Water Car

When most people think of Shasta Lake, they imagine themselves on a houseboat enjoying California's largest manmade reservoir. With 365 miles of shoreline it is a boaters paradise. What most people don't think about is the massive structure that is responsible for holding back the water that creates Shasta Lake. We're talking about Shasta Dam which, is a perfect example of "California's Gold". Construction of the dam started in 1938 and ended in 1945. It's 602 feet high, 883 feet thick at the bottom, 30 feet thick at the top, and 3,460 feet long.

Located in beautiful Old Sacramento and regarded as one of North America’s finest and most visited railroad museums, The California State Railroad Museum is also part of the California State Park System. Huell explores the exhibits and rides beautifully restored railroad cars and locomotives that illustrate a railroad history unique to California and the West.

Huell gets a close look at this great Dept. of Water & Power project, officially called the Toyon Tanks. The largest of their type in the world, each tank holds 30 million gallons, and provides water for 250, 000 people each. But when the project is over, you won’t even know they’re there as they will be buried under a new hillside park.

Huell learns the full history, from 1923 till now, from the people who work to preserve this L.A. icon.

The largest island in San Francisco Bay is a heavenly sight to behold with its profusion of flora and fauna. But Angel Island also has a varied military history, including the detention of Chinese immigrants from 1910-1940. The episode examines this chapter of the island's past.

Before Disneyland, Walt Disney's enthusiasm for realistic model trains had evolved into an elaborate backyard live steam railroad. At the heart of his railroad was a quaint red barn, which was his center of operations. Now at home in Griffith Park in Los Angles, the barn is a gem in the collection of the Los Angeles Live Steamers, an organization of train enthusiasts dedicated to educating people in railroad history and lore, and to further the avocation of live steam, gas-mechanical and electronic railroad technology.

Huell sets off from where the Sacramento and American River meet on a bike ride along the beautiful 23-mile American River Parkway. 

America's only Nobel Prize winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill, chose to live in the hills above Danville, California at the height of his writing career. Isolated from the world and within the walls of his home called Tao (dow) House, O'Neill wrote his final and most memorable plays, "The Iceman Cometh," "A Moon for the Misbegotten" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night." Today the home and grounds are a National Park.

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.

Will Rogers has got to be one of the all-time great American characters. Often called the "Cowboy Philosopher," he kept America laughing through some of its toughest years. Will was a radio commentator, newspaper columnist and motion picture star. In 1922, Will bought property above Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades and built a summer cottage. The family loved the place so much that Will had a proper ranch built and the family moved there in 1928. In 1944, after the death of Mrs. Rogers, the property became Will Rogers State Historic Park and is now a well loved tourist destination.

Huell attends an annual holiday concert of traditional songs performed by hundreds of tubas.

Tuba Christmas was conceived in 1974 as a tribute to the late artist/teacher William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day in 1902. The first Tuba Christmas was conducted by the late Paul Lavalle in New York City, with music arranged by American composer Alec Wilder, who ironically died on Christmas Eve in 1980. Tuba Christmas concerts are held each year in many cities across the United States and various locations worldwide.

Albert Ecke immigrated from Germany to Southern California in 1902 and opened a roadside stall selling fruits and vegetables. By the 1920s, his son Paul started selling some of the wild poinsettia plants that grew in the hills above their stall. From these small beginnings, it is now estimated that over 90% of all flowering poinsettias get their start at the Paul Ecke Ranch. Join Huell and Luis as they meet Paul, Paul Jr. & Paul III, who give them a tour of this amazing and brightly colored piece of California's Christmas Gold.

Upland was hard hit by the 2003 wildfires. That following holiday season, this tight-knit community joined together to recreate a brilliantly lit star on a hilltop which shined for many years, but was destroyed by the fires. It is again a sign of hope and renewal for everyone who sees it.

Huell gets a tour of the Santa Barbara ranch home of President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, who named it Rancho del Cielo. Huell hears stories about the historic events that took place there, as well as more personal stories from a former secret service agent assigned to President Reagan.

Coit Tower was built on top of Telegraph Hill in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco; Lillie bequeathed one-third of her estate to the City of San Francisco "to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved".

Huell spends the day exploring all aspects of this San Francisco landmark, including the beautiful murals that adorn the lobby with the descendants of one of the original artists.

Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps at which Japanese American citizens were interned during World War II. It is located at the foot of the imposing Sierra Nevadas in the Owens Valley. Huell Howser is joined by experts and internees to learn about the camp's complex history. And although little remains of the camp itself, Huell discovers a permanent reminder of the internees' detention -- their names etched in concrete.

Following the coastal "Redwood Route" as it has since 1885, the Skunk Train takes Huell on an inspiring ride through ageless redwoods and over spectacular mountains. It began as a logging train transporting valuable lumber to the Mendocino Coast, and now provides passengers a glimpse of history and scenic beauty.

