The Channel Islands are an eight island archipelago off the coast of Southern California and five of these islands make up Channel Islands National Park. The waters surrounding these islands are also protected as a National Marine Sanctuary. The Channel Islands were created by tectonic forces 5 million years ago and have always been islands, although they were closer to the mainland during the last ice age when the sea levels were lower. Because of their isolation, the islands are home to several endemic species of plants and animals meaning those found nowhere else on Earth.
People have inhabited these islands for a very long time. In fact the oldest human remains ever found in North America, dating back 13,000 years, were discovered on Santa Barbara Island in 1959. In more recent times, the northern islands were home to different bands of the Chumash people while the southern islands were inhabited by the Tongva. Juan Cabrillo observed the islands on his 1542 voyage up the coast and in more modern times the islands were used to raise sheep and cattle. They were protected as a National Park in 1980.
I was unfortunately only able to visit one of the islands in Channel Islands National Park during my stay, but Santa Cruz is the biggest and most accessible and made for a wonderful visit. I stayed in the campground at Scorpion Ranch for three nights and was able to hike to Cavern Point, Smuggler’s Cove, Potato Harbor and the incredible Montañon Ridge. For the last two days I was on the island, there were only 19 other people there which made for a peaceful and incredible stay. It was hard to believe that we were only an hour car ride and an hour ferry ride from the second largest city in the country, but it sure was nice to be there. I can’t wait to go back again. I hope you enjoy these photos from Channel Islands National Park.
Hello Everyone!
This week started and ended in L.A. but I spent the weekend out in Bakersfield. All of my California friends raised an eyebrow when I talked about going out to Bakersfield, but I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how much it had to offer. It was definitely a little rough around the edges, but the people were friendly and it was a beautiful, cool, sunny weekend to be there. I’m going to get this post done a day early this week because I’m headed out to Catalina Island first thing tomorrow morning and I’m leaving my computer behind. Catalina is in the same island group as Channel Islands National Park, but it is developed and has a year-round population of over 4,000 people. You guys know how much I love islands, so I’m really looking forward to it. The campground was full, so I’m staying in a hotel out there which also means I’ll only be there for a day, but I’m going to make the most of it. It hasn’t been the busiest of weeks, but I’m sure you’ll see that I’ve gotten a couple of bigger photo posts up this week. Let me tell you what else I’ve gotten into this week.
After I finished up this post last week I took a long drive through L.A. and up to Hollywood. I followed my GPS and it took me on a pleasantly winding route and down streets I’d never been down before. L.A. is a sprawling place and I could probably spend an entire month just exploring around here, but it’s also a challenging place for the van life so it was just about time for me to move on. Before I went, there were three places I wanted to visit in Hollywood. The first is a tiny hole-in-the-wall spot called Tiki Ti. The whole tiki phenomenon in the U.S. began in 1933 by a guy called Don the Beachcomber right there in Hollywood. While that tiki bar is long gone, Tiki Ti remains. Tiki Ti was founded in 1961 by Ray Buhen who had been one of the early bartenders at Don the Beachcomber. He built his bar in an old violin repair shop so you can imagine how small it is. Today, it is one of the country’s most venerable tiki bars and a must-see for any tiki aficionado. I had been by it before, but never had the chance to stop in and I’m sure glad I did this time through. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the people and a couple of tropical cocktails but mostly I was just happy to soak up the history of the place.
From there I made my way back down the Sunset Strip to the Comedy Store to see Comedians You Should Know upstairs in the Belly Room. The Comedy Store is another well-known venue and another place I had never been before. The show was pretty good and some of the comedians were great (and one was downright terrible) and I was happy to have finally made it in to see a show. When it finished, I strolled down the street to Mel’s Drive-In for dinner which wasn’t great but it was fun to be there. It started to rain while I was eating my dinner, so I decided to just call it a night right there in Hollywood.
Thursday morning I was up and off to Bakersfield. I hit some rain and even about 10 seconds worth of snow on the drive, but it was sunny and perfect when I arrived. It was so nice to be in a quiet, open city again where parking was free and plentiful and I could walk wherever I wanted to go. I spent the afternoon wandering the streets and taking photos and then ended up at an old bar called Guthrie’s for happy hour. It’s a great old spot with a beautiful sign out front and a juke box and pool table in the back. From there I caught an acoustic set at The Padre Hotel and then went to The Pyrenees Café for dinner. Bakersfield has a Basque community which dates back to the gold rush. The Basque came to look for gold but found that herding sheep was more profitable because all of those prospectors needed food and clothing. There are still a handful of Basque restaurants in Bakersfield and they put out quite a spread. I had a lamb shank, and it came with soup and salad, marinated tongue, bread, pasta, vegetables and fries. The place was packed, but my dinner was really good. Full to the brim, I headed back downtown to check out Tiki-Ko, Bakersfield’s own tiki bar. It is an excellent spot – subdued but festive and with a good drink menu. I enjoyed a cocktail there before heading off to bed…
Most of the states I’ve been to seem to have a town like Solvang - a place with solid European roots that has developed into a tourism draw over the years. Some of my favorites have been Helen, Georgia, Frankenmuth, Michigan, New Ulm, Minnesota and Helvetia, West Virginia. All of these have had either a German or Swiss background, which made the Danish village of Solvang different and quite fun for me to explore.
