Orangevale Avenue Bridge

This historic bridge is pretty close to my house.  It’s not exactly famous, nor is it part of a major thoroughfare. It was built over Gold Creek in 1915, with a length of 160 feet, and was apparently designed to last for roughly 50 years.  These photos, unless otherwise noted, were shot in January 2005, when the bridge was still […]

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Memory Monday, Week 10

Each week, I’ve been trying to group the images together in ways that make sense, but the current slide carousel is completely mixed up, chronologically speaking — I’m not sure if there was a reason.  So I’ve decided to finish up the current wheel (and the 1950s) by sorting the remaining slides into two categories: Places (this week) and People (next week). […]

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Memory Monday, Week 9

Sitting just north of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is the famous Cliff House Restaurant.  It has a complicated and fascinating history and is currently on its fifth incarnation.  The first Cliff House was built in 1853 by one of California’s more colorful Gold Rush characters, Sam Brannan.  In the 1956 photo below, you can just see the top and rear of […]

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He was a Fishing Dog

While going through some old photos looking for images from Calaveras Big Trees State Park, I discovered this shot of Buster, out on Folsom Lake in the old Champion bass boat with the Big Guy.  That alert focus on the largemouth bass tells you everything you need to know about Buster, and it comforts me to remember he truly had a […]

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Memory Monday, Week 8

Back in 1956, the Harbor Queen was a familiar site on San Francisco Bay and a very hot tourist attraction.  The Red and White Fleet had its origins all the way back in 1892 — travelers and commuters relied on the ferry boats prior to construction of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge.  The company later expanded to […]

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Memory Monday, Week 7

In 1969, Emerald Bay was designated a National Natural Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain-building processes and glacier carved granite. The natural beauty, geology and history of this unique island make it one of the highlights of any visit to the Lake Tahoe area – Emerald Bay State Park Originally this road was the Lincoln Highway, dedicated in 1913; […]

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Memory Monday, Week 5

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite, in 1951: View of the Yosemite Valley: Half Dome, 8,842 feet (2,695 meters): The bottom and left photos are labeled “Over  Tioga Pass.”  The Tioga Pass area, on the eastern side of Yosemite, is full of hiking trails and sights such as  Tenaya Lake and the Tuolumne Grove of ancient Sequoias. With this photo — a view of Echo […]

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