Nevada City Shopping In The Rain

Rain is falling steadily everywhere all day long in big heavy drops. It sounds even and patient; it's not going to end anytime soon.  Little Deer Creek runs through the east side of town and is brown and turbulent but not flooding.  It's course is fairly steep and pooling generally doesn't  happen readily except in a few areas.  Everything is wet and soggy with the rain.  At 2,500 feet, we are not getting snow, but it's cold out.  

We're staying in Nevada City with friends for a couple of days and taking the opportunity to take a new look around town.

This town's gold mines were so productive of the yellow metal in 1849 and a few years following that Nevada City became the county seat and housed prominent and well-educated people very quickly.  Thousands of brick and batten houses were built followed by the addition of hundreds if not thousands more Victorian-era homes encrusted with "gingerbread" and elaborate decorative features.

After the rush was over, the town gradually declined and fell into disrepair.  Eventually, in the early 70s the state decided to build Hwy 20 through the area and began a campaign of imminent domain, tearing out at least 500 of the beautiful but declining structures.  A couple of far-sighted citizens realized to their horror that the old beauties would all be lost forever unless a revival was undertaken and history preserved.


Today, the city is a bedroom community for about half of its residents, perhaps fewer, who commute to Sacramento or other larger cities for work.  There is a mix of older more conservative folks as well as young new-age younger people interested in skiing, massage, hand crafts and outdoor sports.  A predominance of stores stock merchandise reflecting heavy interest in meditation, Pacific Rim-influenced design, new-age spiritualism as well as Buddhist and Hindu religious icons.  This is nothing new to you if you've been in most Northern California college towns.

Scores of businesses now inhabit the old saloon, market and original downtown buildings, and they stock all sorts of interesting and artistic gift items.  A few restaurants and cafes offer delicious foods and drinks.  The tourist industry is strong, especially during the Victorian Christmas weekends and summertime.

The rain has not abated all day, so we just went out in it and ducked into shops to warm up when we needed to.  Streets are narrow, windy and sometimes steep, but charming to explore and certainly do not lack enticing stores to spend time in.

Our favorite cafe was jammed at lunch time.  It's the South Pine Cafe near the corner of Broad and Pine Streets.  I had - I know it sounds odd - eggplant parmesan soup with a nut burger.  What can I say?  It was delicious and I couldn't eat it all.  My companions were all very satisfied with their choices.  After lunch, we shopped around and poked our heads into a few gift boutiques, a couple of coffee shops and then headed back home, pretty damp but none the worse for wetness.

J.J. Jackson's Gift Shop is brimming with beautiful and imaginative home items and gift cards that were surprisingly original.  The Gray Goose has probably the most irreverent and nutty stuff you'd want to buy for an appreciative friend.  It's on Broad Street Right across from the historic and venerable old National Hotel.

More shopping tomorrow.  We're also going to head over to the Yuba River for a look and a walk if conditions allow.  It's wild and scenic in certain stretches.  After all, how can you be in the foothills and not go to a river?  The rivers are what created the conditions that the miners in '49 found so irresistible.  It's rugged and beautiful here whether you're wet or dry, inside or out.