The area where Solvang now stands was originally Chumash land. In 1804, the Spanish built Mission Santa Inés, one of 21 Catholic missions they would establish in Alta California to try and convert the native peoples and help the Spanish claim to the territory. After Mexico won its independence in 1821, the mission system was dissolved and the land was divided into land grants and this area became part of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata.
Beginning in 1850, many Danish immigrants began arriving on America’s shores including some of my ancestors on my father’s side. Communities would begin to form, especially in the Midwest. In 1910, a small group of Danish men decided to try somewhere a little warmer and purchased land in the Santa Inés Valley. A year later, a town plan had been drawn up and Solvang was born.
Originally, the town looked like many others in the region but after World War II many buildings were built or rebuilt in a more Scandinavian style. Today, Solvang is definitely an eye-catching place, especially the windmills which are scattered around the town. Tourism is a major draw with people coming from all over the world to visit the delicious bakeries and restaurants.
I had a great time in Solvang. It was busy but not crazy and I couldn’t help but smile as I wandered around taking these photos. It felt familiar yet different at the same time and it is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for a break from the coastal beach towns and Mission architecture. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Solvang, California’s Danish capital.
If there’s a more classically Californian beach town than Pismo Beach, I have yet to find it. Just driving into town makes your stress start to fade away and when you find a parking spot you can take a deep breath and relax - you have arrived. Pismo Beach residents have made an obvious effort to create and maintain this laid-back, surfer vibe and they’ve built a beautiful town around it. The fact that I was there on a beautiful sunny day didn’t hurt.
This area is historically home to the Chumash people, and “Pismu” was their name for the tar they found in the area which they used to seal their canoes and baskets. The Spanish Portolá Expedition passed by the beach in 1769 and after Mexican independence it would be included in José Ortega’s Rancho Pismo. A town was established in 1891 and the first pier was built in 1924. Pismo Beach was long called the “Clam Capital of the World” and these delicious mollusks drew people from miles around, but overharvesting has devastated the local clam population. Today the town states simply that they are “Classic California” and they definitely live up to that claim. While there is a lot more to California than surfing and beaches, that is the image that many people have of the Golden State. If that’s what you are looking for, you won’t find a better place to experience it than beautiful Pismo Beach. I hope you enjoy these photos from this classic California surf town.
Bodega, California is an adorable historic town about 5 miles from the coast and 2 hours north of San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway. These were once Coastal Miwok lands and they made use of the bounty of the area’s vast natural resources. Juan Francisco Bodega y Caudra of Spain first sailed into the nearby harbor in 1775, but the area’s first settlers of European decent were Russians. It was fear of the Russians’ southern advances that prompted Spain to set up the mission system and claim and settle the area of what’s now California.
In 1843, Stephen Smith built a lumber yard in the area and John Sutter also bought land nearby. St. Teresa of Avila church was constructed in 1859 and a small community slowly grew up around it. Today, Bodega’s population is still just over 200 people, but it packs a lot of punch for such a small town. Bodega is probably best known as one of the filming locations for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film The Birds. I used to drive through Bodega often on my way from Santa Rosa to the coast, and I was happy that I finally had the chance to stop and look around for a while. Bodega is definitely small-town California at its best. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Bodega, California.
The formations in Pinnacles National Park are thought to come from the western half of the Neenach Volcano which erupted 23 million years ago. Between then and now, this geologic formation is believed to have shifted almost 200 miles north and west thanks to plate tectonics.
This area was originally inhabited by the Ohlone people. Spanish missionaries established a mission at Soledad in 1791, just about 5 miles from the park’s current boundary. When American settlers moved into the area, they referred to the formations as “the Palisades”, and investors once considered putting a resort hotel at their base. The area was first protected as Pinnacles Forest Preserve in 1906 and then as Pinnacles National Monument in 1908. It became a National Park in 2013.
