The Sierra can be said to the longest single mountain range in the US. The Sierra Nevada boasts peaks of 14,000 feet . Stark and brooding from a distance , the Sierra unlocks a most magical outdoor world. Stunningly blue Lake Tahoe provides a summer boating and hiking playground : yet in winter skiers delight in its snow covered slopes.
Glacier carved Yosemite National Park’s cliffs , cascading waterfalls and pristine high country make it the highlight of the central range. Snuggled into the Sierra foothills lie treasures of the “great California Gold Rush “ – historic towns and clear rushing streams where visitors can actually still pan for the valuable and precious metal gold.
Visit San Francisco, CA: The UN-Official Guide The City San Francisco is a city of hills and distinct neighborhoods. As a general rule, elevation means wealth – the higher up you are, the better off you are. Commercial square-footage is surprisingly small and mostly confined to the...
Yosemite National Park - California [/caption] Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,000 to 13,114 feet (600 to 4,000...
Yosemite National Park -Northern, California [/caption] Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,000 to 13,114 feet (600 to 4,000...
California Wilderness Areas Volume 1 If you are planning a trip to one of the many coastal areas or mountain ranges in California, there are a few books that will help you learn all that you can about these amazing wilderness areas. One of the...
How Wildwind Found Us . . . When I hear the coyotes yowling, I often think back to when Gordon and I first decided to move back to the mountains. Gordon, my husband, and I "re-met" in 1996 and we were married in 1998. He came to...
Salinas , the heart of the “salad bowl of the world” is the birthplace of Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning novelist John Steinbeck ( 1902 – 1968). His home , a two story Victorian on Central and Stone streets , has been restored and opened as a restaurant. Downstairs is the Best Cellar Gift Shop offering local crafts and a selection of the author’s works.
Target #277: East of Eden (1955, Elia Kazan) – I haven’t read John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden,” but I’m familiar with enough of the author’s work to know that he wasn’t a “glass half-full” kind of man. Steinbeck’s characters appear to persist despite their misery, …
Baseball Sunday with Daniel Ford: From the Archives:Summer Poetry – John Steinbeck’s East of Eden was recommended to me last summer by Next Magazine’s dining editor Peter Sherwood (whose blog Evenings with Peter is a MUST read). I devoured the novel in short order and it instantly became one of my …
“If I Were John Steinbeck I Would Say (Casually) That You Have … – Welcome back to Crap Email From A Dude, in which dudes incriminate themselves in ways at once profoundly alarming and totally familiar. Today, the “Wow Dude, You Found Me Out, Fucking You Twice Means I’m Trying To Marry You” thing.
Auction Results ~ John Steinbeck « Bygone Books Blog – Condition: tape residue to free endpapers; slight rubbing at head of jacket spine. First edition, first issue inscribed by Steinbeck, “For Katherine Lowry/ John Steinbeck” on endpaper. With the bullet on p. 88. Goldstone & Payne A7a. …
East of Eden by John Steinbeck – Steinbeck traces the major events of the lives of multiple families that populated the Salinas Valley in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The novel culminates in a fascinating reprisal of the story of Cain and Abel, carrying the …
Coast Road. A Steinbeck Study « The Coast Road – No Coast Road for Steinbeck’s characters to travel upon. Zero mentions in over 42 years of writing and 25 literary efforts. Although John Steinbeck wrote from his teens in the late nineteen-teens until his death in 1962, the man fails …
Book Covers Anonymous: Jen Wang: The Short Novels of John Steinbeck – Jen Wang: The Short Novels of John Steinbeck. A new Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. This is a great solution to showing the history of Steinbeck by incorporating covers of his original first editions published in the 30s and 40s. …
John Wayne Memorabilia Collection If you are a fan of John Wayne, and looking to start a John Wayne memorabilia collection, keep reading. John Wayne memorabilia collections have always been a popular subject, but ever since his 100th birthday was celebrated on May 26...
Book Review: Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary I managed to sneak another romance novel in time for Halloween that has a spooky overtone. Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary takes place in a fictional town in Ireland with a lot of real cities and sights thrown in for...
Monday Morning Money - Freezing Cold Weekend Edition Man was it cold out this weekend here in "sunny" California. I know, I know, I have no room to complain. But I moved away from the east coast to get away from this stuff and it seems to have...
