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NITT WITT RIDGE: CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COAST FOLK ART CASTLE
In San Luis Obispo’s North Coast, reclusive artist Arthur “Art” Harold Beal spent 50 years creating his folk art “castle on the hill.” Hearst Castle isn’t the only unique landmark sitting along this...
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CHUTES & LADDERS: HIKING LADDER CANYON IN MECCA HILLS, CA
Located in the Mecca Hills Wilderness near the Salton Sea, this popular 5-mile loop hike through painted canyons, ancient faults, and deep slots requires rock scrambling, ladder climbing, and some...
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MISSION SANTA YSABEL CEMETERY
Located on a hillside in the small town of Santa Ysabel, this 19th century church, museum and cemetery along Highway 79 reveals a more native side to California Mission history. I first came upon...
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GOLD TO GHOST: RANDSBURG, CA
You’ll find lots of history and charm in this Mojave Desert living ghost town. Randsburg sits just off of Highway 395 on a plateau at 3,500 feet. It’s just one of several ghost towns that dot this...
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CERRO GORDO GHOST TOWN: THE MINE THAT BUILT LA
The “Fat Hill” in the Inyo Mountains that helped build Los Angeles. You’ll find lots of places around Owens Valley that helped Los Angeles grow into the metropolis that it is today, including this...
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TALC CITY HILLS: A DVNP ADJACENT OFF ROAD ADVENTURE
Take an off road adventure through the white powdery hills that once produced nearly all the steatite grade talc in the United States. Located 5.7 miles northwest of Darwin, CA, this fun little...
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A VIKING RISES IN THE DESERT: A PHOTO ESSAY
A Viking is once again rising at this former talc mine and ghost camp in Death Valley California. The Viking Mine is located in between Keeler and Darwin, 1.8 miles north off of highway 190 and less...
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MITCHELL CAVERNS: PROVIDENCE MOUNTAINS SRA
Hiking the trails and exploring the limestone caverns in one of California’s most rugged and remote state parks. I’ve been meaning to explore Mitchell Caverns for quite some time but never got around...
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WIND WOLVES PRESERVE: HIKING THE WEST COAST’S LARGEST NONPROFIT NATURE PRESERVE
Rolling grasslands, wildflowers, wetlands, oak savannas, and pinyon forests converge to create one of the most uniquely diversified nature preserves in California. Wind Wolves Preserve is located...
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THE VICTORIAN HILLSIDE CEMETERIES WHERE VIRGINIA CITY’S DEAD REST IN PEACE
The Silver Terrace Cemeteries memorialize the diverse laborers who worked the Comstock and made Virginia City a boom town. Virginia City sprang up as a boomtown with the 1859 discovery of the Comstock...
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