Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1988-06-05 | Page 40

Standard-Examine- Sunday June 5 1988 r 30 HorizonsTravel ? Statue marks the spot of historic ride By JAY CLARKE SACRAMENTO Calif — In the dead of night 128 years ago Sam Hamilton mounted his horse outside the Wells Fargo office here and galloped off into history Hamilton carried nothing but a mail sack but that’s why his ride that rainy night became significant Hamilton was the first Pony Express rider Sacramento — not San Francisco as many people believe — was the western terminus for the short-live- d Pony Express Using relays of riders and horses the Pony Express carried the mail 1986 miles to St Joseph Mo in eight to 10 days less than half the time required by the regular 1229 NEWGATE MAIL 621-007- checks and schedules of the comand photos Fargo traveler’s pany’s stagecoaches After gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1849 the Gold Rush brought boom times to Sacramento Some 80 percent of the gold mined by the from the nearby Mother Lode passed through Wells Fargo — a circumstance that made the company’s stages tempting targets for outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Indeed Wells Fargo hired the Pinkerton detective agency to track down the bandits stagecoaches T wo doors down the street SacThe service lasted only 18 ramento visitors stayed at the Ormonths because completion of leans Hotel whose the transcontinental telegraph guests included Lola Montez the made it obsolete But in that international entertainer and time the Pony Express used 121 temptress and Horace Greeley riders and 500 horses to carry who heeded his own advice to 35000 pieces of mail and lost on- “Go west young man” and ly one pouch reached Sacramento in 1859 A A statue now marks the spot reconstruction of the hotel faithwhere Hamilton started his ride ful to the original in facade but across the street from the BF with an extra floor added interthen now and Hastings Building nally should be completed in 18 the most important structure in months Old Sacramento In the Big Fouf Building you In the boisterous and booming can see where Theodore Judah h with his vision of a transconticentury the BF Hastings Building was the center of nental railroad gathered together Sacramento action In it were the the men who were to become the offices of Wells Fargo which ran railroad barons of the West stagecoaches operated a private Their names are still legend in California — Callis P Hunting-to- n postal service and a banking emMark Hopkins Leland pire Upstairs was the California Stanford and Charles Crocker Supreme Court Other tenants included the Pony Express and the Stanford operated a wholesale California State Telegraph merchandise business here while Wells Fargo to be sure no lonHuntington and Hopkins ran a hardware store ger has its offices in the building which went into a long decline Most of the buildings you see in before finally being restored a deOld Sacramento are not the first cade ago as part of the Old Sacrabuilt on their sites The first permento Historic Area the largest manent settlement in the area concentration of historic buildcame in 1839 when a Swiss imings in the West But the compamigrant named John Sutter built ny maintains a museum in the a trading post — called Sutter’s building that will tell you a lot Fort — on high ground near the about Sacramento and the Old confluence of the American and West Sacramento rivers You can see old mail bags from Several years later another CaWells Fargo’s postal service lifornia pioneer Sam Brannan which did three times the busi built along the river at a conve 19th-centu- HOURS: rt" Pony Express ri i4 J t will By LAURA BLY Orange County Register As California heads into one of its worst droughts in a century many of the Golden State’s 30 million summer tourists will be coping with the side effects from campfire bans and lakes with “bathtub rings” to restaurants that serve water only on request Visitors who plan their summer getaways around the state’s hundreds of lakes and rivrafters ers will be hardest hit White-watmay have to maneuver sluggish rivers fishermen may land fewer trout and boaters may discover muddy beaches and launching ramps left high and dry Since California receives the majority of its precipitation during the winter state officials expect conditions to worsen over the next few months — and are advising tourists to plan outdoor trips as soon as possible “Streams riveTS and lakes will be much lower than