I had no idea the Watts Towers even existed until I saw this episode of California’s Gold a few years ago. I still have not had the pleasure of actually visiting this beautiful and unique site, but luckily Huell does a pretty good job of explaining its history, and the 2012 update covers the expansion of the facility, which is […]
In this episode of California’s Gold, Huell takes a ride into the back country of the Starr Ranch in Southern California. The Starr Ranch Sanctuary is a beautiful haven in the middle of suburban Orange County; once a working ranch, it now remains as a precious remnant of “old California.” Ever since I first saw this episode I’ve been periodically […]
This episode of California’s Gold, first aired in 2006, tells the story of the four — or actually five — ceremonial spikes connected to the opening of the United States’ first transcontinental railroad. I now have to admit that even though I’ve seen and admired the golden spike on display at the railroad museum in Old Sacramento, I never realized […]
Here’s another beautiful corner of California I’m adding to my list of must-see places. I certainly remember hearing all the arguments over preserving the habitat for spotted owls and similar species a few years back. But the old-growth redwood trees themselves are such a special treasure, and California would never be the same if we allowed them to disappear. Join […]
A couple of memories really stand out for me about our trips to Mexico in the early 1970s. One is that a different color and type of fabric was chosen for the dresses worn by the women of the team each summer. One year the color was a bright reddish-orange; another year it was lime green. These were not bought […]
So much has been written about the tragic fate of the Donner Party; there’s no shortage of opinions about what led to this group of pioneers becoming trapped in the snow-packed California Sierras during the winter of 1846-47 and what they did or did not do in order to survive. But there’s nothing quite like visiting the site of these events […]
I’m certain that all but one my images this week were shot during the summer of 1970, mostly because of the date stamp on the slide frame. I can also narrow down the time period, in some cases at least, by the eyeglasses I’m wearing or the length of my hair. I got my first pair of glasses in 1969, […]
This is one of the episodes of California’s Gold that I managed to miss, and it caught me by surprise because the farm that Huell visits is not far down the road from where I live — in fact, I believe I must have driven right by the place not long ago and never even realized it was there. It’s […]
Welcome back to Mexico Monday! I’ve started going through the latest batch of slides which my mom recently discovered — and like the previous images I’ve shared, most of these are not labeled, although some of them have a date stamp showing when they were developed. I’m trying to organize them by year as much as possible, but it does […]