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Wild Horses, Please Drag Me Away

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Wild horses come in all colors. Photo by Jeremy Martin, U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Horses originated here in North America. Ancestors of today’s horses migrated to Europe, Asia, and Africa but were frozen out here by the last ice age. Then horses came back. The thundering herds of Western yore started up from the escaped steeds of Spanish explorers and soldiers. Permafrost preserved remains of the ancient Yukon horse – the last horse of prehistory to live in North America – and, much to the surprise of researchers, DNA samples established that it was essentially identical, genetically, to both feral and domesticated modern horses.  (more…) Continue Reading →

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Hostel Territory Inland

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Hostel Territory Inland

Many of California’s hostels are situated along the state’s long, long coastline, which seems only natural. Not every state has a coast, let alone so much of it, so of course people want to go coastal here. But the Golden State barely even begins at the Pacific Ocean. There are worthy hostels inland as well. Before we consider them, let’s recap the benefits of hostel-based travel, always the first choice of those who prefer to spend small but live big. Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, Hostels

Ready to Hostel-Hop the Coast?

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cabin coast

Said it before and will surely say it again: Hostels are among the best travel bargains around, for travelers of all ages. And hosteling now, during the off-season, is ideal for Californians. You won’t meet as many international travelers, always an appeal of hostel stays. But you’ll have an easier time getting reservations where and when you want them—with the possible exception of special events such as whale-watching and the annual return of the elephant seals.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, Hostels, North Coast

Making the Most of Hostel Territory

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sunset hostel

Not just “youth hostels” anymore, California’s classy low-rent accommodations welcome travelers of all ages, and certainly anyone with a mild sense of adventure plus a willingness to toss sleeping bags onto bunks. But these days, fresh linens and towels are the rule rather than the exception (no need to BYO bedding anymore) along with the option of couples’ and family rooms. (more…) Continue Reading →

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Cruising Around Craftsman Town

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Sleeping porch, the Greene & Greene Caroline DeForest House. Photo by JLT.

Surprisingly appealing, this self-satisfied city is so sure of its essential worth that it sees little need to primp and pimp for the almighty tourist dollar. Pasadena is low-key about its attractions, which are legion. Southern California boosterism played its part in Pasadena’s past, sure, but these days heavy-handed hype is notably absent. Pasadena simply allowsguests to enjoy its fairly civilized pleasures. And what a pleasure that is. Continue Reading →

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Dreaming of Sunny and Warm

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Dreaming of Sunny and Warm

Road Trip! Sunny Dreams Part 1
No sooner do we stop complaining about the summer’s heat than we start grousing about the chill in the air—minding not so much the nippiness itself as anticipating the toe-numbing cold that comes later, hitched to the memory. Such ingrates, we Californians. Deciding where to go and what to do for some winter fun, that’s easy if you’re a skier or snowboarder. But what if you’re not a winter sports fan? Continue Reading →

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Into the Redwoods

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Big tree

Following Hwy. 1 north from Mendocino County leads to Leggett and the junction with Hwy. 101. The big attraction here is the Drive-Thru-Tree Park, as schlocky as it sounds, but for some reason we humans just love driving through trees. They carved this car-sized hole in the Chandelier Tree in the 1930s, and for a fee you can “drive thru” it, or bike or walk (RVs won’t make it). Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast, Redwoods

The Lost (and Found) Coast

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King Range National Conservation Area. Photo by Bob Wick, US Bureau of Land Management.

Dust off the backpack, get new laces for those hiking boots. This is the place. California’s isolated “Lost Coast”—virtually uninhabited and more remote than any other stretch of coastline in the Lower 48—has been found. Here steep mountains soar like bald eagles, their domes tufted with chaparral, a few redwoods tucked behind the ears, and sink their rock-knuckled, grassy talons into surf that surges onto black-sand beaches. Local people, of course, snort over the very idea that this splendid stretch of unfriendly coast was ever lost in the first place, even if area highways were intentionally routed away from it. They knew it was here. Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast, Redwoods

Into the Woods

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It’s not as if there are no redwoods before you get to Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Stranded stands of coast redwoods can be found along the Central Coast, in protected, wetter areas as far as the southernmost reaches of Big Sur. But here, along the North Coast, is where the tribe truly thrives. They once numbered an estimated two million, but even here the native population of coastal redwood trees has been reduced through logging and agricultural clearing to isolated groves of virgin trees. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast, Redwoods