at Venezio, Gold Hill, or David Girard Wineries, or choose from the bottles available at the Riverside Mini-Mart.

Sierra Rizing Bakery: Gifts from the kitchen; jams, jellies, syrups, delicious dog biscuits, and a wide selection of Gold Hill Olive Oils.

Andie Thrams Art- Andie has just produced her new 2008 calendar with a nature theme.

To find out more about these and other local shopping options, click here. Shop local and save time, money and gas!

Christmas In Coloma, December 8 & 9

Step back in time with this annual old-fashioned Christmas. Period crafts, music, strolling musicians, historic trade demonstrations, 19th-century children's games, and wreath making. A visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus is a colorful highlight of the day. Vendors offer hand-made crafts as well as a variety of foods. Snow Mountain guarantees kids will have fun. The Park's historic buildings will be open for visitors' enjoyment. New this year, the event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, December 8 and 9. Located in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. Cost is $7 per vehicle. For more information, call (530) 295-2162 or go to Marshall Gold Discovery Park Association. Photo courtesy Betty Sederquist, and may not be reprinted without her permission.

Coloma Gold Rush Live October 13, 14

For two days Coloma brims with images, sounds, and hands-on experiences as costumed volunteers living in a tent encampment recreate history. On Sunday at 11 am "the Rev. Freedom Hawkins," accompanied by Joan Cook on the historic Emmanuel Church organ, calls all visitors to an 1850s church service. Merchants hawk their wares, The Coloma Cemetery Players offer a funeral performance, and miners tell tales from the goldfields. All weekend, visitors may rub shoulders with adventurers and historical figures, such as James Marshall, who found the nugget that started the California Gold Rush. Volunteers interpreting history in period dress cook over open fires, show visitors how to pan for gold, make candles and rope, and demonstrate trades such as blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, basket making and more. Children's activities and games from the 19th century entertain, as musicians play period instruments and sing songs of the early immigrants. Experience the Native American culture at the Miwok Village.

Coloma Gold Rush Live! is presented by Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and the Gold Discovery Park Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the interpretation and conservation of the Park. Parking is $7 per vehicle, and the event is free. For more information call 530.295.2162. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is located in Coloma on Highway 49 between Placerville and Auburn. For more information; click on http://www.marshallgold.org/ . All photos courtesy Betty Sederquist, http://www.sederquist.com/

Change in El Dorado County Parks & Recreation

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors (BOS) is considering a proposal to dismantle the Airports, Parks and Grounds department. This is the group that manages county parks such as Henningsen-Lotus, and whitewater recreation on the South Fork of the American River. We've posted a PDF of the reorganization proposal.

If you would like to hear more about the plans and let your Supervisors know how you would like to see recreational facilities and opportunities managed in the County, come to the public meeting tomorrow, October 2, 2007, in the BOS chambers, 330 Fair Lane, Building B, in Placerville. The item is #25 on the BOS agenda. See the BOS website for details. The meeting starts at 9 a.m., which means that this item will probably be discussed sometime between 10 a.m. and noon, but could be as late as 1 or 2 p.m.

This may be the public's only opportunity to comment on this subject, but if you cannot attend the meeting, you can email your supervisor. See addresses on the BOS website.

American River Music Festival a Success

A two day musical extravaganza took place on the banks of the South Fork American River, Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23rd. The main stage was at Henningsen Lotus Park, with camping at American River Resort, Camp Lotus and Earthtrek. Those who attended said the event was very well organized, the music terrific, the artists fabulous, and the location great. Lori Norris, attending the event with her extended family from Sacramento, commented, "We had the most wonderful weekend." About 100 volunteers came together to create the event, even though they were challenged by rainy weather. For details about next year's event, go to http://www.americanrivermusic.org/.

Mt. Murphy Bridge Delays and Closures

The El Dorado County Department of Transportation will be doing emergency repairs on the one-lane bridge over the South Fork of the American River that connects Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park with Mt. Murphy. (The Highway 49 bridge over the South Fork is not affected.)

The repairs, scheduled for Oct. 10 and Oct. 19, 2007, will require closing of the bridge for a minimum of 20 minute delays up to 6 hours at a time on Oct. 10th and 11th, 2007.

