Sutter's Fort - Refuge for the Donner Party - Road Trip Day 11 Vlog 30

Sutter's Fort - Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill and the Gold Rush began. Unfortunately, John Sutter lost his fortunes and land in the process. See it at:    • Sutter's Fort - Refuge for the Donner Part...   Thinking back on my elementary school days, some of my favorite moments, outside of lunch and recess, were the times we went on field trips. Sure, a lot of the joy I received at the time was escaping the tediousness of the classroom, but there was also the excitement of discovering new things and going fun places! Of all my field trip memories, my favorite is the trip I took in 4th grade to Sacramento. We got to see the capitol building, had what I considered a real treat at the time eating dinner at McDonalds and stayed overnight in a hotel! But the highlight in my mind was visiting Sutter's Fort. It seemed extremely appropriate that when Neek, Sar and I arrived at Sutter's Fort, there was a group of students, the same students we saw in Old Town Sacramento, arriving there for a field trip! They seemed so excited to be there; possibly because they were escaping the classroom. Many of the adult chaperones were dressed in period clothes. Everyone seemed eager to explore and learn the history of the place! The history of Sutter's Fort begins with pioneer John Sutter. His journey to America began under rather dubious circumstances in 1834, leaving his wife and five children behind in Switzerland where he was facing possible jail time because of massive debts. After five years of extensive traveling throughout North America, Sutter applied to settle in California, which was then part of Mexico, with Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The governor granted this on condition he become a citizen of Mexico after staying there a year. Sutter did this and created a fortified settlement he called New Helvetia, which means New Switzerland (Helvetia is Latin for Switzerland). Today, it is known simply as Sutter's Fort. As the cavalcade of students festively traipsed by us, we waited at the entrance for my friend Don to arrive. Don is someone I've known for 20 years now living and working together in southern California, but he moved to Sacramento recently and I hadn't seen him in almost a year. It was great to meet up with him and I was surprised to learn yet another thing we had in common: both of us visited Sutter's Fort as part of a fourth grade field trip, just in different schools! Read more and see photos at: lexandneek.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/sutters-fort-refuge-for-the-donner-party-and-victims-of-misfortune-road-trip-day-11-ep-29/ https//lexandneek.wordpress.com   / lexandneek     / lexandneek     / lexandneek     / lexandneek   Music: Winds of Spring by The 126'ers Music track courtesy of YouTube Music Library