Huell goes to Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove on Monterey Peninsula. Now a state park with nearby dunes and beach, this "refuge by the sea" began in 1913 as a camp for the YWCA with historic buildings designed by Julia Morgan.
Huell goes to the Civil War military post Fort Humboldt in Eureka. At this State Historic Park he learns about Captain Ulysses S. Grant's brief 1854 tenure at the fort, the local Native Americans, and rides a historic logging locomotive.
Huell goes to a park in the Oakland Hills named for Joaquin Miller, the Poet of the Sierra, who settled there in the late 1800s. With sweeping views of the Bay Area, it has one of the only urban second-growth redwood groves in existence.
Cuyamaca Rancho, a 25,000-acre State Park located east of San Diego, was devastated by wildfires in October 2003. Huell makes a somber visit to learn about plans to help these fragile wildlands recover quickly and to prevent future damage.
Huell explores Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, more than 50,000 acres of permanently-protected open space in the heart of Orange County offering a menu of recreational opportunities on land stretching 22 miles from the mountains to the sea.
Huell explores Alum Rock Park, a beautiful natural area in the Diablo Range foothills just seven miles east of downtown San Jose. Founded in 1872, it is the oldest city park in California.
China Camp State Park on San Francisco Bay is the last remaining example of the Chinese fishing villages that once dotted the shoreline. Huell walks through the village, learns about its history, and sails in a replica of a Chinese junk.
Huell uncovers a hidden treasure in the form of a small, little-known state park located on the rocky, windswept coast of Sonoma County. The entire park at Bufano Peace Statue is only 60 feet around and goes over 100 feet in the air.