20 MINUTE DELAYS EXPECTED
ON OCTOBER 10, 11, 2007

As part of the Mt. Murphy Bridge Emergency Repair Project, Mt. Murphy Bridge will be intermittently closed for bridge deck repairs. The closure is scheduled for 20 minute delays during the hours of 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on October 10, and 11th

BRIDGE MAY BE COMPLETELY CLOSED
FROM 9 a.m. or 10am to about 3 p.m.
ON OCTOBER 10 and 11, 2007

The bridge repairs will cause the closure of the bridge for 6 hours on October 10 and 11, 2007. This closure will be from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day, with care taken that school buses arriving to the Coloma Outdoor Discovery School will be able to travel through close to 9am.

All river rafters and kayakers should take caution when going under the Mt. Murphy Bridge while repairs are being completed during this time period. If at all possible, stay to the southwestern side of the river when going under the bridge.

We have posted a printable PDF flyer with the above details. For more information contact Julie Duchscherer, El Dorado County Department of Transportation, at (530) 621-5922.

Movie Producer Todd Stanley Nominated for Emmy

Todd Stanley, a resident of Lotus, was recently honored with two Emmy nominations for his creation of Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch,' a series about the lives of Alaska's crab fishermen on the dangerous Bering Sea. One nomination was for Todd's camera work, 'Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Series,' and the second nomination was for 'Producer of an Outstanding Nonfiction Series.

Todd Stanley and his Co-Producer/brother Doug Stanley, were interviewed recently by Capital Public Radio's Insight program. When asked in the interview, "Any (other) particularly scary moments stand out for you?" Todd replied, "You know, I think every time you're out on deck is a scary moment. I had a crab pot, one time, it broke free from the crane that was lifting it and it landed on the deck just a few feet away from me. These things weigh about a hundred pounds empty, this one was loaded with 3-4 thousand pounds of crab. Yah, ya know, everwhere you look, there's danger waiting."

You can learn more about the dangerous job of crab fishing by clicking on The Deadliest Catch. You'll find more about Todd and the work he does at Boil Line Productions.

Todd Stanley will do a Featured Presentation at the Sierra Nevada House on Wednesday, September 19th at 7:30pm, with behind-the-scenes footage and a question and answer opportunity.

Local Woman runs 100 mile Ultra Marathon

Dawn Bean runs 100 miles in under 24 hours!
Coloma-Lotus local Dawn Infurna-Bean’s goal for her third year and final year of competing in the Western States Ultramarathon was to finish in a blaze of glory. She certainly succeeded! She finished in 23 hours and 9 minutes; shaving 40 minutes off her previous record.
The Western States Endurance Run is a 100 mile long (161 km) ultramarathon that takes place on trails in California's Sierra Nevada annually on the last weekend of June. The race starts at the base of the Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes at the Placer High School track in Auburn, California. Runners climb a cumulative total of 18,000 feet and descend a total of 23,000 feet on mountain trails before reaching the finish. Because of the length of the race, the race begins at 5:00 A.M. and continues through the day and into the night. Runners finishing before the 30 hour overall time limit receive a bronze belt buckle, while runners finishing in under 24 hours receive a silver belt buckle.
Dawn believes that her strong support crew, an awesome pacer, and her positive attitude all helped her complete the event in record breaking time. “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she reported. Congratulations on the silver belt buckle Dawn!

Gold Hill Olive Oil Wins Silver

We recently learned that our local Gold Hill Olive Oil Company came home from the prestigious Extra Virgin Olive Oil competition at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival with a Silver Certificate for their 2006 "Gold Hill Estate" blend. This specialty combines Frantoio, Leccino, Lucca and San Felice varieties—all Italian olives—for a Tuscan-style taste.

Gold Hill crushed their extra virgin olive oils for 2007 in November of 2006. Their fresh and hearty "Achille's Blend," made of five different Italian olives, is a robust extra virgin with a strong pepper finish. If you are looking for a California-grown product, consider their "Tuscan Blend," pressed from olives grown in the foothills near Jackson, California.

Gold Hill Olive Oil Company is located a few miles from Coloma at 5601 Gold Hill Road (between Cold Springs and Lotus Roads). Their historic tasting room offers a wide variety of exceptional extra virgin olive oils, including their award-winning "Gold Hill Estate" blend. They are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday & Sunday.