Here are some images from an outing I joined back in April 2024. It was sponsored by Folsom Lake SRA, and two park aides led us along the Salmon Falls Darrington Trail on the South Fork of the American River at Folsom Lake. Because the morning was overcast and slightly drizzly, some people who had signed up for the hike […]
The Audubon Kern River Preserve is located between Weldon, California and Isabella Reservoir, on the South Fork of the Kern River. First established in 1979, it’s now recognized as a Globally Important Bird Area: over 200 species nest each year in this prime area along the Pacific flyway. Through a series of purchases from local landowners, over the years the […]
Another beautiful day in Southern California and another state beach I have never had the pleasure of seeing in person. This episode of California’s Golden Parks, originally aired in February 2006, features Carpinteria State Beach is just twelve miles south of Santa Barbara and is a great family destination that offers a mile of beach for swimming, surfing, fishing, tidepool […]
I visited San Francisco’s Maritime Museum last summer, and I’ve shared a few images previously here. I really enjoyed studying the artifacts, the ship models, and the dioramas exhibited on the museum’s ground floor. But one of the most intriguing displays is the story of Kenichi Hori, the 23-year-old who in 1962 sailed alone across the Pacific in the sloop […]
I’ve lived in Northern California all my life, so maybe it’s no surprise that I never really knew about the “world-famous” surf at Trestles in the San Onofre State Beach — although I do remember traveling along Interstate 5 and seeing the cooling towers of the nearby San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant (shut down since 2013). Still, Huell’s enthusiasm is […]
Last Saturday I mentioned I was looking forward to a Canal Walk organized by Folsom Lake SRA staff, exploring the history of the East Canal that connected the original Folsom Dam to the historic powerhouse. We had a beautiful morning for our excursion, and I did manage to learn a few things I had never known before. It had been […]
The early history of California is filled with not only Spanish missions and gold discoveries (not to mention the indigenous peoples) but huge tracts of land operated as cattle ranches by the Californios. Here in Northern California, the neighborhood I’m sitting in was once part of the vast San Juan Rancho land grant; and down in Southern California it’s just […]
Off along a short side trail at the Petrified Forest in Calistoga, I found an extra bit of geological history — a large ash fall left over from the eruption of Mt. St. Helena 3 million years ago. Although the entire site is scattered with concrete-like remants of the ash deposits (like the one in the image below), this spot […]
Two weeks ago I featured an episode of Visiting called Over L.A. from 1990s. You might say that in a sense this episode is an update; it aired in September 2007 and highlights the newest technology at the time, serving as a great contrast with the aerial views from Huell’s earlier outing. His hosts for this segment, Helinet Aviation, are […]