normal" said Matt Mathes San Francisco-base- d spokesman for the US Forest Service which maintains about 20 million h acres or of the state The forest service has already banned campfires outside developed campgrounds at some Southern California parks and limited them by permits in others and may extend the outright ban as the danger of forest fires increases through the summer “Our suggestion is that people plan their (outdoor and boating) trips sooner rather than later” Mathes added “andto call ahead first to check on conditions" Experts agree California’s current water shortage is not as severe as the last major drought in 1976 and 1977 — when lawns er one-fift- y 309 more! CRUISES "-- vsrvr'J 8 Days Mexican Riviera 699 8 Days Hawaii 899 7 Days Alarka 999 $acramentorv '' 4 MEXICO t ry MAZATLANfrom419 1 Includes airfare Costa-de-Or- Hotel on the beach Rt o hotel taxes transfers s v' x: i PUERTO VALLARTA From CANCUN Includes Rt airfare tel Rt transfer nient landing place and Sutter also developed land there By 1849 when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma there were 30 buildings in what is now Old Sacramento In the ensuing Gold Rush Sacramento expanded tremendously but floods and fires plagued the burgeoning city The worst occurred in 1852 when a conflagration destroyed 8 square blocks “Only one of today’s buildings the Lady Adams survived the fire” said Laurie Hensley of the Old Sacramento Merchants Association The town rebuilt after that disastrous fire and to avert damage g from the Sacra mento River the street level was raised one story Many basements in the district were once the ground floors You can see this old level easily in the courtyard dining area of Fulton’s restaurant Today the district covers 28 acres on four square blocks and encompasses 100 shops 30 restaurants and 50 offices as well as two excellent museums While many buildings are restorations some were completely reconstructed from the ground up “They were built from old photos and lithographs” said Hensley Inside of course accommodation is made for modern uses and facilities Within the district too is the 1 often-floodin- California State Railroad Museum one of the finest railroad museums in the country During the summer the museum runs a excursion train trip using 1920s locomotives and cars from its collection Next door is the Sacramento History Center a museum that tells the story of the city Displays include mining tools gold nuggets household objects agricultural technology a collection of historical printing and a reproduction of the entrance of the Sacramento Bee newspaper Coming this summer: A Gold gold Gallery featuring “hands-on- ” panning and a weight scale that will figure your worth in gold feel California drought shriveled some reservoirs turned into virtual mud holes and a sign posted in the restroom of a Fishermen's Wharf restaurant asked patrons not to flush after every use And despite mandatory water rationing in Los Angeles San Francisco and other cities across the state summer visitors to such tourist magnets as Disneyland the Napa Valley and the Big Sur coast won’t notice anything more dramatic than unusually brown hillsides and restaurants that don’t serve water unless asked But at Yosemite National Park most of the park’s waterfalls — including spectacular Yosemite Falls which tumbles more than 2000 feet to the valley floor — will probably dry up by August At Lake Tahoe some marinas have had to dredge to keep boat launching ramps in opere resation And at many rivers and ervoirs including the Northern California houseboating mecca of Lake Shasta late summer conditions may be marginal at best Approximately 40 percent of 50 popular rafting and canoeing rivers in California will be runnable by early July according to Bill Helms of the state Drought Center One of the few rivers to offer white-watrafting through the summer will be the South Fork of the American River in the gold country west of Sacramento But American’s South Fork whose 100000 annual visitors make it the second most popular river in the United States is expected to produce flows of between 1000 and 1500 cubic feet per second — which is less than half the state definition of “desirable flow” for rafting on that river man-mad- er dam-controll- ed 441-20t- COZUMEL Bargain Basement LONDON BRUSSELLS FRANKFURT HAMBURG ZURICH ATHENS The OGDEN UTAH JU— JL Ogden Selling Renting Standard-Examine- r CLASSIFIED ADS $60900 $65900 $90900 Rt air from Salt Lake City Ask about youth fares All