They were huge flying boats named after the great sailing ships that in the 1800’s sailed the oceans of the world. The luxurious Pan American”Clipper” planes of the 1930’s took cargo, mail and passengers around the world in what was, for its time, considered a daring and pioneering feat. Pan American’s Treasure Island terminal and lagoon became the home port […]
California schoolkids learn all about the history of our state when they reach the fourth grade, and that includes the California missions. Throughout the three centuries since their construction, these 21 historic California missions have experienced destruction from fires, earthquakes, and neglect. Only this week the San Gabriel Mission in Los Angeles was devastated by a fire in the sanctuary. […]
I’ve developed a serious appreciation for mules ever since reading Rinker Buck‘s book The Oregon Trail, in which he describes how he and his brother traversed the 2,000 miles from Kansas City, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, in a covered wagon pulled by three unforgettable mules — Jake, Beck, and Bute. So I couldn’t help enjoying this episode of California’s Gold, […]
Not all of the “gold mines” in California were actual gold mines! For more than 100 years, there was plenty of money to be made retrieving and refining the quicksilver necessary to processing gold, and in this episode of California’s Gold Huell learns something about the lives of the people who helped produce mercury in this once-thriving community. It’s great […]
If you follow this blog at all, you will know that I share a lot of old family photos, from those dating back to the early 1950s when my Dad was stationed in Japan to ones I shot myself in the 1980s and 1990s. So when I stumbled across this one-hour episode of California’s Gold, I knew I had to […]
A few days ago I happened to see an episode of the Science Channel show Mysteries of the Abandoned, and they had a segment about the Salton Sea and the ghost town of Bombay Beach. The story seemed vaguely familiar — and then I remembered that Huell had featured the area in a couple of different episodes. I’m pretty sure […]
One of the great things about watching Huell Howser was that he always loved listening to the stories of “old-timers” — people whose memories can still bring history alive and remind us that those old forgotten pieces of the past, like an empty field or some sun-bleached wooden boards, once formed an important part of everyday life. This episode of […]
I had never seen this 2006 episode of California’s Gold before, but once I realized there was a train trip involved I had to check it out! Huell actually travels over the border to the Mexican city of Tecate. But don’t worry if you’re not interested in sampling beer; besides touring the Tecate factory there’s a chance to explore the […]
If you’ve ever traveled through a desert, especially in the summertime, you know what a relief it can be to find a nice cool spot to get out of the car and stretch your legs, to get something cold to drink, or even just to cast your eyes on something besides a wide, flat expanse! In this 2008 episode of […]