Frozen in time

My day started on a painful note. I was loading my belongings into my Blazer when the rear window slammed down on my finger. A combination of overnight freezing temps and me not pushing window all the way up caused the accident. The end of my middle finger got smashed, and I was fortunate to just pull my hand out of the way at the last second, averting probably worse injury. At first, it didn't seem so bad. Yeah, my finger was numb and hurt like hell..I was hoping it was just a minor thing. But, as the day progressed, I noticed the finger starting to show bruising. And, by the time I stopped at my hotel for the night, my finger was swollen and purplish. I can't apply pressure without severe pain...otherwise, I'm managing. And, I'm doing what I hadn't done all day...icing the finger. It will probably keep it from bruising further, but it will take a while to feel normal. I'm just praying it's not something more serious. I guess time will tell.

My sightseeing for the day consisted of a historic park, a cave tour and a county museum. After spending the night in a quaint older hotel in Jamestown, I made the short drive to Columbia State Historic Park in Columbia. Many of the historic sites and museums in the region are related to the gold rush, and this place was a good example. Next, I drove up the road to Mercer Caverns...the first of several caves tours I planned for my road trip. This was only the 3rd time I had ever visited caves in this country...the other two were Jewel Caves in South Dakota and Shenandoah Caverns in Virginia. Mercer Caverns are what are known as limestone caves. It was a fun tour...especially when the guide turned the lights out. I think they do that on all cave tours. Scary!

I was hoping to see a museum in the historic town of Angels Camp, but it was unexpectedly closed...oh, well. So, I went on to my final destination of the day... Calaveras County Museum in San Andreas. Does the name Calaveras County sound familiar to you? Do you recall the Mark Twain story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County? Yep, THAT Calaveras County! The short story supposedly made Twain famous, and the rest, of course, is history! Anyway, this particular museum proved to be very interesting and well done. It wasn't real big, but I spent a good hour going through all the exhibits. The photo above is a room in the Hall Of Records...looks just the way it did way back when!

Tomorrow, I have two more cave tours planned, and well as two museums if time permits. I hope the swelling in my finger goes down...