Travel with Huell to Sequoia National Forest to visit historic Buck Rock Fire Lookout. Established in the early 1900s, Buck Rock Lookout was one of the first fire detection locations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The current lookout building, constructed in 1923, is historically significant as a representation of the earliest live-in towers in California. Huell climbs 172 stairs to an elevation of 8, 500 feet to interview the woman who currently staffs the lookout through the fire season, and to learn what it's like to live perched on the edge of a cliff!

Huell revisits the California Zephyr, a magnificent train which traveled between Chicago and Oakland from 1949 to 1970. Huell climbs aboard one of the original restored silver "Vista-Dome" cars and travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in the state, heading west from Lake Tahoe. Huell shares the ride with a group of people who worked on and rode the original Zephyr.

California's most recognized landmark takes center stage in an episode which focuses on its history (including rare footage of its construction) its beauty, and the incredible maintenance work that goes on daily to keep this towering structure in mint condition.

Jutting out into the Pacific Ocean from the spectacular Big Sur Coast, the Point Sur Lightstation stands as a silent sentinel to a bygone era. Point Sur, a National Historic Landmark, is the only complete turn-of-the-century lightstation open the public in California. From 1889 until 1974, families lived and worked in the buildings atop Pt. Sur. The families are gone but the unique stone lighthouse still guides ships with its light. Many ships perished on the rocks off Pt.

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.

Pan for gold, sing pioneer songs and eat "bangers" at the annual Bidwell Bar Day celebration at Lake Oroville in Butte County. Also visit the pride of Sonora: "The Red Church," a picturesque landmark in the center of town; and discover an unusual source of pride at the unique Annual Poison Oak show in Columbia, a restored gold mining town in Tuolumne County.

Walter Scott is one of the great characters of California history, and Huell travels to Death Valley to learn what his legacy is all about. Huell tours the amazing castle that now bears Scotty's name and walks through the dry desert that Scotty loved so much. Get an intimate portrait of this California original from those who knew and loved him.

At the Yosemite Pioneer History Center, Huell discovers what it was like to visit Yosemite, including the historic Wawona Hotel, in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Huell looks beneath the surface of our state. First he goes to the prehistoric La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles, where dinosaurs and other early denizens of California have been preserved in tar for thousands of years. Next, he visits California's version of Plymouth Rock-the Presidio of San Diego-and watches as an excavation uncovers all sorts of amazing relics from this, the first European settlement in California.

Discover the colorful history of the Beach Boardwalk, the last remaining oceanside amusement park in the West Coast; meet the pioneers of surfing and the inventor of the wet suit, and enjoy salt water taffy and other sweet treats at Marini's, a family-run business for over four generations.

Many "Okies" fled the Dust Bowl in their jalopies with signs reading "California or Bust." Out of options, they often ended up at the "Weedpatch camp," a federal labor and living camp for migrant workers in Kern County. Huell visits this historic camp, later immortalized in John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath," and talks with both the "Okies" who grew up there and the Latinos who now call it home.

Celebrate train travel at Railfair '91 at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and ride the rails at Railtown State Historic Park in Jamestown in the scenic Mother Lode foothill country.

Californians have done everything imaginable to keep cool in their blistering deserts. Join Huell as we look at two ways of cooling off: first, in the amazing old "desert submarines" of Indio County, then at an honest-to-goodness oasis near Palm Springs.

Founded in December of 1904 by George Ellery Hale, Mount Wilson Observatory quickly rose to dominate astronomy worldwide. The Observatory hosts several of the most technologically advanced facilities in the world and is home to the 100-inch Hooker telescope. In this one-hour special, Huell spends the day at this magnificent location that's not only historic, but plays an important role in California's scientific research.

Hike to the world's tallest tree in Redwood National Park with a group of fifth graders from a nearby school; admire fields ablaze with golden color of California's official state flower, the Golden Poppy, at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster; and climb to the top of magnificent Morro Rock for a beautiful view of Morro Bay.

Trace the lives of two men whose unique dreams in the early part of the century helped them to create two of our state's most amazing buried treasures. First, we visit the Underground Gardens of Baldasare Forestiere, an incredible labyrinth of tunnels, courtyards and vines. Next, we visit the Burro Schmidt Tunnel, where for 50 years an early pioneer of the Mojave dug a 2,000 foot tunnel through a mountain.

Join in the centennial celebration of the arrival of the first steam train to this isolated mid-coastal town. As part of the celebrations, the town's citizens have recreated the events exactly as they happened a century before. Huell passes through the historic tunnels and tressels in a period steam engine as he descends into this festive town.

Travel to the sand dunes of El Centro where portions of a wooden plank road, which once stretched from Imperial County to Yuma, Arizona have been preserved; and attend a reunion at Camp Lockett, which brings together members of the last mounted unit in the Army.

Explore two of California's most interesting State Parks: the Providence Mountain State Recreation Area, located in the Eastern Mojave Desert, to see the famous Mitchell Caverns Nature Reserve; and the Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, in the Sierra Nevadas, where we see a Miwok Indians legacy in a vast rock covered with thousands of grinding pits.