New Year's 2010 Approaching Fast Image by woodleywonderworks via Flickr New Year's 2010 is approaching fast. There are plenty of parties all around planned. We have always stayed home and spent New Year's Eve at home. It really isn't safe here in Upstate New York...
Named for Saint Anthony , Mission San Antonio de Padua , was founded in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra. Though somewhat isolated in the middle of a military reservation, the mission rewards the most persistent traveler who takes the extra time , effort and persistence to find it. Almost completely restored , it unfolds in grand style amid an oak tree studded valley. To reach it , exit US highway 101 at King City and follow County Highway G14 for a distance of 14 miles.
Mission San Antonio de Padua is reminiscent of missions during the days of the padres. In place of the crumbling adobe walls that you might well expect you will see exact replicas of buildings that existed in the most prosperous years between 1771 and 1830. Some of the original tiles from the original buildings are still utilized in some of these full replicas and cover their roofs.
Besides the mission itself , you will most likely see a water powered grist mill , a tannery , the original wine vat , early mission art and replicas of mission equipment.
A short walk around the Mission San Antonio. Mission San Antonio de Padua was founded on July 16, 1771, the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra, and site of the first Christian marriage in California.
BOE holds interest rates at 0.5 percent for another month. As had been widely predicted, the UK Monetary Policy Committee has chosen to hold interest rates at 0.5 percent as well as continuing with the existing programme of buying £175 billion of assets. The Bank of England will have to...
San Mateo County Hike of the San Bruno Mountain Park Summary: This is a 1.2 mile long all-access loop hike that takes you through coastal scrub. Location: This hike is located in the San Bruno Mountain Park as part of the San Mateo County Parks. Distance: The total length for...
San Mateo County Hike of Redwood Trail Summary: This is a 0.6 mile long out-and-back hike that follows an all-access trail through huckleberry and redwoods with very minimal change in elevation. Location: This trail is located in the Midpeninsula Regional district in San Mateo County in the...
San Francisco County Hike of Crissy Field Location: This trail is located at Crissy Field in San Francisco County as part of the National Park Service. The Hike: This is an easy mile of 3.3 miles in distance that traces restored coastline and offers stunning views of...
Tennis Scoring A game of tennis starts with the service and ends when a player has scored 4 points, as long as they are also 2 points ahead of their opponent. Games are generally part of a set, which is a series...
A turn westward off US highway 101 just south of the City of Soledad will take you past a frame and adobe building on your right.
This is Los Coches. , former headquarters of a large ranch, part of the lands of Mission Nuestra Senora del la Soledad.
A half mile drive west of Los Coches and a turn to the north , will lead you directly to the mission ruins. Here the thirteenth mission in the California chain, was founded by Father Fermin Lasuen in 1971. With he nearby Salinas River to irrigate the dry fields, crops flourished amd lush pastures amply fed both horses and cattle.
But the same Salinas River would be the mission’s nemesis. Recurring floods destroyed adobe walls, and epidemics killed both Indians and Missionaries regardless. By the late 1830’s , the personified its name “loneliness” – with only a handful of faithful remaining within its desolate walls. When resident friar Father Sarria , died in 1835 , the mission was officially closed. Winds , rains an sun reduced “Our Lady of Solitude” to its present state of crumbling walls and windswept beet fields. A modern chapel stands in its place.
From the mission ruins, you can backtrack to highway 101 or take the back roads to Carmel and Monterrey. Drive south up the steep Arroyo Seco Road , following its turn in a westerly direction to Paloma Creek road. With 18 miles through range land land dotted with oaks , eucalyptus , sycamores and pines you will have quite a treat .
Interesting Facts: Volume 1 [/caption] WORLD FACTS Who Made The Marree Man? facts 60 km out of the town of Marree in South Australia, there is the figure of a man etched into the ground that is more than 4 km long. This geoglyph,...
450 Random Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan." Barbie''s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a...
500 More Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan." Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a...
Wireless Security Wireless security is important, the convenience of having the ability of using a laptop anywhere around the house and using multiple desktop computers without having to fish wires through walls and make holes and tripping hazards. I still see wireless...
Visit Italy - The UN Official Guide [/caption] Italy is perhaps Europe’s most illustrious country with a rich history and culture that is so irresistibly enticing to travelers. Between 40 and 50 million foreigners visit Italy each year. Their numbers have increased so dramatically since World War...
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