California's Gold
Season 5
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 5
12 Episodes
- WeedpatchE1
WeedpatchHuell learns that many "Okies" fled the Dust Bowl in their jalopies with signs reading "California or Bust." Out of options, they often ended up at the "Weedpatch camp," a federal labor and living camp for migrant workers in Kern County. Huell visits this historic camp, later immortalized in John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath," and talks with both the "Okies" who grew up there and the Latinos who now call it home. - Huts and HangarsE2
Huts and HangarsHuell gets a tour of the largest wooden buildings in the world, the vast blimp hangars at the U.S. Marine Air station at Tustin. He then travels to the Seabee Naval Museum at Port Hueneme and the Marine Base at Camp Pendelton, to get a firsthand look at the history of an honest-to-goodness military institution-the quonset hut. - Olives and BerriesE3
Olives and BerriesHuell gets a taste of history as he visits two families who have turned their crops into empires. He visits both the olive orchards in the San Joaquin Valley and processing plant of the Graber family in Ontario, where for a century workers have prepared Graber Olives in almost the same way. Huell then travels to Orange Country to learn how the world- famous Knott's Berry Farm amusement park grew out of one woman's home cooking. - Important PlacesE4
Important PlacesHuell travels to two significant but little-known places in California. First he gets a tour of the fields of Camp Pendelton, near San Diego, where for a period in the mid-1970s thousands of Vietnamese refugees lived in a large tent city-their first stop after fleeing their war torn homeland. Next, Huell visits the Sherman Institute High School, an off-reservation boarding school for Native Americans that has educated students for almost a century. - Hidden GoldE5
Hidden GoldHuell looks beneath the surface of our state. First he goes to the prehistoric La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles, where dinosaurs and other early denizens of California have been preserved in tar for thousands of years. Next, he visits California's version of Plymouth Rock-the Presidio of San Diego-and watches as an excavation uncovers all sorts of amazing relics from this, the first European settlement in California. - Life in Death ValleyE6
Life in Death ValleyHuell discovers that even though it's thought of as one of the bleakest and most desolate places in the world, Death Valley can be beautiful. Contrary to its name, Death Valley is host to a wide variety of life-from prehistoric pupfish to stunning miniature wildflowers and much more! - Scotty's CastleE7
Scotty's CastleHuell travels to Death Valley to learn about Walter Scott... one of the great characters of California history. Huell tours the amazing castle that now bears Scotty's name and walks through the dry desert that Scotty loved so much. Get an intimate portrait of this California original from those who knew and loved him. - Center of CaliforniaE8
Center of CaliforniaHuell travels in search of the geographic center of our state and in the process visits a whole string of towns that lay claim to being "the center of California." With the help of locals and a cartographer from the U.S. Geological Survey, Huell finally locates the exact spot and marks it by planting a state flag. He also checks out the Palm and Pine trees planted on Highway 99 that signify the divide between Northern & Southern California. - OilE9
OilHuell finds out how oil made Kern County great, visiting the vast Midway-Sunset Field which is the top oil-producing field in the lower 48 states and the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft, which has one of the last huge wooden derricks in existence. Huell's last stop is the site of the Lakeview Gusher, which at the turn of the century was the largest gusher in the United States. - California ZephyrE10
California ZephyrHuell revisits the California Zephyr, a magnificent train which traveled between Chicago and Oakland from 1949 to 1970. Huell climbs aboard one of the original restored silver "Vista-Dome" cars and travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in the state, heading west from Lake Tahoe. Huell shares the ride with a group of people who worked on and rode the original Zephyr. - Folsom PrisonE11
Folsom PrisonHuell tours Folsom Prison, which for well over a century has housed some of our state's toughest characters and gets a rare look inside this landmark prison. He visits Folsom's first death row, the chapel-which contains what has to be one of the most unusual paintings of "The Last Supper," the historic "China Hill," and the seldom-seen prison graveyard, final resting place for generations of prisoners. - McCloudE12
McCloudHuell visits the historic lumber and railroad town of McCloud, located at the foot of Mt. Shasta, California's second highest mountain. Included in this adventure is a trip on the famous McCloud railroad, a visit to the local swimming hole located in a magnificent natural setting and a tour of the town and its quaint, old buildings.