When I think of Southern California, the sprawling urban centers around Los Angeles and San Diego usually spring to mind. Of course, there’s a wide variety of landscapes found in the southern half of the state — including some very beautiful parks and natural areas, like the one in today’s episode. Originally aired in 2003 as part of both Visiting and California’s Golden Parks, this episode highlights a state park that offers up much more than just a popular nature preserve. In fact, there is so much history packed into the park’s 140 acres that it’s impossible to pack it all into a mere 30-minute segment. If, like me, you’re not familiar with the meaning and significance of chautauqua (originally from the Iroquois), prepare to learn a little bit about what Theodore Roosevelt once called “the most American thing in America.”

Huell visits Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades which was a major center of the Chautauqua Movement in the 1920s and ‘30s.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)