On 1-5, 88 miles North of Redding. Unless you’re heading for Oregon, there is little point in coming this far north, but Yreka, just 22 miles short of the border, holds plenty to fill a day pleasantly. The discovery of gold provided the impetus for the town’s founding in 1857, and a prosperous period ensued as local mines gorged forth the precious metal that kept the community on its feet for years. If you have ever wanted to see what a gold nugget actually looks like, step into the foyer of the Siskiyou County Courthouse, 311 Fourth Street, which displays them in all shapes and sizes. Gold is just one facet of Yreka’s past touched on by the Siskiyou County Museum (www.siskiyoucountyhistoricalsociety.org/siskiyou-county-museum), 910 S. Main Street, a comprehensive and entertaining gathering which chronicles everything from local geological formations and Native American tribes, to the arrival of white fur-trappers and the rise of the post-gold logging industry. Some of Yreka’s 19thC commercial buildings can be seen in the Historic District, where lack of development has left many early structures not only still upright but still carrying on business; a free leaflet from the Chamber of Commerce, 1000 S. Main Street, provides an amusing, anecdotal guide to them.