Category: Central Valley
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Salinas – Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe Casa
Salinas, California The choice of building materials for the early Spanish settlers and Mission builders of California and much of the southwest of the U.S. was adobe. Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, and/or manure), which the builders shape into…
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El Camino Real
California Missions The El Camino Real Tomes have been written about the history of the Spanish and the Missions of California. It was a difficult period in the history of California, fraught with inhumanity, as well as, expansion and progress. Much of California’s history began with the Spanish Missions. The chain of 21 missions along California’s…
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Coalinga – Richfield Gas
Coalinga Central Valley California If you have ever driven Highway 5 down the center of California you have undoubtedly stopped at Harris Ranch, a half-way point between the metropolitan areas of northern and southern California. Just on the other side of the highway is the town of Coalinga. In the early years of railroading, before the…
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San Joaquin Valley
Central Valley California I spent my Thanksgiving holiday driving the back roads of the San Joaquin portion of the Central Valley of California. For those unfamiliar with the area it is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of California. It is home to California’s most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately 450…