Old-Fashioned Harvest

The Kings Highway - or El Camino Real has long been a part of California's rich history. From its humble beginnings as a dusty trail, it quickly became California's first "super highway" connecting all 21 Missions.

Join Huell Howser as he learns first hand about the road and its famous bells from author and historian Max Kurillo. Huell also joins up with Cal Trans as they install a new roadside bell, and even recreates a walk with a Padre and burro along an original dirt section of El Camino Real at La Purisima Mission in Lompoc.

 

 

 

It began back in 1941 when it was known as Camp Cooke and served as a U.S. Army training facility for tanks and infantry troops. With the advent of the missile age in the 1950s, the land was transferred to the U.S Air Force for use as a missile training base. The first missile was launched from this facility in 1958 and since then almost 2,000 missiles and space boosters have followed suit.

Huell finds out what's ticking at a watch convention in Pasadena.

Napa valley has become one of California's main tourist attractions. Thousands of people flock to the area for wine tasting and vineyard tours every year. What most people don't realize is that California's rich wine history got it's start in southern California. In this grape filled adventure, Huell travels to one of the oldest winery's in California. The Guasti family established their winery in 1904 and at one time had 4000 acres of grapes in the Rancho Cucamonga area. A virtual town was built to house the employees and their families.

In this episode, Huell visits San Miguel Island, with a group of history buffs who recreate the 1542 landing of Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo -- the first European explorer of the California Coast. Complete with authentic costumes, boats, and the fact that its done on the deserted white sandy beaches, this re-enactment really does take you back in time. Huell is also joined by Nation Park Rangers, and a woman who actually lived on the island with her parents during the 1930's and 40's.

 

 

 

 

 

Travel to Downieville, nestled high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where gold miners organized the first ski races in the country; meet the staff on the Mountain Messenger, the state's oldest weekly newspaper; and watch a demonstration of the long, heavy wooden skis worn by the gold miners in the mid-1800s.

Huell visits this unique house which was built on a 20 by 20 square foot lot in the heart of Old Town Santa Barbara.

The City of Temecula is nestled in a lush valley about 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Southwest Riverside County, just north of the San Diego County line. Besides a thriving wine industry, significant mission history and the distinction of being on the Butterfield Stage route, Temecula was also home to Erle Stanley Gardner.

Huell travels to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake to see the largest concentration of rock art in the Western Hemisphere. The small canyon houses up to 6,000 images. Although an accurate dating technique is still being sought, certain petroglyphs are thought to be 16,000 years old, while others were made as recently as 1800. This rock art is so important to our cultural heritage and our knowledge of the desert's past that the sites were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1964.

 

 

 

 

 

It's thought of as one of the bleakest and most desolate places in the world, but as Huell discovers, Death Valley can be beautiful. Contrary to its name, Death Valley is host to a wide variety of life- from prehistoric pupfish to stunning miniature wildflowers and much more!

Huell visits Yosemite's high country for a walk through spectacular Tuolumne Meadows.

Huell Howser visits two locations to learn about California's Ice Age history. At the George C. Page Museum in Los Angeles and at Sonoma Coast State Beach the Columbian Mammoths that once roamed our state come to life.

In this muddy adventure, Huell travels to some very remote areas to take an up close and personal look at "mudpots". Mudpots only occur three places in the US and one of them is right here in California. Our first stop is the Imperial Wildlife Area. Huell and a member of the Fish and Game take a look at huge mounds of bubbling, oozing, popping and exploding mudpots. This is a public are that is open to mud lovers one and all. Next its off to some privately owned land which has some extraordinary mudpots.

Huell visits a massive archeological site with millions of fossils dating from the Miocene Epoch, 15 million years ago. Kern County was once at the bottom of a huge sea filled with massive prehistoric sharks called megladons which were as big as city busses and fed on whales. Sharktooth Hill is literally covered with fossilized shark teeth. Huell also visits the Buena Vista Museum, which houses amazing archeological finds recovered from Sharktooth Hill.

Huell travels to the Eastern Sierra's in search of a good place to have a soak. Hot Creek Geological Site is nestled in the Inyo National Forest close to the town of Mammoth Lakes. We take a ride out to the site with Debbie Nelson who is a Recreation Specialist for the forest. Huell gets a first hand look at this beautiful spot with water boiling up from the ground which mixes with the cool water of Hot Creek and makes for some very nice swimming. We'll even meet some die-hard soakers who come from all over California to enjoy the therapeutic water.

Clear Lake is located at the base of fabled Mt. Konocti and is California's largest natural lake. Much of the terrain around the 4,200 foot Mt. Konocti was formed by lava flows and folding of the earth's crust. The lake has a rich history; evidence of human habitation dates back at least ten thousand years. More than 120,000 visitors each year enjoy picnicking, boating, camping and nature walks.

In this one-hour episode, Huell discovers the rich history behind the legendary USC Trojan mascot, and meets the people who have loved and cared for this special horse over the years.

For years Huell has been getting letters telling him he should do a show about vernal pools. Well, now he has. Just a short drive from Sacramento on an old military base, Huell meets up with a couple of experts and a bunch of school kids all eager to explore the flora and fauna that live in and around these wonderful, natural pools. As they go from pool to pool, Huell learns that even if they are only a few acres apart, they can be totally different worlds.