As we drove home from Texas last June along Highway 40, we spent our second night on the road in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. One reason for stopping here was that the Big Guy wanted to check out the Route 66 Auto Museum. The museum is relatively small, basically filling one large room, but packed full of classic cars and […]
This Classic episode of California’s Gold originally aired November 1997 — and a lot has changed at Vandenberg since then! These days the facility is known as Vandenberg Space Force Base, and it has been the site of numerous military space launches as well as those of NASA and SpaceX. As a military installation, access to the Vandenberg property is […]
Here are a few more images from my trip last May to the Petrified Forest in Napa County, near Calistoga, California.
Last October we were at the Mendocino coast, and one afternoon the Big Guy decided to take a little time away from fishing to go hiking with me in the giant redwoods of Hendy Grove. From the Navarro River Bridge on Highway 1 it was less than a 30-minute drive along a beautiful stretch of Highway 128 and into the […]
Here is the Deer Gate I promised you yesterday; when I first saw it I was reminded of something from an African game preserve or Jurassic Park. But of course with all the gorgeous flowers in the eastern part of the grounds it’s understandable that protection from curious/hungry deer is a good idea. And while I really enjoyed myself wandering […]
The beautiful Mendocino Botanical Gardens are divided into two major sections, divided by a narrow strip of land and the impressive Deer Gate (which I’ll show you tomorrow). Just before I arrived at the gate, I couldn’t help lingering for one last look at the great variety of flowers. I’ve been trying to identify them as best I can; but […]
As I trudged up the trail at Mt. Konocti one day last May, more than a few times I had to remind myself that I had chosen to be there and that I was actually having FUN! It shouldn’t be too surprising that climbing to Buckingham Peak (3,952 feet/1,204 meters) is hard work; for me, at least, it’s one of […]
There’s so much to see in this one-hour episode of California’s Gold, originally aired in May 2008. The USS Midway and the USS Hornet are both veterans of the Second World War, but they’ve seen many other types of service over the years. Both ships are still in open to the public, the USS Midway in San Diego and the […]
Here is another look back to photos from earlier this year — this time my visit to the Petrified Forest near Calistoga in late May. I drove about 1½ hours from where we were staying on the northeast shore of Clear Lake, taking Highway 29 south toward Calistoga. While it was kind of a long drive, the trip was fun […]