European fares good 1988 Tax not included thru May 31 St now OGDEN 399-494- 9 BRING THIS COUPON FOR A BIG DISCOUNT SALEH JUNE GOAL Lose 20 lbs 30 Inches One Month GUARANTEED RESULTS! Be A Winner Be A Loserl ity For an update on the impact the drought is having on recreation in California contact the Drought Center Department of Water Resources PO Box 942836 Sacramento 0 Phone (800) Calif 94236-000- 1 3 out of within California or (916) state The center publishes two free brochures “Water Supply Outlook for Boaters” and “Water Supply Outlook of Recreation at Selected Lakes and Streams" which include information about campgrounds and marinas as well as local contacts for more details 952-553- 5wimmmg Nautilus Thereso Sue 15 Now Sue 5 Sue 20 Now Sue 6 Hindy Sup 16 Now Sue 6 Debbie Sue 16 Now Sue 10 0'llie Sue 16 Now Sue 10 Charlene Sue 20 Now Sue 10 Audrey Sue 22ty Now Sue 6 Oonme Slim Trim Classes Diet Cenrer ' Free Doby Sitting Low Impoct Aerobics UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PRESENTS fyjtstivaf oftb zstniermi Wesb July 29 30 August 445-355- 1 2 3 4 5 6 1988 Pageant Nightly 8:00 pm Featuring Robert Peterson 8t the American folk Ballet 2:00 9:00 pm (daily except Sunday) includes Western Art Invitational Dance Matinee 400 pm "History of Dance in America" Great American Dutch Oven Cookoff Frontier Foods Pioneer Spanish and American Indian Crafts and Entertainment Windows West (Photographic History ol the West) Quilt Show Frontier Street featuring Deanne's Opera House The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats For more information please clip and mail to: Festival of the American West Utah State University Logan Utah 84322 0125 or telephone [phone] jtzaC Name busiest Market place in town — For Buying 82900 $609°° 370-mil- PHONE [phone] OPEN ROAD TOURS AND TRAVEL BLVD $51900 ’ Call for Airline Amlrak and Hotel Reservations 2945 WASHINGTON Z2EZZ3E JL 3 499 rs 585 8 days 3 nights ho- NEW MEMBERS man-mad- T -- & FROM Includes Rt airfare 4 days3 nights hotel 6 Rt transfers h LLLAUDREY -- Whiskey-town-Shasta-Trin- 459 rom 4 days Body by LIT AUDREY’S HEALTH SPA USA Many South Fork rapids will be more sluggish and difficult to negotiate because of the low water levels The river will be more crowded too as more than 40 rafting outfitters converge on a 21 mile stretch of the South Fork to take advantage of timed water releases from the upstream dam e lake At Lake Shasta the largest in the state and focal point of the National Recreation Area near Redding officials estimate the lake will be about 180 feet below its full level by September (normal summer levels are 50 to 60 feet below full) As a result only two of six boat launching areas may be open by fall and houseboaters will find a pronounced and water-skie“bathtub ring” of exposed banks along the e lake’s shoreline conditions Remember that drought-relate- d at California lakes rivers and forests can change rapidly Check with local officials before your trip if you plan to spend most of your time boating fishing or camping in wilderness areas 29 FREEDOM FESTIVAL TOUR 1 day includes trans reserved seats for show & fireworks JULY 9 13 & 15 MANT1 PAGEANT T0URM91 day - includes transportation & box lunch 20 ELKO SPECIAL TOUR JULY 24 2 days - includes transportation room at the Thunderbird Motor Lodge Buffet dinner & casino package for the Commerical 296 DISNEYLAND HOLIDAY aug i 6 days - includes transportation hotel accommodations 1 night Las Vegas 3 nights Anaheim 1 night Mesquite NV 2 day Disneyland pass 160 aug 15 JACKSON HOLE HOLIDAY 3 days - A special tour tor Seniors Includes transportation room & stage show chuckwagon dinner & show scenic float trip WINE 583 COUNTRY 9 CALIFORNIA days June 18 399 RUSHMORE YELL0WST0NE-M7 days june 21 CALGARY STAMPEDE 429 5 days4 nights at las Palmas Hotel includes Rt airfare Rt transfers and taxes 2 6 and breakfast daily ie3cz3GZ)i inrinmc inni MOTORCOACH TOURS july FM 0 PM 10-- 6 HAWAII Great West Fair L 8:30-6:3- ri Maks your dreams come $EQQ true in Honolulu From Includes round trip air 8 days7 nights hotel accomodations Taxes & Porterage Fresh flower Lei 'greeting Round trip airport transfers Welcome breakfast & much mid-19t- Tourists 8 Msn-F- Sot rs Forty-Nine- TRAVEL Since 1977 SKYWAYS ness of the US Post Office in the late 1800s Badges of Wells Fargo agents and reward posters decorate the walls along with Wells Knight Ridder Newspapers Sell Your Home With Classified 394-167- 1 Address Zip — Cty Telephone Festival of the American West