I confess I’m a more than a little bit amazed that I haven’t already featured this particular episode of California’s Gold. It originally aired on October 6, 2000, almost exactly 22 years ago. The California State Library not only holds treasures of the state’s history, it is, itself, a wonderful historic California treasure. Its original building, now known as the […]
Huell has revisited the Central California coast quite a few times, and especially the area around Hearst Castle — but this part of San Luis Obispo County has so much to offer and it never seems to get old. After watching this episode of California’s Golden Parks I’m thinking that maybe in between trips to the northern coastal counties I […]
I have to admit that until this morning I had no idea there was more than one type of mammoth. When I heard the word ‘mammoth’ I’ve always thought of the wooly mammoth — like the 30,000-year-old specimen discovered this past summer frozen in the Yukon’s permafrost. However, watching this episode of California’s Gold, originally aired in November 2004, I […]
I honestly didn’t expect an episode entitled ‘Cotton’ could be all that interesting, but as usual Huell takes what might be a dull subject and makes it informative yet fun. California grows its share of the nation’s cotton, both Upland/Acala and Pima types, and cotton is the main industry of the town of Buttonwillow, which was founded back in 1895. […]
Back in August 2018 I was pretty thrilled to see the small group of buffalo in the Bison Paddock at Golden Gate Park; there have been American bison living in the park ever since the 1890s, and their existence even helped to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. In this Classic episode of California’s Gold from 1991, […]
The Mojave Desert doesn’t seem like an especially welcoming place to be — especially in the summertime — but it would be a mistake to think there’s nothing to be found there but dirt or sand and cactus plants. As a rule, California’s desert regions are home to some very colorful history, and this remote spot is no exception. Since […]
This half-hour episode sees Huell visiting the community of Winters in Yolo County for yet another of his many series, this one called California Communities. I’ve passed through Winters via Highway 128 a number of times, on the way to Lake Berryessa, but I must confess I’ve never stopped to really see what the town is all about. It does […]
You can’t tell a whole lot about the city of Barstow, California, merely from driving through on the interstate. In fact, you might wonder why anyone would choose to live in such a hot, rather isolated place. But this desert town has a very colorful history — pioneer trails and the railroad, the instant riches of silver mining, and the […]
Roughly halfway through this amazing episode it occurred to me that it might have been titled “Trains, Planes, and Automobiles”! Some of the territory Huell discovers on this Road Trip adventure looks awfully familiar to me, since we passed through the small town of Tehachapi on Highway 58 only a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t have time to stop […]