California's Gold
Season 16
TV-G
Huell Howser travels around California looking for interesting stories about the state's rich history, cultural diversity, landmarks, natural wonders, amazing people and points of interest, especially lesser known and out-of-the-way places.
Where to Watch Season 16
12 Episodes
- CottonE4
Episode 4CottonCalifornia is the fifth largest cotton-producing state, while the San Joaquin Valley is the heart of California cotton country. Huell spends a day in Buttonwillow, which calls itself the “Cotton Capitol of California” and has a great time out in the fields. For historical purposes, he picks cotton the old-fashioned way, and then steps into the future and learns about a new, state-of-the-art cotton gin. - PhotoplayerE7
Episode 7PhotoplayerHuell meets Joe Rinaudo whose passion is a 1926 Fotoplayer, which uses music rolls like those for player pianos to provide music and sound effects to silent films. Joe spent thousands of hours restoring his Fotoplayer and although the “talkies” made them obsolete in the late 1920s, Huell discovers there is still no better way to enjoy a silent movie than with Joe, his hand cranked projector and his Fotoplayer. - Warnors TheatreE8
Episode 8Warnors TheatreThe Warnors Theatre, a Fresno landmark that opened in 1928, houses a pipe organ that is the only one of its kind in the world still performing inside its original theatre. After years of neglect, The future of the theatre was in jeopardy until Frank Caglia bought it in 1973 and returned it to its former luster. Huell hears the Caglia’s family story, which intersects with the story of the Warnors Theatre at its opening and is as much a jewel as the theatre itself. - Solano Train FerryE9
Episode 9Solano Train FerryHuell’s off to the San Francisco Bay area to learn about the largest train ferry ever built. The Solano train ferry shuttled trains and passengers back and forth between Port Costa and Benicia. It once served as a vital link in the Central Pacific and and later the Southern Pacific Railroad Lines. - The Lost Golden SpikeE10
Episode 10The Lost Golden SpikeOn May 10, 1869, the Last Spike of the Transcontinental Railroad was ceremonially driven into a polished California Laurel railroad tie at Promontory, Utah. Huell learns about its mysterious disappearance and re-discovery and also gets a special sneak preview of this rare artifact on a visit to the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and the California State Railroad Museum. - Tecate TrainE11
Episode 11Tecate TrainHost Huell Howser comes to San Diego County to visit the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo and takes a train ride to Tecate, Mexico. Huell takes a tour of the Tecate beer factory and explores the charming andhistorical Plaza area in Tecate before returning on the train to San Diego. The expedition rambles through a 20-mile slice of the history of two nations long intertwined. - TroutE12
Episode 12TroutHuell travels to the high sierras on horseback to see how trout are dropped from an airplane into High Sierra Mountain lakes -- a spectacular sight. At the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery near Fresno, we see how tiny rainbow trout are grown in preparation for “planting. Then it’s off to the Fresno airport to hitch an exciting plane ride with the Department of Fish and Game pilots, who are skilled at maneuvering through the high mountains and into the deep valleys to drop or “plant” lakes with trout. At last, we travel to Duck Lake on horseback to witness the trout as they drop from the plane. Before the advent of the airplane, trout were “planted” in hundreds of California Lakes by horseback-- a difficult task that would take an entire summer to complete. In 1947, the Department of Fish and Game began using airplanes to complete the task and even employed WWII pilots whose skills as bomber pilots were put to a new use.