Day 153 - Saturday - Of food and trains

 Last Saturday we discovered a cool Farmers' Market in Grass Valley but we hadn't brought a cooler and since the weather was hot and we were spending all day at the Draft Horse Show we didn't buy anything.  So today we decide to put that right!

Vegetables fresh from local farms with lots of stalls to choose from.  I won't bore you with a full list of what we bought, but my favorite stall is the one with many species of pepper with mix-and-match at 5 for $1.  I get a red jalapeño and a cayenne (never seen one before - just the powder in spice jars!).  We get three milder ones so Vicky gets some too.  We pass on the large selection of home made breads, but can't resist the lady who imports cheeses from around the world and lets us sample five.  We come home with Blue 61 which despite the name is an Italian Blue cheese with cranberries.  One bite is all either of us needs to be sold on it!   This cheese comes from Treviso, an Italian City we've never heard of.  We also adopt Beemster, the most flavorful Dutch Gouda we've ever tasted.  Some great lunches to come!

The lady in the next stall is a great salesperson.  She must have seen us trying the cheese samples and then buying, and offers us a taste of smoked salmon (amazing!) then askswhich piece we would like to take home!  Needless to say, we choose one.

We drive the 4 miles to Nevada City to see what's there.  We do drive up and down the cute main street, but it's the railroad museum that's the star here.  The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum tells the history of the railroad that connected Nevada City and Grass Valley with the main line at Colfax.  This is the same railroad that we saw the model of last week in grass Valley, but curiously, although both are run by volunteers, neither venue mentions the other!

This one is a gem, especially as we get a personalized tour from Jimmy, one of the docents.  We learn about the two brothers who started the railroad, about John F Kidder, who they hired to build the line and who eventually owned 2/3 of the stock after the brothers sold out, and of Sarah Kidder, John's wife, who took over running the line after her husband died and who was the first woman railroad president in the world.  It also appears she was more considerate of the shareholders than her husband had been!

We see a beautifully restored (on the outside) steam engine built by Baldwin in Philadelphia in 1875 that was part of the original equipment on the railroad.  It was later sold to Universal Studios and featured in over 30 movies before being donated back to the railroad.  The plan is to restore the boiler so that it can run again.  Jimmy also offers to take us through the restoration shop but first we're able to ride the "Railbus", a bus that runs on rails for a 35 minute roundtrip run over some of the original route.  This only runs on summer Saturdays and is usually full, so we're lucky to get on.

The commentary tells us about the origin of the term "switchback".  Now used for hairpin turns on highways, it was originally used to describe places where the railroad doubled back on itself to help in climbing steep grades.  The brakeman literally had to get out and turn the switch ("points" to those of British extraction) back and forth to allow the engine to maneuver.  The docent also tells us much of the history, including that of the once opulent Northern Queen Hotel. 

We love the experience but have been there so long that we turn down Jimmie's offer of a tour of the shop since we're overdue for lunch.  The most amazing thing about this museum and ride is that it's free!  They do solicit and accept donations, but considering what other restored railroads charge, and what it must cost to keep it running, this is a tremendous value.

Vicky is always ready to return to a restaurant we enjoy, but when we're visiting a new town I usually argue to try different places once only.  This time there's no argument.  We return to Grass Valley and Cirino's Italian restaurant where we lunched last week.  This time I enjoy a "Spanish Ortega Burger", ground beef cooked how you like it, topped with mozzarella and Ortega chilies, lettuce and tomato, served on a garlic laced French roll and accompanied by a fresh pasta salad.  Vicky's "Rigatoni Prosciuto Balsamella" was melt-in-your-mouth.  A creamy sauce laced with cheeses, a hint of rosemary and small pieces of prosciuto ham, baked so that top was crispy and the lower part soft.  It came with rosemary foccacia bread.  That's 4 different dishes we've had here and every one a winner.

The waiter offers us dessert but we remember the wonderful Lazy Dog Chocolate and Ice Cream Store.  I forego the tangy raspberry sorbet in favor of a mixture of  "Death  by Chocolate" (the richest dark chocolate ice cream I've ever tasted) and white chocolate raspberry ice cream.  Smooth, creamy and delicious.

We return to the hungry cats after which I take my book outside to read.  Behind the RV I find the mother deer staring at me, with her 2 youngsters grazing just behind.  I summon Vicky to share this wonderful moment, which turns into about 5 minutes as we and the doe stare at each other.  She even takes a few tentative steps towards us before sauntering off, followed by her family.  This place is magical!