I had a great day in Pinnacles during my visit to the west side of the park. It had been raining for days and it was nice to see some blue sky for a change. I arrived early and was able to park in Bear Gulch, although there is a shuttle to bring people up from the Visitor Center as well. From there I hiked up the Condor Gulch Trail to the High Peaks Trail and then returned on the Bear Gulch Trail to the parking lot. It was a wonderful 6-7 mile loop through the pinnacles and provided great views in every direction.
The highlight of my day was definitely seeing the endangered California Condors which call the park home. I saw no fewer than 6 of them, which would be around 2% of the entire wild population of California Condors in the world. Some came so close I could’ve touched them if I’d have been sitting on your shoulders and I had never seen condors so close before. Watching them in flight is a truly special experience as they are enormous and cover a tremendous area in a short time. They move so quickly that they are tough to photograph, but there is one in the photo directly below. The condors alone were worth the visit, but I had aa awesome hike as well and it was reasonably quiet while I was there. While Pinnacles is one of the lesser known national parks in California, and for good reason, it is still a wonderful place to visit and worth a stop if you are in the area. I hope you enjoy these photos from Pinnacles National Park.
Hello Everyone!
It’s been another week of wet weather here in California. Thankfully it hasn’t been steady rain, but more on and off and I’ve been able to get out and see some things and even take a few photos. I enjoyed a fun St. Patrick’s Day in Santa Barbara and caught up with an old friend yesterday here in Oxnard. I have definitely moved strongly into Southern California this week and I’ve been having a great time. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the laid-back vibes and relaxed atmosphere of SoCal. I’m also looking forward to heading out to the island of Santa Cruz in Channel Islands National Park tomorrow if the weather allows me, so I’m going to get this post out a day early this week.
I wrote this post last week from the small but mighty town of Pismo Beach. Once I was finished putting it together, I headed out to check out the town and really fell in love with it. Pismo Beach is a quintessential California beach town full of neon and surfboards. If you grew up listening to the Beach Boys and are looking for that kind of vibe, Pismo definitely has it. I really enjoyed just wandering around and taking photos and soaking up some much needed rays. I stayed in town long enough to watch the sun set and then headed just down the road to Santa Maria.
I was very excited to have a taste of Santa Maria-style barbecue, but was also somewhat reserved in my expectations. I’ve experienced so many culinary treats around the country that I’ve learned to enjoy them in their place and then hold them in my memory until I return. Barbecue is most definitely a southern thing, and I don’t usually go for it west of Texas or north of the Mason-Dixon Line. However, since Santa Maria claims their own unique style I had to try it. I chose Shaw’s, because they’ve been around for a long time and because they had tri-tip on their menu and tri-tip (sometimes called a “California cut”) is also unique to Southern California. Tri-tip is also called “poor man’s brisket”, so I thought it would be great to try it smoked low and slow. What I didn’t look at closely enough is that Santa Maria Style is a way of barbecuing, the verb, not barbecue, the noun. It’s simply their way of seasoning and grilling meat and has nothing to do with the slow-smoked deliciousness of our southeastern region. Because of that, tri-tip was not a good choice because, while flavorful, it’s also super tough. I should’ve gone with a ribeye or a strip. My steak had good flavor and I could taste where it was going, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. It did come with a delicious soup, amazing homemade salsa, a relish tray, garlic bread and baked beans making for quite a feast, but my tri-tip was a disappointment. I will return to Santa Maria again with a different idea of what to look for though as I think it definitely has potential. The people of Santa Maria were kind and welcoming though and that would be reason enough to return.
On Thursday I continued south to La Purisma Mission, another of the 21 historic Spanish missions in California. This one had fallen into serious disrepair when it was taken over by California State Parks and was reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The CCC rebuilt it to capture the historic context of the mission during its heyday so it is a fascinating place to visit and get a feel for what the missions were really like…
Hey y’all. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite shots from my time on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I’m doing this as a Snapshots post instead of an In Focus post because I’ll make one for all of Grand Canyon later this summer, but with any luck I will get down to Phantom Ranch between now and then, making it somewhat more complete. But I promised you some Grand Canyon photos before I transitioned to more recent California shots next week, so here you go. Enjoy!!
