The Empire Mine State Historic Park preserves one of California’s richest gold mines. Visitors can look down the mine shaft that extends an amazing 5,000 feet into the earth! The mine owner’s cottage ...

BY MID-JULY 2002, the country was at a Preparedness Level 5, meaning that over 80% of the nation’s fire-fighting resources were committed. This was an extreme year for fires, with Oregon, Colorado and ...