Greetings, prospectors, fortune seekers, and adventurers alike! Welcome to the Sutter Gold mine, located on Highway 49 between Amador City and Sutter Creek, about 40 miles East of Sacramento. The Sutter Gold Mining Company (at the time of our visit) was open for public tours, but alas - they've discontinued those. But thanks to the miracle of our old photos from way back when, you too can see what all the excitement of the California Gold Rush was about.

The beans mine tour began here, above ground, naturally. Now, being a little claustrophobic, the beans normally wouldn't dream of going back into the ground from which they sprang forth, but in the company of fabulous babes/tour guides Kasey and Megan here, they quickly reconsidered it.

Sutter Gold Mines offered two different tours - one was one-hour family tour, which took visitors 1,280 feet into the mine, riding "Boss Buggy Shuttles", then walking through parts of the Comet Ore Zone, learning about the mining operation and geology. But for those of you rough-and-ready types, who are really into it, they used to have a four-hour long "Deep Mine Experience" tour. According to their Web site at the time, "The Deep Mine Experience immerses participants in the other-wordly environment of the modern gold miner: the eerie, isolated twilight world of booming sounds, musty smells, heavy equipment, sharp rock drifts, wooden rises and confined spaces. Booming sounds? Musty smells? Confined spaces? Sounds like a teenager's bedroom, doesn't it?

So deep into the gold mine you go. Small groups wearing hardhats with lights were led by a knowledgeable guide (whom the beans hope is Kasey or Megan!) and navigated through several drifts in the Comet Ore Zone, learning about each step of the mining process and the geology of the Motherlode. Aren't you sorry you missed it???

Now, here's another mine entrance, although it reminds the beans an awful lot of Rabbit's hole, where Pooh got stuck....Oh, bother.

But for those of you who didn't make it there in time to climb deep into the mine, you could've always picked up a little gold the old-fashioned way - courtesy of Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. The beans had a great time visiting the Sutter Gold Mine, and highly believe that beans are even better with served in a golden chafing dish.