I happened to catch this one-hour episode of “Road Trip” the other day and thought it would be fun to check out Huell’s visits to the five corners of California. It seems like he managed to accidentally annoy at least a couple of people by suggesting the state line between Oregon and California wasn’t where they thought it was! And […]
One of my favorite WordPress travel and nature blogs is Enchanted Forests, written by Mukul Chand; and ever since I first read his post titled Auspicious Marigolds, I can’t help thinking of this song whenever I happen to see one of these beautiful little golden flowers, known as in Hindi as Genda.
Monarchs are one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world; I always feel very lucky whenever I happen to spot one. In this episode of California’s Gold, Huell visits a popular monarch grove on the Central California coast during February and talks with a number of people who are delighted to have these special visitors brighten up the winter […]
This week I’m continuing my John Muir birthday celebration. In this episode of California’s Golden Parks, Huell visits the Muir house and property in Martinez, California. Huell tours the the Victorian residence in Martinez where the naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 1914, and meets the special folks who are responsible for preserving this important site. […]
This weekend we will be observing not only Earth Day (Sunday, April 22) but also the anniversary of the birth of John Muir (Saturday, April 21), who is often called the “patron saint of the American wilderness.” So this week I’ve chosen an episode of California’s Gold in which Huell has a fascinating conversation with John Muir with the beauty […]
After last week’s post in which Huell paid a visit to San Nicolas Island, I thought I would go ahead and continue the theme of visiting the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. This episode is all about San Miguel Island. Unlike San Nicolas, San Miguel is part of the National Park system, so it’s open to visitors. […]
This classic episode of California’s Gold starts off with the roar of speedboats taking part in the annual Catalina Ski Race. When the show initially aired, the race had been going on for more than 40 years — but the 2018 edition will be its 70th year! I was initially inspired to seek out this episode after learning for the […]
California’s history with oranges goes back to the planting of a citrus orchard at Mission San Gabriel in 1804. This episode of California’s Gold, first aired in 1998, explores not only the history but also the future of the citrus industry in the state. In this episode of “California’s Gold,” host Huell Howser explores the history and lore of orange […]
In California we’re lucky to have not only magnificent Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood) but also the Yucca brevifolia, a desert survivor that inspired the Mormon settlers of the 1800s to name them after the Biblical Joshua. I’m familiar with the Joshua tree mostly from the U2 album of the same name (released in 1987), and I have to admit I’ve […]