California's Gold Episode Rating Graph

Join Huell as he hops over to the Pasadena home of Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski, who have turned their house into a living museum filled with almost everything bunny! Over 21,000 bunny collectibles: most of their furniture, light fixtures, kitchenware, toiletries, books, and games are bunny themed. And lounging around their house, they have seven real bunny pets that do not live in cages, and are litter box trained!

Join Huell on his quest to find some really old wood. The first stop is up in Knights Ferry to see the longest covered bridge West of the Mississippi. Then Huell goes even further back in time and walks us through the petrified forest by Calistoga, CA.

Huell gets special tour of a California icon: the Catalina Casino. It has been the focal point of Santa Catalina since it opened over eighty years ago on May 29, 1929. Completely restored just a few years ago, the ballroom retains its original romantic style – with beautiful rose-hued walls, an arching, fifty-foot ceiling and five Tiffany chandeliers.

Join Huell as he gets a tour of this historic and controversial piece of land… all 7500 acres of it! Located way up north by the town of Eureka, Huell sees some of the rusting remnants of Falk, CA an old logging town, and walks among 1000 year old growth Redwoods, and learns about the other flora and fauna that make this spot such a great piece of California’s Gold!

Huell visits, with Larry and Donna Charpied, their 10-acre jojoba farm located in the Eagle Mountain/Desert Center of Eastern Riverside County, in the shadow of Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness. Huell learns about the many uses for this desert wonder plant.

Huell Howser explores salt harvesting and its long history in the San Francisco Bay area. During the Gold Rush of 1849, salt was nearly worth its weight in gold.

Huell is ready to celebrate train travel at Railfair ’91 at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and ride the rails at Railtown State Historic Park in Jamestown in the scenic Mother Lode foothill country.

This adventure is all about Los Angeles! Huell’s adventure begins at the La-Brea Tar Pits and continues through the futuristic-looking Theme Room, also known as the Encounter Restaurant at LAX; then, Huell locates a buried bridge on the campus of UCLA; Next, he finds every conceivable food item, from fruit to cactus leaves, at the bustling Grand Central Market in downtown. Finally, join Huell as he watches the harvesting of grapefruit from a 100-year-old tree in Little Tokyo.

The theme of this episode is trees! Join Huell as he looks back at two episodes showcasing the beauty of tree-themed roadside attractions, Trees of Mystery and Circus Trees.

The Idyllwild Lemon Lily Festival highlights the uniqueness and rarity of one of Idyllwild’s most precious native flowers. This beautiful lily that grows only above 4000 feet is a true gem. Join Huell and the good people of Idyllwild as they spend the day celebrating the Lemon Lily, there’s even a Lemon Lily song!

A visit with actress Shelley Morrison (Rosario, Karen’s maid on “Will & Grace”) to Animal Acres, a facility caring for neglected and abused farm animals, in Acton.

Huell travels to Orange County to the Starr Ranch Sanctuary. He gets a special tour of the facility and takes a close look at their “Owl Cam” which is amazing. Starr Ranch Sanctuary is a 4,000 acre preserve owned and operated by the National Audubon Society. It is located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in southeastern Orange County, California, approximately 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

J.J. Lopez, the longtime manager of the Tejon Ranch who helped shape Kern County’s history, built his Victorian-style home in Bakersfield in 1909. In the 1960s, the home was occupied by Arlin and Lavern Hill, who migrated from Oklahoma after the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl. Now, this long-overlooked California landmark has finally been renovated and preserved thanks to local fundraising efforts. Huell meets the descendants of the Lopez and Hill families, who share their story of how their house was moved to its permanent location at the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield.

Huell meets a group of fountain pen collectors at their annual meeting.

Huell takes us on an hour-long California’s Gold special which looks at the history of In-N-Out Burger. This is the first time television cameras have ever been allowed to shoot inside a store. And this special also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the In-N-Out Headquarters in Baldwin Park where it all started back in 1948.

Imagine sitting by the lake on a hot day and watching as a car drives into the water and motors away. Well that’s just what piqued Huell’s interest. Terry Tates parents bought their Amphibious Car in the early 60s and have passed it on to Terry. Huell goes to lake Castaic and gets the ride of his life.

Huell explores the history of Rain Bird, a sprinkler manufacturer with a remarkable history beginning with a Glendora citrus farmer named Orton Englehart who invented the first impact sprinklers in the 1930s. Rain Bird also demonstrates their latest in sprinkler technology.

Coit Tower was built on top of Telegraph Hill in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the City of San Francisco; Lillie bequeathed one-third of her estate to the City of San Francisco “to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved”. Huell spends the day exploring all aspects of this San Francisco landmark, including the beautiful murals that adorn the lobby with the descendants of one of the original artists.

Huell visits two historic flagpoles. The first was (at one time) the tallest flagpole in the world, but it’s located in Calipatria, which sits 184 feet below sea level. So with its 184 foot pole, the Calipatria flag flies just at sea level. Then on to Livermore where the flagpole has an even stranger history… it’s being carved into various wooden chotchkies including smaller flags!

Join Huell in this hot episode as he spends a morning in La Puente to hang out with green chile aficionados Ray Martinez and his daughter, Rose Fabian, as they sell fresh, roasted green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico.

Huell attends an event in El Segundo Beach in Southern California connected with the Iranian New Year’s celebration known as Chahar Shanbeh Soori, or the Persian Festival of Fire. This celebration consists of music, dance, food, and jumping over bonfires.

Spend the day with Huell at Angel’s Stadium as he meets up with the good folks at West Coast Turf and learns all about the grass that they install at venues all over California.

This episode is all about the world renowned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio. Each spring, this annual three day event attracts over 160,000 music lovers from literally all over the world and we were invited to attend the 2008 festivities for a behind the scenes look at how it all fits together. Not only did Huell hear some amazing music and see some amazing artists’ creations, but he also experienced first hand the positive energy of this festival. This is a first class event in every way its well organized, well run and the people are all first rate.

Huell takes a tour of the little, quaint town of Locke, founded and settled by Chinese immigrants on the Sacramento River Delta; then he hears ancient Cahuilla Indian bird songs sung by members of the Cahuilla tribe, and participates in a threshing bee and antique engine show in Vista, CA, featuring old farm vehicles and machinery.