I had spent time in Sedona before, but never enough. I was always there for just a night, usually late in a tour where we didn’t have much time to do more than have a cursory look around. The cost and snobby attitudes of the locals with their spiritual vortex talk was always a turn-off for me. I had never had the chance to really get out there and do some hiking before, but I’m sure glad I scheduled a few days for it on this trip. I’ve been to a lot of places in this country, but few can compare to the red rock country surrounding Sedona. I don’t know about vortexes, but it is definitely a beautiful and magical place. Like most of red rock country, it’s best to hit the trail very early in the morning or just as the sun is starting to go down. While I was there, I hiked to the Birthing Cave, the Subway, Devil’s Bridge, the Courthouse and Bell and, my personal favorite, the Airport Loop. With the exception of this last one, which I had all to myself, there was no shortage of people in the area. It’s definitely not a secret place, nor is it off the beaten path, but it’s well worth it to visit and the shear number of trails in the area helps to disperse people pretty well. I had a wonderful few days in Sedona and will definitely be back. I hope you enjoy these photos from beautiful Sedona, Arizona, a true hikers’ paradise.
The area that is now Wickenburg was once Yavapai Indian land and the river that runs through it is the Hassayampa which means “following the water as far as it goes” in the Yavapai language. In 1863, German prospector Henry Wickenburg came to the area in search of gold. He found it and opened the Vulture Mine which would eventually produce 340,000 ounces of gold and 260,000 ounces of silver.
Ranchers came to the area as well and soon a community sprang up. In 1895, the railroad came through Wickenburg which spawned even more growth. The town was incorporated in 1909, making Wickenburg the oldest Arizona town north of Tucson and the 5th oldest in the state. In 1866, Wickenburg missed being named the territorial capital by just two votes.
Today Wickenburg is a quaint little community with a real wild west feel to it (some of the light posts are even wearing cowboy hats). There are some amazing art installations around town and the Desert Caballeros Western Museum is one of the best in the state. I love the design of the Saguaro Theatre which was also probably my favorite theatre in Arizona. You’re never alone when you’re in Wickenburg as life-like statues are spread throughout town making for a family friendly feel. I hadn’t planned on staying long in Wickenburg, but it’s a great town worth exploring and I was there way longer than I expected to be. Next time you’re in this part of Arizona, stop in for a spell. You’ll be glad you did. I hope you enjoy these photos from tiny Wickenburg - the Dude Ranch Capital of the World.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was one of the top spots on my list of places to visit during my time in Arizona. It’s a remote park, located two hours from anywhere and right on the U.S./Mexican border, but it’s the only place in the country that you can find naturally occurring organ pipe cactus. In addition to these beauties, there are so many other species of cactus and desert plants as well which has led to this region also being named a part of UNESCO’s International Biosphere Reserve.
Organ Pipe Cactus was made a National Monument by Franklin Roosevelt back in 1937. A special act was passed to allow mining in the area during World War II, an act which sadly wasn’t repealed until 1976. The park’s remote location on the Mexican border used to bring both drug runners and human smugglers through the area, making this America’s most dangerous park. This danger is memorialized in the Kris Eggle Visitors Center which was named for a park ranger who was killed protecting visitors from drug smugglers in 2002. In the wake of his death, the border was reinforced and I felt safe there during my stay.
It was unbelievably hot when I arrived on an afternoon in late April. So hot that I couldn’t actually do anything but hover in the shade of the restroom and wait until the sun started to go down. I did enjoy a wonderful evening hike and an early morning one the following day as well. The area is beautiful and it was great to see the Organ Pipes in their native habitat. It was definitely just a one night stop, but I’m very glad I went. I hope you enjoy these photos from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Construction on Fort Bowie began in 1862 after two separate confrontations between the United States Army and the Chiricahua Apache. The fort was erected to protect the Apache Pass through the mountains and Apache Springs, a vital water source in the area. Six years later a more substantial fort was built just up the hill from the original fort and would be in service until 1894. The Apache Wars would end in 1886 with the surrender of Chiricahua leader, Geronimo, and the removal of the Chiricahua from the area. As you may remember from a recent post, the U.S. Army was aided in this endeavor by the White Mountain Apache scouts based in Fort Apache to the north who were the sworn enemies of the Chiricahua.
The fort today is a mere remnant of what it once was. The adobe walls have all but melted back into the surrounding desert and the stone foundations and a few odds and ends are all that is left. This park is unique in that it is a “hike-in” park, meaning the only way to visit it is by hiking the 1.5 miles from the parking lot up to Apache Pass. This walk takes you past the old stagecoach stop ruins, the cemetery, an old Apache village, Apache Spring and up to the pass where the fort is located. While the rangers at the park will provide access for people with disabilities, this walk is an amazing way to get a feel for the remoteness of the fort and the isolation the men who were once stationed there must have felt. I was definitely glad I visited in the winter months as I’m sure making this walk in the summer is quite hot and dusty. I was definitely glad I finally made it out to Fort Bowie as it’s been on my to-do list for many years now and I’m glad I finally got there. I hope you enjoy these photos from Fort Bowie National Historic Park.
