Toddling in Tuolumne: A Sweet Visit with Mr. Twain, Followed by Psychedelic Bowling

Buffet option at the Black Oak Casino (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

While in the historic town of Columbia, I chanced upon Mark Twain (who preferred to be addressed as Mr. Clemens, his birth name). Mr. Clemens entertained with amusing stories of his time in the foothills and answered questions so authentically that I forgot our Samuel was really actor MacAvoy Layne, visiting from the Mark Twain Cultural Center in Incline Village, Nevada, where he appears regularly. If you love Twain and his humor, Layne's performance is worth a trip to Tahoe. I left him as he wandered off to find his "carriage" in the parking lot.

Inside Kate's Tearoom

Nelson's yumbos! Chocolate porn!  (Photo: Bonnie Kamin Morrissey)

Columbia has a few unique places to visit: Columbia Kate’s Teahouse on the outskirts of town is the perfect spot for ladies who lunch; they also sell a plethora of tea blends. The nearby bakery offers killer scones and other baked goods. 

As a true sugar connoisseur, I feared Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen was going to be another of those places that sold bulk wrapped candies in barrels, but was delighted to find they made most of their confections—for five generations, since the 1930s. In fact, they were named among the top ten sweet shops in America by USA Today. The chocolates, fudge, jellies and many other types of candies are all made in-house: a rare find these days. I remember with great fondness the milk chocolate/caramel/pecan turtle I devoured there. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Candy Kitchen holds a “make your own candy cane” event that’s so popular participants are chosen by lottery—go to their website (below) for information.

While in Tuolumne County, I stayed at the Black Oak Casino Resort Hotel. The hotel is new, the rooms are clean and spacious, and it’s a non-smoking facility located a sufficient distance from the casino that makes it both quiet and convenient. The casino is…a casino. Smoky, busy, loud and full of action: this is the place to go if you’re craving excitement. The two restaurants within the casino have filtered air, the better to enjoy decent quality meals. There’s a special occasion restaurant on another floor for big spenders. In the lounge, a rocking cover band (the Spazmatics) played hits from the 80s, put on an energy-filled show, and whipped the crowd into a dancing frenzy. The bowling alley in the basement is a party in itself.

It had to happen: folks who live in the old mining towns of the Sierra foothills want to enjoy a lot of the same distractions that urban dwellers do, from local theater productions to boogeying down in front of ear-shattering speakers, but it’s nice to know that the foothills have retained a lot of their rural and historic charm—the real gold these days--that makes the area so nice to visit.

Mark Twain Cultural Center, 760 Mays Blvd., Ste. 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 (775) 831-2820. This is a small bookstore and theater. Call to make sure a performance is scheduled.

Columbia State Historic Park, 11255 Jackson Street, Columbia CA 95310 www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com/

Columbia Kate's Teahouse, 22727 Columbia St., Columbia CA 95310 www.columbiakates.com/:

Nelson's Columbia Candy Kitchen, Main Street, P.O. Box 191, Columbia, California 95310 www.columbiacandykitchen.com/

Black Oak Casino Resort, owned and operated by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians www.blackoakcasino.com

All photos by Joanne Orion Miller unless otherwise noted.