Esselen native 1791

First Peoples

I’m an armchair anthropologist. Basically, that means two things about me: I like to read about ancient peoples and, as a hiker, I like to go and find evidence of […]…

Boulder Creek, CA

At Big Basin

Stand beneath the area’s largest grove of giant ancient coast redwoods, some as tall as the Statue of Liberty, or climb to Buzzard’s Roost for a birds-eye view of Big […]…

Prunedale, CA

Plums and prunes

Did you know: all prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes? Prunedale takes its name from the Prune Plum trees that dotted the landscape in the town’s early […]…

Solitude Soledad, CA

Say Cheese!

In the late 1800s, the Soledad Train Depot was the last stop for the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Salinas Valley. Prior to agriculture dominating the landscape, the dairy industry […]…

Redwood trees in Big Basin State Park

A Taste of the San Lorenzo Valley

I really like driving on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It runs the length of the San Lorenzo Valley through some great small towns – Felton, Ben Lomond, […]…

California Artichoke State Veg

CA state vegetable

On April 10, 2013 California declared the artichoke the official state vegetable. California produces nearly 100 percent of the nation’s artichoke crop, with 80 percent of the fresh vegetable grown [&…

Salinas, CA

An historic schoolhouse

The red Lagunita School, built in 1897, came to life in Steinbeck’s novel, The Red Pony. Now part of the Boronda Adobe History Center, it’s one of the Salinas Valley’s […]…