Back in the 40's and 50's, Amboy California was a hot spot on Route 66. But once Interstate 40 passed it by, the decline was inevitable. The 2000 census reported Amboy's population at four. There have been attempts to revive it but it remains more or less a ghost town and a melancholy reminder of all the souls who headed west on Route 66 so many years ago to seek fun and fortune in the Golden State.

The Old Sacramento Historic District lies between the Sacramento River and the I-5 freeway in downtown Sacramento. It’s a State Historic Park and a National Historic Landmark District. The district has preserved 19th century buildings and other attractions of historic importance to Gold Rush era California.

Railroad history and the Pony Express are Old Sacramento’s main focus, and rightly so. The “Big Four” of the Central Pacific railroad – Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins Jr. and Charles Crocker – built their hardware business in Sacramento and their original shops and buildings are part of the historic district. “Nothing Like It in the World” by Stephen Ambrose is a good, readable history of the transcontinental railroad project.

The mythic status of the Pony Express belies its brief (18 months from start to finish) existence on the western frontier. It began in St. Joseph, Missouri, and ended in Sacramento at the B.F. Hastings Building. Today the building houses a Wells Fargo museum and a brief history of the Pony Express.

The California Railroad Museum is definitely worth a visit, even for people who aren’t train buffs.

Solvang (Danish for "sunny fields") is beautifully situated in the Santa Ynez valley of Santa Barbara county, California. It was founded by Danish immigrants in the early 20th century.

According to some estimates, between 1850 and 1930 as many as one in ten Danes emigrated, most coming to the United States. In 1906, a group of these immigrants began working to create a new Danish colony on the west coast. In 1910 they formed the Danish-American Colony Company in San Francisco and on January 23, 1911, the town of Solvang was founded on 9,000 acres of land in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Initially, most of Solvang's buildings were built in the same style as others in the area. But after World War II, interest grew in the concept of a "Danish Village". In the mid-40’s older buildings were given a new look, adding facades in so-called "Danish Provincial" style, creating a Danish atmosphere in the town center.

Solvang is a major California tourist attraction thanks in part to its Danish Provincial architectural remake. Tourism began in earnest following a 1947 feature article in the Saturday Evening Post and today over one million visitors annually enjoy the Danish windmills, the half-timbered houses, and the many restaurants and pastry shops specializing in Danish cuisine. (Wikipedia)

The wooden "bugs" are the creation of David Rogers. His big bugs have exhibited at numerous botanical gardens, including this display at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California.

The brightly colored "bugs" are the creation of LT Mustardseed of Los Angeles. They're constructed of mostly recycled materials.

Enjoy!

Images of Paradise Valley, Montana, including Emigrant and Livingston, and the northern end of Yellowstone National Park.

Between Gardiner and Livingston Montana, the Yellowstone River passes through Paradise Valley. Bordered on the east by the Absaroka Mountains and by the Gallatin Mountains on the west, it offers fantastic fly fishing, breathtaking views and a number of natural hot springs, including Chico Hot Springs near the town of Emigrant.

Emigrant was established in 1864. Three emigrants, who came to Montana on the Bozeman Trail, arrived and found men already hard at work mining the creek. The new arrivals struck pay dirt high up the side of Emigrant Peak. The strike caused a stampede that drew several hundred miners and a few women to this remote area deep in Crow Indian country. The miners worked the gravel with some success for several weeks before cold weather drove them down to Yellowstone City, near the mouth of Emigrant Gulch. By 1866, most of the miners drifted away because of hostile Indians and dwindling placer gold. The Emigrant Gulch strike was not a fabulous one, but snug stakes rewarded many of the pioneers for their energy and hardships.

There’s a lovely old church in Emigrant, St. John’s Episcopal. The first Episcopal service held in Emigrant was in 1897 at the Emigrant Hall until the church was built in 1898 from money earned by basket socials and local contributors.

Today the area is a destination for fishermen, hunters and those who just love the spectacular landscape.

