memorable places inscribed in California history and literature

Category California Literature

Writing Central Valley Wildflowers

Driving Interstate 5 through the Central Valley can be a bleak experience, especially during late summer. When I took the trip one day last August, the eastern slope of the Diablo Range hills wore the depressing brown of worn out… Continue Reading →

Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe’s The Shirley Letters

In late July 2021, the fast-moving Dixie fire scorched the California Gold Rush settlement of Rich Bar, approximately 120 miles northeast of Sacramento. The fire ultimately consumed almost one million acres, mostly in Plumas National Forest, earning the rather shameful… Continue Reading →

Some Literary Raptors of California

We live in Northern Monterey County, near California’s Central Coast region. Our back yard perches on the edge of a steep slope, chaparral mostly and dotted with coast live oaks, the slope dropping sharply to a seasonal streambed. Directly across,… Continue Reading →

Mary Austin’s The Land of Little Rain

If you ever travel Highway 395 beneath the rugged eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, sooner or later you’ll likely drive through the little town of Independence, California. The town doesn’t seem like much, but the surrounding view is stunning,… Continue Reading →

George R. Stewart’s Storm

On December 28, 2021, the author of the Area Forecast Discussion for the Reno office of the National Weather Service sounded positively giddy that a new record for December snowfall in the Sierra had been set: “New December all-time record for snowfall… Continue Reading →

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