Old Bear River Bridge, also called, "Bear River Historic Bridge," is located near Colfax, CA. The…read morebridge is located next to a taller and more modern bridge that is part of Route 174. This pair of bridges is about two miles to the north of Route 80. From Colfax, take Route 174 (also called, Colfax Highway) to the north. Route 174 crosses over a modern bridge, and once you've crossed this modern bridge you will find a turn-off that brings you into a dirt parking lot. Park your car in this lot. At one end of this parking lot is a stone monument with a plaque on it. Just beyond this stone monument is the north side of Old Bear River Bridge. The bridge is great for pedestrians, and vistors can gaze at the rushing waters arriving from Lake Rollins to the east. Visitors can also gaze at the waters rushing to the west and tumbling over boulders in the Bear River. Bear River continues for about nine miles until it reaches Lake Combie. The plaque has the following paragraph of writing on it: "OLD BEAR RIVER BRIDGE. Since 1852 bridges near this site have served as the gateway to western Nevada County. This 1924 span was the first concrete bridge at this site and features a Roman style single arch design, constructed in a continuous pour method. The Colfax Highway Association led a citizens group that saved the bridge from the wrecker's ball in 1986, and placed this monument in 1992." The pedestrian walkway on Old Bear River Bridge is about 20 feet lower down than Route 174, which crosses over the modern bridge. Because Old Bear River Bridge is lower, the modern bridge does not obscure the views to the west. An interesting sight from the southern end of Old Bear River Bridge is an aqueduct. This aqueduct is built on a hill rising from the southern banks of Bear River. Regarding the northern bank of Bear River, what is found here is a hiking trail that follows the river and takes you in a westerly direction. The trailhead is located near the stone monument (mentioned above), and the trail first takes you under the modern bridge, and then into a forest. I took this trail for about 20 minutes through the forest. From this trail, you are rewarded with occasional views of the Bear River below. Also, from this trail that are several small dirt trails that branch off from the main trail and lead you along a 50-foot descent down to the river's edge. ATTACHED PHOTOGRAPHS. 1. Plaque installed at north side of Old Bear River Bridge. 2. View downstream of Old Bear River Bridge, showing that the modern bridge is about 20 feet higher up than Old Bear River Bridge. 3. View of most of Old Bear River Bridge. I took this photograph from the trail that passes under the modern bridge (and under Route 174). 4. Aqueduct that is visible from the southern end of Old Bear River Bridge. 5. Looking east from Old Bear River Bridge. You can see little waterfalls. 6. Looking west from Old Bear River Bridge. From this vantage spot, you can see little waterfalls. 7. View of the dirt trail, showing a hiker wearing an orange backpack. 8. View of Bear River from the dirt trail.

The view of the river from the bridge is very nice, but unfortunately there is a lot of trash and…read moregraffiti which spoil the experience. We did not walk the trail, so maybe if you do that and get away from the parking area and bridges it is better.

Kool place to hike and dip your feet in the water. Fun adventure and awesome views of natureread more

The first thing that pops in my head when I think of Auburn is the Black RailRoad Bridge. No…read morematter where I'm going too or returning from, I know that when I see the black railroad bridge I am in Auburn and Sacramento is only 45 minutes away. Over the course of my lifetime, I have driven under this bridge over a hundred times . On our way home from one of many fishing trips to Frenchmen or Davis Lake, my father would always stop at a little convenient store next to the bridge to purchase ice cream cones to eat on the way home. What wonderful memories! This black bridge was built in 1909 and actually has a name, (Auburn Ravin Bridge )or referred to (I-80 RailRoad Bridge). The upper part of the bridge is still part of the original bridge. During the expansion of highway 80 years ago, the bottom section of the bridge had to be modified to support the expansion. The bridge design was ( Pratt Riveted deck truss ).This section of the bridge supports the railroad over I-80. Am Trak / BNSF Railway/ & Union Pacific Railroad still currently use the railroad bridge. Over a hundred years old and still going strong ! Woo - Hoo to American Engineering and to all the men and women whom make America Strong !

Most folks do not know that right along Highway 49 in Auburn, CA, is a significant piece of…read morehistory. Wedged between a car dealership and mechanic shop is the Chinese Cemetery. It is a 2.5 acre plot of land. It is no longer an operating cemetery. There is a locked gate and a fence around the perimeter keeping folks out. The gravestones and remains have been long removed. All that is left is a wood sign and brick enclosed chimney type structure. There are no information boards. Possibly there once were, not know though. After searching the internet, I found out that the burial site dates back to the 1840s. Auburn was once home to thousands of Chinese in the 1800s. They came like everyone else for job opportunities and to try their hand in the gold mines. During that time in history, it was not common practice or possibly not allowed for the Chinese to be buried in the Caucasian cemetery. So the Chinese chose this location. It was a mile outside of Auburn proper and on top of a hill. The Joss House, a cultural center located in Old Town Auburn, currently manages the cemetery.

My friend and I were strolling around Old Town Auburn when we saw this very grand building on top…read moreof the hill. We both wondered if that's their City Hall... Convinced that it probably is (it's not), we decided to hike up the hill to take a closer look only to realize as we hiked up that it was a lot farther away. Also we were surprised at the very steep hills here. So we made the decision to walk back down toward the center of Old Town and drove the parked car up to what we now realized is the Historic Courthouse. Built in 1898, it is now also the site of the current Placer County Superior Court (2nd floor) and The Placer County Museum which is located on the 1st floor. Of note, there's a Placer County women's jail (exhibit) which is a makeshift cell underneath the north staircase that was put here in 1905 due to it being too expensive to house women prisoners in local hotels and too dangerous to house them with men in the main jail. Located on Maple Street and Union Street.

