Just when you think you know the history of California, along comes another piece of the story that you’ve never heard before! I’m pretty sure every fourth grader has learned about James Marshall’s 1848 discovery of gold in the American River; but the Holcomb Valley gold rush of 1860 was definitely news to me. In this episode of California’s Gold, […]
Are you looking for a creative pastime with a long and fascinating history behind it? If you’re skilled at woodworking and gluing and you have good eyesight and plenty of patience and determination, building ships in a bottle just might be for you! I don’t think I would be able to sit still long enough to get all those tiny […]
Back in December 2016, I learned a little bit about the Cahuilla people and their history when I visited the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. But there is so much more than could possibly be learned in one short afternoon; that much is clear from seeing Huell’s visit to Palm Springs and to the amazing Palm Canyon oasis in this episode of […]
Normally in this part of August, the Big Guy would be camping in the mountains with his buddies and I would be spending a few days in San Francisco, exploring the city streets and enjoying the cool sea breezes. But this summer, between the current pandemic, the triple-digit heat, and now the poor air quality from numerous wildfires, we’ve both […]
As much as I enjoyed all the animals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, the arboretum sections were also irresistible in their own way — and much less crowded. These images are from my visit in December 2016, but I’d be interested to see the changes made to these areas since the park has added an adjacent […]
I’ve never visited the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles although I’ve known about their existence for as long as I can remember! I’m so glad that this amazing spot is being preserved and treasured — the artifacts continue to be discovered even now. The historic presidio site in San Diego was excavated for only a short time before […]
If you follow this blog at all, you will know that I share a lot of old family photos, from those dating back to the early 1950s when my Dad was stationed in Japan to ones I shot myself in the 1980s and 1990s. So when I stumbled across this one-hour episode of California’s Gold, I knew I had to […]
One of the great things about watching Huell Howser was that he always loved listening to the stories of “old-timers” — people whose memories can still bring history alive and remind us that those old forgotten pieces of the past, like an empty field or some sun-bleached wooden boards, once formed an important part of everyday life. This episode of […]
I had never seen this 2006 episode of California’s Gold before, but once I realized there was a train trip involved I had to check it out! Huell actually travels over the border to the Mexican city of Tecate. But don’t worry if you’re not interested in sampling beer; besides touring the Tecate factory there’s a chance to explore the […]