A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day...11-14-03...California ~ The Golden State

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Please join us as we make a cyber-visit to another great state in this Union of ours. As we present each of our 50 states we also salute the proud FReepers who call their state 'home'.

Over the past few months each "Finest" hostess has profiled her home state and I will be presenting the other states in random order. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your state. I would love to have your input on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC 09-05-03 Tennessee

09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan 11-04-03 South Dakota

Today we are visiting
my neck of the woods ~

California as a state is only a little over 150 years old. It was admitted to the Union on September 9th, 1850, so its history is still visible even now. Here are a few historical events that have set the paradigm for the way that California would be.


The Missions of California (1769-1834)

200 years after the Spanish landed on California, the Spanish king Charles III was eager to set up local supply and trading posts for the Spanish gallons and to convert the native Indians to Christianity. In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra were dispatched to California to establish missions.

Over a period of 60 years, 21 California missions were established, and many Spanish priests were sent there with an intent to bring the local Indians to live at the missions and to cultivate them with Spanish culture and skills. Unfortunately, tensions between the natives and the Spanish gradually increased due to the Spanish's cruel treatment of the Indians, resulting in Indian uprisings and the destruction of one of the missions. Today, many of the old missions have been restored, or rebuilt and serve either as active parish churches or historic ruins.


The road that linked the missions, pueblos, and presidios in early California was called El Camino Real. While typically called "The King's Highway" the term "camino real" is more usually used to denote a crude road, almost a trail, used mostly by wagons. Modern day U.S. Highway 101 follows the general route of the original trail.

Click on the map to see a larger version
with links to the California Mission websites.



The Gold Rush of 1849

On January 24th, 1848, a sawmill carpenter named James Marshall found a gold nugget at Sutter's Sawmill. When the word spread across America in 1849, fortune-seekers from the Midwest and other regions traveled in large numbers up the Sacramento River to the gold fields.



The truth is, very few people made any money out of the gold rush. Some of the fortune seekers went back home with nothing, or with less than they came with, but many of these folks stayed in California. Although the financial return was virtually zero to most people, it was the discovery of gold that hastened California's statehood.





Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

Following the US Pacific Railway Act of 1862 that authorized the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, four wealthy California men, Leland Stanford (Stanford University is named for his son), Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins began to invest in the building of the railroads. Many Americans would not be willing to take on the dangerous and hard jobs, so the Big Four hired many Chinese, and even sending to China for more immigrants. The money that these investors made from the railroads was such a huge fortune, that they became known as the Big Four. From then on, California was linked to the rest of the country.


Central Pacific locomotive No. 1

This is the first engine to be placed in construction service on the western end of the transcontinental railroad. The maiden trip was made at Sacramento, November 11, 1863, after having arrived from the East on a clipper ship via Cape Horn. This locomotive was named in honor of Leland Stanford, then California’s governor, and one of the “Big Four” builders of the Central Pacific.

Ten 'Cool' California Facts

1. Highest elevation in the 48 contiguous states - Mt. Whitney: 14,494 ft. above sea level.

2. Lowest elevation in North America - Death Valley: 282 ft. below sea level.

3. Highest recorded temperature in North America - Death Valley: 134 F on July 10, 1913.

4. Greatest snowfall in a storm in North America - Mt. Shasta: 189 inches on February 13-19, 1959.

5. Greatest depth of snowfall on the ground in North America - Tamarack: 451 inches on March 11, 1911.

6. Tallest living thing in the world (at Redwood National Park): a 367-foot coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

7. Largest living thing in the world (at Sequoia National Park): the General Sherman sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), 272 ft. high, 36.5 ft. diameter above the base, estimated weight of 2,150 tons - That's 4,300,000 pounds!

8. Oldest living thing in the world (in Eastern California): a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) estimated at nearly 5,000 years old.

9. Sky surfing started in 1980 in Southern California when skydivers decided to try something new by jumping with Styrofoam boogie boards.

10. According to the U.S. Ski Association, the forty-niners were the first to hold organized ski races in the United States. Scandinavian immigrants taught the miners how to use the huge wooden "shoes," as the skis were called then, some of which were as much as 13 feet long.

California - a land of sunny beaches, majestic redwood forests, great skiing, wineries ... I hardly know where to begin. Since they say "a picture is worth a thousand words", I will briefly describe the photos below and then let them speak for themselves.

California's beautiful coastline near Big Sur.
Lupine wildflower fields near Lancaster.
The Golden Gate Bridge.

Poppies and Lupine - found throughout California.
Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
Wine grapes from the Napa Valley.

California Quail - the state bird.
Lake Tahoe, bordering Nevada.
Horses on Gorman Ranch.

Mount Shasta in Northern California.
Beautiful Santa Barbara Harbor.
Malibu Beach at sunset.

"Earth laughs in flowers"
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

.....and I believe nowhere more joyously as it does each spring in the California foothills and deserts. The March rains blanket the hills and deserts in breathtaking colors of bright orange poppies and purple-blue lupine.

"The biggest surprise for many first-time visitors to the desert, especially in spring after the winter rains, is the subtle beauty and sheer variety of life that thrives in what is usually an arid environment. The spring landscape can be a palette of poppies, coreopsis, or goldfields, with appealing wildflowers stretching like a living carpet from underfoot to the horizon."

Learn more about the California desert HERE
Antelope Valley wildflower photos HERE

A Finest salute to our California FReepers who have worked and continue to work diligently to turn the tide of liberalism in our beautiful state. Your efforts give us hope that someday we may be able to bring sanity back to our government and reclaim our state.

