But the month has more to offer than Knights of Columbus parades and children terrorizing their neighbors with spooky masks and demands for candy. Yes, there are adventures to be had beyond costume shopping at Wal-Mart.
For example, on Oct. 10 you can experience the early frontier and the lives of the traders, trappers, and tribes that participated in the fur trade at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site along the Santa Fe Trail. Located eight miles east of La Junta, Colorado on State Highway 194, Bent’s Old Fort features a reconstructed 1840s adobe fur trading post.
Each year, the park becomes a living history lesson as a fur trade encampment unfolds, recreating all the sights, sounds, and smells of the past with guided tours, demonstrations, and special events. More than 50 living-history volunteers will set up camp near the fort and bring the post back to life for visitors to experience. In the photo to the right, a trapper tells a story of his escape from a grizzly bear. NPS photo. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/beol/ or call (719) 383-5023.
The park’s Friends of LBJ National Park is sponsoring a family fun run that begins at 9 a.m. on Oct. 10 and a bike tour hosted by Luci Baines Johnson, President Johnson’s younger daughter, on Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. To register for either or both, go to http://www.friendsoflbjnationalpark.org/. For more information, call (830) 868-7128 ext. 244. The park’s Web site can be found at www.nps.gov/lyjo/
Finally, the 1850s California Gold Rush comes to life in Coloma on Oct. 10-2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
For three days, Coloma brims with images, sounds, and hands-on experiences that bring the Gold Rush back to life. Merchants hawk wares, the Coloma Cemetery Players bring historical figures back to life, miners tell tales from the goldfields, and visitors rub shoulders with adventurers and historic figures, including James Marshall, who found the first nuggets.
A live history tent encampment recreates Gold Rush history in this authentic setting under the huge oak and sycamore trees along the south fork of the American River. Volunteers interpreting history in period dress cook over open fires, show visitors how to pan for gold, make rope, and demonstrate trades such as historic timber frame construction, blacksmithing, spinning, weaving, basket making and more. Children’s hands on activities and games from the 19th Century entertain, as musicians play period instruments and sing songs of early California immigrants. It’s a lively and colorful way to learn and enjoy the history that is unique to California. You can read and write actual Gold Rush letters at the General Delivery tent and visit the early exhibit buildings of Coloma that were developed soon after the gold discovery.
“Coloma Gold Rush Live!” is presented by Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and the Gold Discovery Park Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the interpretation and conservation of the park. Parking is $10 per vehicle.
For more information call (530) 295.2162. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is located in Coloma on Highway 49 between Placerville and Auburn, only one hour from Sacramento. The Web site can be found at http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484
I know there’s lots more happening in October in the West. Check out your local state or county park, or national park if there’s one close to you. October is a great time to see the West, and you might even find some pumpkin carving ideas along the way.
And if you want to discover places in the West to visit, explore, do camping, hiking or sightseeing, visit OldWestNewWest.com Travel & History Magazine at http://www.oldwestnewwest.com/ for some ideas.
