In Amador County, California, The Days of 49 Wagon Train is an annual springtime ritual. Covered wagons hit the old trails again. What makes this so dramatic is that most of the wagons have old-style wooden spoked wheels. Some of these wagons have been around since the 18 hundreds. Just as important, on certain stretches they head out on large ranches. No asphalt here, and in places, no roads. Miles of green grass and oak trees meet the wagons. This is exactly what it must have been like back in the old days when the pioneers got their first glimpse of California.

John Queirolo and Diane Oneto organized the wagon train that winds through old 18 hundred gold rush towns like Jackson, Sutter Creek and Amador City. And happening in April and the heat of summer, you frequently see lush green grass on the hills and orange poppies accenting the landscape. Between the hills, the wagons, horses, mules, period clothes, musicians and these old towns, you will swear you slipped back a hundred and fifty years to the early days of California.