places

  • The Toxic Legacy of the Gold Rush

    The Toxic Legacy of the Gold Rush

    It’s a beautiful, 60-degree day, the sky a cloudless blue. Spunn Road is lined by stately houses looking down on the historic main street of Jackson, California, the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains visible in the distance. There’s a slight bend in the road — and there it is. A chain-link fence topped…