Celebrate nature in the Golden State

From Margot Keller, Lima

California, the Golden State, has more than Hollywood and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It has more to entice tourists than earthquakes and radical groupies. It has waterfalls, poppy fields, forests, orange groves and fine highways.

Driving the length of California during Easter week was a beautiful experience. Entering California from the southeast on Interstate 10, the Chocolate Mountains were on our left. The Joshua Tree National Park was on the right. The Mojave Desert was hot, flat and dreary looking. The few residents along the highway appeared poor and plain.

Then we saw changes as we passed Palm Springs and Palm Desert; we skirted Los Angeles, seeing the palm trees, Santa Anita Racetrack and cousins in Arcadia. The next morning we viewed the joggers surrounding the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in the perfect spring weather.

Our driving then went from the six lanes of traffic each direction to side roads and small towns in the Sequoia Canyon. We stopped at the Sherman Tree parking area and took the five-minute uphill walk to see the giant, "The General Sherman." As it was about 6,000 feet above sea level, it seemed freezing where the snow was barely melting, especially after the 70-degree weather earlier in the day.

Although we could not see Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, we did marvel at the earth's largest tree. "The General Sherman" was described by John Muir as "Most of the Sierra trees die of disease ... but nothing hurts the Big Tree. Barring accidents it seems to be immortal." "The General Sherman" is estimated to be 2,200 years old. Its largest branch is about 7 feet in diameter. Every year it grows enough new wood to make a 60-foot tree of usual proportions.

One of the most interesting small towns was Terra Bella, Calif., where there were many orange groves. We came upon a double-long trailer truck with shelves of huge open containers of fresh oranges, some bouncing out on the road. Out of curiosity, we followed the truck to see where it was going. It went into Terra Bella, right to the Sunkist Plant. Next door to it was a pistachio plant where they roast the nuts. Garden Harvest Farms had a large store selling many California products. We bought oranges and almonds.

After stopping at another roadside fruit stand where we sampled oranges, white grapefruit and pomelos, we bought a large bag of oranges for just $3. Then John Bastian and I motored through more of the majestic Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The roads were curvy. We went from about sea level to 7,000 feet where there was snow on the ground once more. That night we went back and stayed in Fresno.

So many flowers and flowering shrubs were blooming that one would smell them while breathing the fresh air. Near some cities, the smog was heavy. Sunglasses were a must every day.

Oakhurst was at the mouth of beautiful Yosemite National Park. We stopped at an antique shop in Oakhurst. We then entered the south entrance of Yosemite. One of the highlights was the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. I was taking a picture of the train when John noticed that it was made by Lima Locomotive Works. It was a vintage Shay engine on the narrow gauge tracks. The brakeman assured us that the engine was made in Lima, Ohio.

Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite was called "Spirit of the Puffing Wind" by the Ahwahneechee. We felt the mist from the 620-foot falls as the wind swirled around the cliff. Yosemite Falls is the tallest in North America with its upper and lower falls and an intermediate cascade dropping 2,425 feet. The huge common trees included the California black oak, the Ponderosa pine, the incense cedar and the giant sequoia which is believed to live up to 3,000 years.

In Mariposa, Calif., we had fish dinners at the Miners' Café, a restaurant decorated with miniatures of old local buildings and miniature trains. The restrooms were decorated like gold mines. Of course, the next stop was "The Miners' Motel," a theme that became almost trite.

We visited the Italian Bar Gold Camp on a bubbling branch of the Stanislaus River. It included the general store originally run by an Italian man named "Nervie," thus its name was "Nervie's." We then saw Yankee Hill near Columbia in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas where the first "Old Mission" grape vines were grown. The wine there was called "toe wine" because the grapes were stomped out by foot in a shallow tank.

Columbia State Historic Park contains the largest single collection of existing Gold Rush-era brick structures. Just four miles north of Sonora, a miners' population included Mexicans, Chinese, French, Irish, Italian, German and Jewish miners and merchants, contributing to cultural and ethnic diversity in Columbia. Following the Gold Rush theme along Route 49, we arrived at Placerville, a town formerly called Hangtown because of all the hangings held there.

As we entered Calaveras County we anticipated seeing Samuel L. Clemens' cabin in the small town of Angels Camp. Here, under the penname of Mark Twain, he heard the tale in a downtown tavern of a frog who could jump further than any other. In 1865 Twain wrote the tall tale, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." In 2007, 4,000 frogs participated in the annual Frog Jump in Angels Camp on the third weekend in May. Each frog must be at least four inches long and has a minute to complete three jumps.

Unique blocks in the town's sidewalks give the statistics of the frog jump winners for many years. They give the frogs' names, the owners' names and the winning distances for each year. Last year the winner was only one and a half inches short of the world record. The Angel Camp businesses also display decorated frogs throughout the downtown area.

Visit the Golden State of California for more than Disneyland and Fisherman's Wharf. Experience its outdoor recreation and the magnetism of nature found there.