The Lost Coast is a mostly natural and development-free area of the Northern California coast in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties. It was named the "Lost Coast" after the area experienced depopulation in the 1930s. The steepness and related geo-technical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for state highway or county road builders to establish routes through the area, leaving it the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast. Without any major highways, communities in the Lost Coast region such as Petrolia, Shelter Cove, and Whitethorn remain secluded from the rest of California. (Wikipedia)

Giant redwood trees thrive along the Lost Coast, from northern California to southwestern Oregon. Once logged almost to extinction, the ancient groves are the last of these magnificent living things. They can easily reach 300 feet tall and over 1000 years old. Their thick, spongy bark resists fire and insect damage and they have no known killing diseases.

Towns along the Lost Coast are relatively few but there are some wonderful spots that are well worth a side trip. Trinidad is a charming example - light houses, rugged coastal views, a world apart from SoCal.

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded September 8, 1771. It is the fourth of twenty one missions of Alta California. Its patron saint is Gabriel, Holy Prince of Archangles.

It was located on fertile lands that helped make it one of the wealthiest and most productive missions. Crops included wheat, corn, beans and the largest winery in California. Its economic success was a catalyst for the development of the pueblo that ultimately grew into modern Los Angeles.

The architecture of Mission San Gabriel is unique, with narrow windows and Moorish-style exterior columns inspired by a cathedral and former mosque in Córdoba, Spain. The construction was completed in 1805. Much of the church was damaged in the earthquake of 1812, including the collapse of the original bell wall. The present six-bell espadańa was added during restoration work in 1827. The oldest bells were cast in Mexico City and date to 1795 The largest bell weighs around one ton and dates from 1830.

Its congregation never abandoned the mission in spite of secularization by the Mexican government in 1834. The pulpit, main altar and its screens and statues are all original. The copper baptismal font from 1771 is still being used today. The mission is an active parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and continues its almost 250 year legacy of caring for souls of the San Gabriel Valley.

The place we currently call home. Starting in 1981 we've lived in Claremont three times, on and off, for almost ten years.The 2010 population was 34,926. In July 2007, the city was rated by Money magazine as the fifth best place to live in the United States, and was the highest rated California city on the list.

It's known primarily for its colleges (a total of seven, plus a school of theology) and its magnificent trees. There is a beautiful old stand of American Elm along Indian Hill Boulevard that has been untouched by Dutch Elm disease.

SoCal is blooming in spite of our drought. Here are some examples taken around our town of Claremont and at the LA County Arboretum.

What can I say. This place is amazing and my photos don't come anywhere close to conveying its glory. Go there, see, and be transformed!

Great Sand Dunes National Park is located about 240 miles southwest of Denver, in the south central part of Colorado. It lies in the San Luis Valley, adjacent to the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

The park has the highest sand dunes in North America - the tallest reaching 750 feet. The San Luis Valley was created by uplifting of the Sangre de Cristo Range to the east and the creation of the San Juan Mountains to the west through extended volcanic activity. A huge lake once covered the valley floor and, as it dried up, large deposits of sand and silt were left behind.

The dunes were formed over tens of thousands of years by winds blowing across this dry lake bed. The unique geography of the area creates prevailing southwesterly winds that pile the sand up against the mountains, and opposing winds during mountain storms which blow the sand in the opposite direction. These opposing winds create the unusually high dune fields. They also provide stability to the dunes, which have changed little in size and scope over many thousands of years.

The park is definitely off the beaten path. The closest towns are Blanca and Alamosa, about thirty miles distant. And they’re both very small. We visited in early October and there were very few park visitors. By late October, most of the services close for the season.

Silence is phenomenal here. Around sundown, when even the few visitors who were there were tucking in for the night, the only sound was the wind. No traffic, no jets, no mechanical or human voices for miles. Even the birds were silent. Come here to experience solitude.

And the night sky is a sight to behold. There is no artificial light pollution because there are no towns near the park. The closest town is Blanca and it's small. The stars and the Milky Way are revealed as they are in few other locations in the U.S. I can remember skies like this when I was growing up, but that was a long time ago! If you're a star gazer, this is the place to be, especially late in the season when the temperatures are quite cool and the air is exceptionally clear.