There's no understanding Gold Country without a whiff of the life of its miners, and these tours of hard-rock mines and a gold-extraction mill do the trick. The Priest Mine dates back to 1849.

Tours at the Gold Bug Mine are daily beginning April 1, and the early bird gets the nugget by beating the crowds. Guided tours are by appointment only.

Kicking off a special “lincoln’s california legacy” focus happening at various museums in downtown sacramento, leland stanford mansion state historic park proudly presents “walking the grade: contempory views of the pacific railroad.” Located in the majestic ballroom, this special exhibit underscores lincoln’s broad-ranging vision for the future of american railroads and includes nearly two dozen black and white photographs taken by respected rail photographer shen-chih (sam) cheng plus artifacts highlighting chinese rail workers.