You may remember a couple of weeks ago I published a post about the California State Mining Museum in Mariposa and mentioned that I wished I could find a mineral museum nearer to where I live. Well, it just so happens that I did find a very nice if small collection of minerals from various places around the world on […]
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 […]
Yesterday I showed you the giant wooden wheels once used at the Kennedy Mine to convey debris for almost a mile, from the mine site to an impound area. Today, a more familiar type of wheel — the water wheel at Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. These days, Napa County is famous for its vineyards and wineries; but back […]
I’ve never been all that interested in learning about rocks and minerals, but after watching this episode of California’s Golden Parks, I’m seriously thinking about a road trip to Mariposa to get a closer look at this particular collection. I had no idea that California has not only an official state rock but also a state mineral, a state gemstone, […]
I visited the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma a few times in 2019, bringing back memories of at least one school field trip almost 50 years ago (yikes!). So I was delighted to find some slides my mom shot during a visit to the park back in early 1976. I don’t recall seeing the museum interior as […]
My last group of slides exploring La Purísima Concepción, shot by my mom in the spring of 1982, focuses on the garden areas. After going through all these slides, I would definitely like to visit this beautiful state historic park near Lompoc, California. I’m sure there has been a lot of changes and improvements to the mission over the past […]
There are so many cool discoveries to find as you wander the grounds of the Empire Mine in Grass Valley. I only wish there was more information available about the outdoor garden details.
This week, images of the Northern California coast and some trains from Southern California and Oregon. I’m not sure of the location of all but two of the coastal shots, although they look very much like some of the places I’ve visited in recent years in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The Harbor seals are also a familiar sight as they […]
Today I have an image of each of the three missions featured in Wednesday’s post, San Francisco de Asis, San Rafael Arcangel, and San Francisco Solano. Although I’ve never visited them, these three missions have been more interesting to me, partly because they are all in Northern California. These three missions perfectly illustrate the widely varying fortunes of California’s historic […]