Since I live only a short drive away from the site of Mormon Island 1 (normally located under the waters of Folsom Lake since 1955, except during drought years), it may be only natural that driving along Iron Mountain Road, near Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, always gets me wondering exactly why this route is known as the Mormon […]
It’s been more than a year since I last hiked in this area on the south bank of the American River in Folsom, and I had been meaning to come back long before this. Partly because it’s within walking distance of my house; and partly because I was very curious to locate a mysterious hole in the rocks I had […]
A couple of weeks ago I featured an episode focusing on the city of Richmond, which sits on the eastern shore of the San Francisco/San Pablo Bay. This episode of Golden Parks examines a portion of the western shore, just across the bay in San Rafael. Until seeing this segment, I had never heard of China Camp State Park and […]
This week I’m taking a break from the Golden Parks to take a look at another series that Huell produced: California Communities. In this episode he visits Ford Point in Richmond, and the former Ford factory in particular. This amazing and enormous building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. Once abandoned and on the […]
I’m not sure exactly what this machine was used for; it was part of the outdoor collection at the Angels Camp Museum. There was no sign (and no one nearby to ask), and by the time I had finished shooting these pictures, I just had to get away and go find some shade on this very warm day.
I can’t help feeling fascinated by the display of old medicine bottles at the Angels Camp Museum. I’ve been under the weather lately and might have even been tempted to try one or two of these nostrums, but most of them? No thank you!
In yesterday’s post Huell visited the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. I recently came across these images shot by my mom during the spring of 1982. She was visiting the area with her anthropology class to observe the work of archeology students. I admit I feel respect for archeologists because I would never have the patience to stick with such […]
In California you just never know where you might stumble upon some historic site, and the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Contra Costa County is a great example of that. This 500-acre park has transformed from an mining hub in the 1800s to a ranching area and finally to a beautiful nature spot full of both native and imported trees, multi-use trails, and views of nearby Mount Diablo. I had never heard of this park until today, but now I’ve added it to my list of places to visit in the future. Huell travels to the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in the East Bay. It was once a thriving coal and sand mining area, and is now a great place to bike and hike while taking in the beautiful landscape filled with blue oaks, manzanitas and carpets of springtime flowers. Huell stops by the Underground Mining Museum and also hikes to the remains of the mines. (Click on the linked image below to see the video.)
Last week I returned to the Angels Camp Museum for the first time since my first visit in 2018. This is one of those places that, although fairly small, has so many historic items to look at that it’s impossible to take everything in during a single visit. The only real downside of this charming museum, for me, is the […]