The campground at Russian Gulch State Park is currently closed for the season — to humans, that is. On the other hand, the cottontails are making themselves right at home. I accidentally caught a few of them in the middle of an afternoon snack when I took a stroll through the area last week. They didn’t seem especially alarmed to […]
We just arrived home yesterday from our latest trip to the Mendocino coast near Fort Bragg, and this morning Google Photos prodded me with memories of an earlier visit, just a bit farther south. It was September 2015, and we were staying at the Ocean Cove Lodge in Sonoma County, a great little spot located between Salt Point to the […]
I’ve been wanting to stop and explore the trails at Russian Gulch State Park for a long time. Yesterday I finally got a chance to spend a couple of hours — not nearly enough to see everything, but enough to fall in love with this gorgeous part of the coast. Russian Gulch State Park was established in 1932. Just two […]
This episode of California’s Gold, originally aired in August 2001, finds Huell discovering two very different pieces of history relating to California and China. I’ll admit when I read about the bonsai I was confused at first, since I’d always heard that it was Japanese in origin. However, it turns out that the related Chinese art of penjing is just […]
Colorful Tudor-era rugs on display as part of the Tapestries and Armor collection at the Legion of Honor Museum of Art, San Francisco — August 2023. b This tapestry is a ceremonial table covering that proclaimed the affluence, influence, and noble lineage of the Luttrell family. It was possibly commissioned by an independent and wealthy nmember of that family, the […]
Movie palaces and theater pipe organs were well before my time, but the Warnors Theater is a proud survivor of the golden age of silent movies and vaudeville. Built in an architectural style known as Spanish Colonial Revival, the theater has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. This episode of California’s Gold originally aired June […]
Any able seaman knows that a healthy ship needs continual care and maintenance to ensure long life. Constant exposure to the marine environment will wear away at the sturdiest vessel — even when she’s spending her retirement years docked in a safe harbor. So when I arrived at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park at the Hyde Stree Pier […]
I didn’t shoot any photos during last Sunday’s solar eclipse, although I was lucky to be able to catch a few glimpses of it from my backyard. I did have to wait patiently for a few holes in the cloud cover, but it was well worth it! I certainly remember the last solar eclipse that was visible in my area, […]
It’s been a long time since I last hiked at Folsom Lake. Today I was curious about the water levels, and encouraged by the cooler weather, I drove out to Sterling Point on the North Fork. I pretty much had the whole place to myself. Halfway through my walk, I sat down on a rock overlooking the water and just […]