This is a really cool historic courthouse. THE FOLLOWING WAS…read moreCPOIED FROM THE WEB SITE: Built in 1898, this courthouse is an elegantly-designed look into the history of Auburn. The beautifully restored Courthouse, which echoes many of the design elements in the state capital building, The Placer County Museum is also located on the first floor of the courthouse. They also have a historical small jail room that was built especially for women because prior to that they could not intermingle men and women in the same jail cells so they would put them up in a hotel room prior to this jail, self being built. The grounds are very well kept and there are plenty of photo ops.

"Alexander Bell Mc Rae"was a very prominent businessman and community leader in the early 1900's…read more The Mc Rae Building was built in 1908 and is considered to be one of the first multi-story building built in Roseville. It is also one of the most important historical building still to exist in "Roseville Historic Downtown District." During the early 1900's the Mc Rae Building was also known as the "Opera House". The upper floor the building was used for many social events such as ( Cultural Center / Meeting Hall / Live Theater / Plays / Roller Rink / Lyric Movie House / Boxing Matches / but never for an opera. The ground floor was at one time occupied by Mc Rae real estate/insurance office / "Piggley Wiggley Grocery Store / Roseville first new paper/ and Post Office. The building is currently home to "The Opera House Saloon". ( Live Music / Dancing Lessons ) ( Food & Drinks). Restoration on the building was completed in 1989 by Richard and Donald Ryan. Remember the past/ Imbrace the Future ! Thanks for reading ! Live/Love / Travel

Loomis library is separate from Placer county libraries…read more Love this library: Clean Friendly staff Has summer reading w books as a prize Cheap used baby/ kids books for $0.25 (unless marked) Has a free food pantry Has a seed library Has a community room Has puzzles, coloring, legos for kids/ toddlers to play with Has activities for adults to do while waiting for kids Has padded play area for babies Has board games & puzzles to check out Clean bathroom w changing table Has a cool UC master gardeners garden. I've been to their Japanese festival which is usually in June (?) & love hearing the Ume_ taiko group play. Did their tie dye event too which was fun. A bit far for us (20min) or we'd come more often

This year I learned about seed libraries!…read more Found out online that this location has a seed library (the only one I've found in Placer County) so I stopped by this week. But before making the drive out here, I decided to call and verify that they did have one. The person who answered the phone (I think her name was Dorothy) was very friendly and upbeat. She said that yes, they do have a seed library and that it was right next to the front desk. It was my first experience ever with a seed library so it was quite interesting. Basically the library gives away free seeds! At this location, they have these little drawers with labeled packets of seeds and you just write in the binder which seed packets you're taking (limit 5). They also have nice little color brochures with a planting calendar for Placer County. Took my 5 little packets home and was feeling pretty excited. I just got 5 free packets of seeds! :) Got home and decided to start some bell pepper seeds. Opened the packet that was labeled "California Wonder Sweet Peppers" and was startled to find little black seeds inside. While I'm no master gardener, I do know what bell pepper seeds look like and these definitely were not it. I compared them to my broccoli and cabbage seeds, that looked slightly similar, but these black seeds were of a different size. Figured somehow they had just gotten mislabeled and it might be an adventure to plant these mystery seeds and see what plant pops up. :P Decided to start some eggplant seeds so I opened the second packet labeled "Long purple eggplant." Inside the packet consisted of 5 seeds--2 black, 3 cream/yellow. What the?! The cream/yellow ones could pass for eggplant seeds (or even possibly bell pepper seeds) but they were definitely not little black seeds like the two inside this packet. And why would ONE variety consist of two different types of seeds? I then realized the seed library would probably not be the best place to get accurately-labeled seeds. You might want a bell pepper plant and end up getting a basil plant instead. But hey, it's free, right? Another thing that concerned me was that on their website, they suggest that you plant the seeds and then save some seeds and return them to the library. In my experience, there's a lot of cross pollination that goes on with plants so you can't really save seeds from your plant and expect it to be the exact same variety. *shrug* Maybe their seeds somehow don't get cross-pollinated or something? But anyways, it was a fun experience to see a Placer County seed library. We'll see if anything grows from the seeds!

The firehouse was erected in 1891 by volunteers. What a wonderful piece of history here. Look at…read morethe hose on that firetruck. Very grateful to be able to see that it's been kept up and in good shape.

September 29, 2020…read more This is review for Maestro or Maestra a few notes on the piano if you please historic landmark called Historic Firehouse Station 1 (One). It is in Auburn, California. Was a firehouse. Built year 1888. Became registered historic landmark year 2011. Free to look inside. One can see what equipment used in those days to fight fires. Yes there were hoses, they looked different those days. Those days most the firefighters were volunteers. They would pass buckets of water to help to put out the fires. Lots big rocks, sometimes take to paint rocks back at the house where staying.

August 6, 2025…read more Update of any my comments now one thousand three hundred ninety three! City Hall has a historic one room school house museum, Second Floor, room five! Named for a former school principal! Those days, one had show respect to the teacher! When the teacher called on a student, the student had to stand at one side of the desk, answer the question in complete sentence! Bow or curtsy and answer the question in complete teacher! Churning butter, you students now days should appreciate parent is able buy butter from grocery store or those days called the Trading Post! Those days, the students, even the Adults, had to churn the butter, it could take many hours! This school house will be having an anniversary of one hundred ten years August 9, 2025! It first had school classes in year 1915, hence upcoming one hundred ten year of celebration. Think last year for classes was in year 1964!