I’m not sure how many people actually realized this, but March 31 was Cesar Chavez Day, a U.S. federal holiday, observed since 2014. I suspect most folks don’t stop to think how important Mr. Chavez’ accomplishments are — and I must include myself in that number. I did grow up hearing his name frequently on the evening news, and I […]
I had a post about a historic California ghost town randomly pop up on my Facebook feed Tuesday morning, and the name sounded familiar to me — so I went into Chapman University’s archives and found this episode of California’s Gold, originally aired in August 2008. The town was named after the Rand Mountain gold strike, at the Yellow Aster, […]
Huell visits a massive archaeological site with millions of fossils dating from the Miocene Epoch, 15 million years ago. Kern County was once at the bottom of a huge sea filled with massive prehistoric sharks called megladons which were as big as city busses and fed on whales. Sharktooth Hill is literally covered with fossilized shark teeth. Huell also visits […]
If you’ve ever traveled over California’s Tehachapi range, heading either north or south along Interstate 5, you may have unknowingly passed the Tejon Ranch. As a kid, I always thought of these mountains as “The Grapevine,” without understanding or even questioning why! It meant that our trip to the Los Angeles region was nearly over — although occasionally the Tejon […]
Since I’ve been looking through my photos from last October when I visited the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg, I thought it would be nice to revisit this episode — it was my very first look at this beautiful spot in Mendocino County. This segment of California’s Golden Coast originally aired in September 2003, and I featured it here on the blog in October 2018: I’ve been a botanical garden fan ever since my visit to the San Francisco Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park in 2016. Before that, I had no idea how wonderful such places could be — perfect for photography, for wandering, or for just sitting to relax in the middle of nature’s beauty. Watching this episode of California’s Golden Coast is a great introduction to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, a unique and beautiful public garden near the small town of Fort Bragg; I was surprised to learn that this garden has been here since 1961. Now it looks like I have another spot to add to my must-visit list! The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is the only public garden in the continental United States located directly on the coast. Huell explores this rare jewel set within coastal pines and coastal bluffs in Fort Bragg. In addition to its diverse flora, there is a retail nursery and garden shop as well as workshops, classes and lectures so you may take a bit of the […]
This week I’m revisiting a Christmas-themed episode of California’s Gold, one I originally featured back in December 2016. The Sixteen to One Mine that appears in this segment opened in 1896 and is still in operation. I don’t know about you, but I’m still finding it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that Christmas is a mere 12 […]
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 […]
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 […]
This episode originally aired in January 1999 — but Cargill is still very much a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, involved in not only salt production but also playing a part in efforts to transform industrial ponds into tidal wetlands as part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. Many of us who have flown into San […]