This episode is a “California’s Gold Classic,” and it’s one I’ve enjoyed quite a few times already. Even so, in re-watching it today I learned that the Bidwell Bar Bridge, constructed in 1856, was the first suspension bridge built west of the Mississippi River! It’s a great reminder that even though I live quite near the historic gold country there’s […]
Thanks again to everybody for sharing these memories with me. Next week, we’re off on a 1978 road trip to British Columbia via Oregon and Washington State. See you then!
If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a small town in the middle of a breathtaking landscape, you’ll enjoy Huell’s visit to Downieville, where the houses have no addresses and there are no traffic signals. Downieville was named after William Downie, a Scotsman who mined for gold in the area in 1849. And very little has changed in this tiny town, […]
Join Huell and hike to the world’s tallest tree in Redwood National Park with a group of fifth graders from a nearby school; admire fields ablaze with golden color of California’s official state flower, the Golden Poppy, at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster; and climb to the top of magnificent Morro Rock for a beautiful view of […]
Sitting just north of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is the famous Cliff House Restaurant. It has a complicated and fascinating history and is currently on its fifth incarnation. The first Cliff House was built in 1853 by one of California’s more colorful Gold Rush characters, Sam Brannan. In the 1956 photo below, you can just see the top and rear of […]
Huell meets a local artisan in Trinidad Bay who transforms redwood logs into beautiful canoes; then discovers a little-known landmark, the S.S. Palo Alto, a ship made entirely of concrete, docked at the Seacliff Beach pier in Aptos, and sails on the last remaining lightship in a line of floating lighthouses that once marked the entrance to the ship channel […]
Back in 1956, the Harbor Queen was a familiar site on San Francisco Bay and a very hot tourist attraction. The Red and White Fleet had its origins all the way back in 1892 — travelers and commuters relied on the ferry boats prior to construction of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. The company later expanded to […]
If you’re a fan of trains — especially historic trains — I promise you’ll enjoy this week’s episode of California’s Gold. Huell is ready to celebrate train travel at Railfair ’91 at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and ride the rails at Railtown State Historic Park in Jamestown in the scenic Mother Lode foothill country. Railtown State Historic Park […]
In 1969, Emerald Bay was designated a National Natural Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain-building processes and glacier carved granite. The natural beauty, geology and history of this unique island make it one of the highlights of any visit to the Lake Tahoe area – Emerald Bay State Park Originally this road was the Lincoln Highway, dedicated in 1913; […]