Thank you to the following websites for facts and graphics:

A virtual Tour of the California Missions
San Diego Biographies - Father Serra
Driving the Last Spike
California State Symbols



Have a great FRiday
and a wonderful weekend!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 11-10-03 Military Monday 11-11-03 A Tribute to Our Veterans Past and Present 11-12-03 Sapelo Island, GA Lighthouse 11-13-03 John's Two Cents ~ JohnHuang2

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5)If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45MAN danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[Diver Dave]

thanks for the link, Mayor. I share with you and many others the emotions you've expressed.

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Meg! Yes, I remember seeing the flower fields near Lompoc years ago. Just beautiful!

I found these pictures of the flower fields on google.....

Thank you for coming along on our Finest tour of CA, MEG. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Okay, now your link works.

I just took the virtual tour. Very interesting. I wouldn't mind visiting there next time I am down in LA.

[MEG33]

Thank you for finding the pictures!It was happenstance that I was in the area and I loved all those flowers!Another one of the reasons to see California.

[MeekOneGOP]

Meekie....I FINALLY GOT MY PHOTO DELUX....I know you freepmailed me a link to your first lesson....Don't have time to see if it is still there...Any chance of re-freepmailing it?? Can't wait to catch up to you and Aqua!

You bet ! You have Freep mail !! ...

[Temple Owl]

I remember those Burpee seed gardens well. My late brother-in-law was the commanding officer of the military prison in Lompoc back in the '50s and I often think of the beautiful area in which it was located. We used to go fishing in the Pacific not far from there too. It is a really neat place.

[Mama_Bear]

We used to go fishing in the Pacific not far from there too. It is a really neat place.

Yes, it is. And I appreciate when people come to the thread and share their personal experiences and feelings about the states I do.

Thanks so much, Temple Owl. Have a pleasant evening.

[Mama_Bear]

Dinnertime here. I will be back later to say good night.

If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Dansangel; Dutchess; Mama_Bear; Aquamarine; FreeTheHostages, and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation’s leaders, military personnel, and their families and friends.

[Mama_Bear]

Though you all might like a ping to the Tribute to California thread. :-)

PING!

[GailA]

LOL

[WVNan]

In all fairness MB, you should do two days for Calif. and Texas because of their size. There really is too much to present in one thread. Fine job you did on this one though.

[deadhead]

Good Night All

Hi Nan :-)

[WVNan]

Blow what whistle? Why? WhatdidIdothistime? Don't go blowing no whistles on me, cause I just got here. I ain't did nothin' to nobody.......yet.

[Calpernia]

CLICK!

[MEG33]

Funny!

[Calpernia]

CLICK!

California Quail Callipepla californica

Perched on a tree or a fence post, the male California Quail claims his territory by cackling and posturing. The entire family takes to trees for roosting as well as for safety. After the breeding season, these birds become gregarious, gathering in large coveys and often visiting city parks, gardens, and yards. This is the quail with the "topknot" featured in the animated films of Walt Disney.

Description 9-11" (23-28 cm). A stocky, mainly gray quail with a curved black head plume. Similar to Gambel's Quail, but crown brown, not chestnut; forehead buff, not black; and belly scaled, lacking black patch in center. Female less boldly marked than male.

Habitat Brushy chaparral foothills and live-oak canyons; also adjacent desert and suburbs.

Nesting 12-16 cream- or buff-colored eggs, blotched and dotted with brown, in a shallow depression lined with grass.

Range Originally resident from southern Oregon south to Baja California. Introduced to Pacific Northwest, Idaho, and other inland states.

[MEG33]

How beautiful,Calpernia!Thanks for posting this.

[Mama_Bear]

We have come to expect (and appreciate) your interesting bird song posts, but where do you find some of these other wonderful sound files, like the steam engine? Google, I suppose. Your links to these sound files add so much to the thread. Thank you.

((((((((Calpernia)))))))))

[Calpernia]

Hi Meg!!! {{{hug}}}!

Another place of Interest in California! I have been here!

In 1865, George Hearst, a wealthy miner, purchased 40,000-acres of ranchland that included the Mexican Ranchos of Piedras Blancas, San Simeon and Santa Rosa. In 1919, his only son, William Randolph Hearst, inherited the land from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. By then the ranch had grown to encompass 250,000 acres.

Originally known as "Camp Hill," its wilderness offered a place for family members and friends to "rough it" on camping trips. Despite elaborate arrangements with separate sleeping and dining tents, Hearst envisioned more comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: "Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something"

Hearst and Morgan's collaboration was destined to become one of the world's greatest showplaces. As they were planning and constructing his dream home, Hearst renamed the rocky perch from which it rose "La Cuesta Encantada" - The Enchanted Hill. By 1947, Hearst and Morgan had created an estate of 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways.

The estate's magnificent main house, "Casa Grande," and three guest houses are of Mediterranean Revival style, while the imposing towers of Casa Grande were inspired by a Spanish cathedral. The blending of the architectural style with the surrounding land, and Hearst's superb European and Mediterranean art collection, was so seamless that world-renowned architectural historian, Lord John Julius Norwich, was moved to say that "Hearst Castle is a palace in every sense of the word."

[Calpernia]

Gotta love Google! Matter of fact, I found a few things that bother me there too while researching an interesting tale on NJ.

I might freep mail you on it to see if I'm full of tin foil or not.