Huell visits two historic Gold Rush towns with interesting names in Yuba County. Timbuctoo was named after the faraway African city. Smartsville now has its original name after the reversal of a 1909 mandate changed the name to Smartville.
Huell goes to two places he's wanted to visit for years. First is the restored Upside Down House on Highway 395 in the town of Lee Vining. Next is the Livermore Fire Department to see a light bulb that's been burning nonstop for 107 years.
Huell visits two Hmong farms in Fresno County that are growing some of the most interesting and unusual produce in California: a small family farm and the largest Hmong farm in the county.
Huell hikes from Saddlebag Lake to Conness Lakes high in the Eastern Sierra Nevada near Tioga Pass to view the Conness Glacier in a stunning part of the Inyo National Forest.
In a one-hour special episode, Huell looks back at previous visits to two unusual desert locales near the Salton Sea: geothermal mud pots and Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain. He then revisits Leonard to see how his mountain has grown.
Huell spends a day at the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival getting a backstage tour, meeting attendees, and enjoying the art and music. He later returns to the Empire Polo Club to learn what happens there the rest of the year.
Huell visits with the Tate family at Castaic Lake and gets the ride of his life in their amphibious car. Terry Tate's parents bought their Amphicar in 1967 so they could have both a car and a boat to tow behind their motorhome.
Point Fermin Lighthouse was built in 1874. The Navy converted it to a lookout in World War II and removed the Fresnel lens. Huell traces the history of the lens, which changed hands many times but is now back at the restored lighthouse.
Huell sails aboard the state's official tall ship, the Californian to see just how hard it was for our early settlers to get here. He also enjoys some sea shanties.
Huell gets a personal tour of the Hearst Castle grounds to see the beautiful trees, flowers, walkways, statues, fountains, pool and gardens, all elements of the landscape architecture collaboratively designed by Julia Morgan and WR Hearst.
Finished in 1874, the California State Capitol is a neoclassical gem. As with any building of this size, there are lots of steps. Some are obvious, such as those to the entrance, but some are hidden, and some are very scary to climb.
Huell has the most exciting adventure of his lifetime, skydiving with the world-famous U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights, at the Yuma Proving Ground in the year of their 50th anniversary.
Huell visits two "replicas" of the Golden Gate Bridge: the walkway to the Point Bonita Lighthouse at the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Guy West Bridge at Sacramento State University.
Huell spends the day with the biologists who live on the Farallon Islands 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco. Now protected as the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, these islands are rich with flora, fauna, and human history.
Situated 30 miles east of Indio, this popular stop for travelers and truckers is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Huell spends the day with the people who live and work in this desert outpost as they enjoy this milestone.
Huell gets a behind the scenes tour and takes the swim of a lifetime in the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle. One of the most spectacular pools in the world, it is fed by spring water and surrounded by ancient Roman-style columns and statues.
Huell learns how jojoba seeds are harvested and processed into oil at 10-acre LaRonna farm near Desert Center in Riverside County's Chuckwalla Valley. Jojoba oil is an alternative to sperm whale oil that is used in cosmetics or as biofuel.
Huell tours the 80,000-acre Hearst Ranch, owned by the family since 1865. This working cattle ranch surrounding the famous Castle specializes in free-range, grass-fed beef raised using humane, all-natural, sustainable agriculture methods.
Huell travels to the mountains above Fresno to tour "Big Creek"' which was America's first large-scale integrated hydroelectric project, begun in 1911.
