June 1978 — We had reached Leavenworth, Washington, rather late in the afternoon on a Tuesday, with no time or energy to explore; and so we actually spent two nights at the KOA — with the Wenatchee River just a few steps from our campsite. I originally shared these images back in February 2017. In between window shopping among the […]
This episode of California’s Gold from 2003 features two very special old barns. The Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo has been given a brand new life; while the restoration efforts were well underway at the time of Huell’s visit, the work continued on the barn and surrounding buildings for the next 16 years and finally opened to the public […]
Summer 1978 — I’m not embarrassed to admit it: I was one of those teenagers who actually enjoyed traveling with my parents! This 1978 road trip through Oregon, Washington State, and British Columbia was a great time for all of us. I’m very glad to still have the slides that my Dad shot along the way, along with my own […]
This week’s episode of California’s Gold sees Huell visiting two locations in the Mojave desert that are connected to both the past and the future. The history of borax mining in California goes back to the 1880s and the 20-mule teams of Death Valley (although, interestingly, the site of California’s first borax production was Clear Lake). But long after the […]
May 1976 — My last group of slides featuring Leavenworth, Washington, include some views of the area around Front Street and the Waterfront Park along the Wenatchee River. When I originally shared these images back in April 2017, I wrote about some of the history of Leavenworth’s transition from a dying former railroad town to a tourist mecca; but it’s […]
You may have heard of the movie A River Runs Through It; well, this week Huell’s version might be called A Road Runs Through It! His two stops cover both Northern and Southern California — both spots off the big highways and rich in Gold Rush era history. I especially enjoyed the story of the creation of Beale’s Cut and […]
When I originally shared these images, back in April 2017, I included a short history of this small ski area just outside the town of Leavenworth, along with a video (see below). Although the area surrounding Leavenworth’s ski hill has changed somewhat — more houses, and taller trees blocking the view of the ski jump — it’s still easy enough […]
In the past I’ve shared some of my own images of Leavenworth’s tourist-friendly Front Street; I’ve also written a bit about the town’s history. But today I have a few pictures of the residential areas — at least as they existed back in May 1976. I’m sure that some of these buildings are no longer standing, especially the small house […]