Note: Introductions and orientation

Afternoon: Check in at 4 pm.

Dinner: Welcome dinner at local restaurant.

Evening: Orientation and Introductions.

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Dinner

History, background, project and safety orientation. Begin work projects. Discover history of gold mining town through tour and discussion.

Note: Work projects begin according to ability level. Afternoon tour will involve walking and standing on the boardwalks and in and out of the buildings.

Breakfast: Breakfast at local restaurant.

Morning: History & background; safety meeting and project orientation. Begin work projects may include, but are not limited to building an arbor, benches, tables; putting up picket fences and other prep work involved; some light gardening and completion of a garden fence and gates; painting (weather permitting); minor work on an old chicken coop, building water troughs and general repair in Nevada City . There will also be less active projects available such as sewing & carding wool.

Lunch: Lunch at nearby restaurant.

Afternoon: Work projects continue through mid afternoon. On a guided on walking tour of Virginia City discover one of the west's best preserved 1860s gold mining town and walk the same boardwalks that desperate Vigilantes once patrolled. There will be standing and walking involved.

Dinner: Dinner at nearby restaurant

Evening: Participants Discuss 19th century topics lead by Montana Heritage Commission staff.

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Work according to ability level.

Breakfast: Breakfast at local restaurant.

Morning: Daily briefing. Work projects. Program lodgings are in Nevada City which was purchased by the Montana Legislature in 1997 and is now managed by the Montana Heritage Commission. Preservation efforts are ongoing as the Montana Heritage Commission’s goal is to promote and preserve the legacy of sites such as these. The city, with nearly 100 buildings dating from 1863 to the early 1900s, and nearby Virginia City, a well-preserved Victorian gold mining town and the site of Montana’s second territorial capital and second major gold rush, offer the look and feel of the gold rush era. Both towns are off the beaten path now and peaceful, featuring historic buildings of beautiful wood and stone, open air museums of days gone by. The location is truly a step back in time and offers immersion in a fascinating slice of Montana’s past.

Lunch: Lunch at nearby restaurant.

Afternoon: Work projects. Free time.

Dinner: Dinner at nearby restaurant.

Evening: Nevada City History presentation by Montana Heritage Commission staff. Take a stroll through the past and discover the people, the stories and life of Montana Territory 1863 - 1865. Witness the past unfolding in Nevada City as the historic vignettes bring early Montana history to life.

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Work projects, gold panning, optional feild trip on the trail of the Vigilantes and a 19th century melodrama in historic theater.

Note: Work according to ability level. There will be some bending over and resting on knees when panning for gold.

Breakfast: Breakfast at local restaurant.

Morning: Daily briefing. Work projects. After gold was discovered in Alder Gulch in 1863, ten thousand hopefuls crowded in with settlements scattered up and down the “gulch.” The settlements were called “Fourteen Mile City” and included the towns of Virginia City, Summit, Alder, Nevada City and Adobetown. Life was rough-and-tumble here with Vigilantes, frontier justice and Boot Hill. Nevada and Virginia Cities were the gulch’s principle hubs of commerce and tell the story of how immediately after gold was discovered, this isolated mountain pass and nearby creek boomed. In its short-lived glory days, the 14-mile stretch of gold-rich stream boasted the most densely populated center between Minneapolis and San Francisco and is regarded as one of the richest placer gold strikes in our country’s history.

Lunch: Sack lunches at work site.

Afternoon: Work projects. Pan for gold and consider the life of a miner at Alder Gulch in 1863 as you discover the history of the gold rush which produced the largest amount of placer gold in the Northwest - an estimated $120 million. There will be an optional history field trip on the trail of the Vigilantes for those who don't want to pan for gold.

Dinner: Dinner at nearby restaurant.

Evening: Participants will sit back and enjoy authentic 19th century melodrama and a varied, vigorous vagary of vivacious vaudeville variety acts as showcased by theater troupe in Virginia City’s historic Opera House, founded in 1948

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Work according to ability level.

Breakfast: Breakfast at local restaurant.

Morning: Daily briefing. Work projects.

Lunch: Sack lunches at work site.

Afternoon: Work projects. Free time.

Dinner: Dinner at nearby restaurant.

Evening: The Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean in early 1800s lead to the development of fur trading in the West. The Indians had little interest in trapping, so fur trading companies hired white frontiersmen as trappers who were known as "mountain men" because they roamed through the wild areas of the Rocky Mountains to find fur. Many a tale developed and pariticipants will have the rare opportunity to hear such a tale. "A Trappers Tale" will be presented by Nevada City Living History staff member.

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Work according to ability level

Breakfast: Breakfast at local restaurant.

Morning: Daily briefing. Work projects.

Lunch: Lunch at nearby restaurant.

Afternoon: Work projects wind up. Free time.

Dinner: Dinner at nearby restaurant.

Evening: Closing presentation

Lodging: Nevada City Hotel and Cabins

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at nearby restaurant.

Morning: Airport shuttle departs at 8 am.

Meals Included: Breakfast