California: “Swimmin’ Pools and Movie Stars”
Yes, California is the home of Hollywood and all the glitz and glam that goes along with that. For many people across the globe, this is all they think of when they hear the name of this west coast state. But there is so much more to California than what makes it onto the big screen.
Venture deep into the deserts and you will discover strange landscapes populated with Dr. Seuss-like trees, or the lowest, hottest place below sea level where cracked earth and a searing sun make you wonder how any flora or fauna can survive here at all. Travel the coastline in either direction on one of the most beautiful highways in the US, and you will see seals and surfers swimming in the warm waters, and picturesque communities and castles overlooking the ocean. Or split the difference, because between California’s dramatic ocean coastlines and eastern deserts you can walk among giant redwoods and sequoia trees that dwarf visitors and turn us all into tree-huggers.
And speaking of tree-huggers, California is where hippies led a cultural revolution in the 1960s and 70s at the corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco, preaching peace and love, protesting war and leading the way to societal change that influenced generations. But even after tie-dyed shirts were exchanged for 3-piece suits in Silicon Valley, a laid-back California culture still survives in places like Surf City and the one and only Venice Beach boardwalk.
It’s why people will continue to dream of California and everything it offers, whether that is following in the footsteps of celebrities or discovering spectacular landscapes. There’s always something here that inspires.
READ ARTICLES ON WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN CALIFORNIA:
In Search of Sequoias in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
I can’t even remember the first time I learned about the existence of giant sequoia trees. I must have been quite young, because my fascination with them held an almost mythical quality, as if these trees were more a product of imagination than reality, like the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot. I distinctly remember seeing a picture of a car driving through a tunnel carved through one of these trees, but still, it was hard to believe that a forest of these trees could exist. Which was why I promised myself that someday I would venture to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in California if for no other reason than to see these trees for myself.
Half a century later, that someday happened…
What to do in Joshua Tree, California
There is something about deserts that fascinates people. Whether it is the vast, alien landscapes or the sheer challenge of surviving in an extreme environment, these extreme places seem to spark the imagination and attract the curious. Joshua Tree, California, is one of these destinations, a small desert town that has attracted movie stars and musicians, hippies and artists, adventurers and conservationists. And despite its small size, visitors who come here soon discover that the options for what to do in Joshua Tree are as unique and varied as the twisted trees after which the town is named.
Dark Skies are the New Black
There’s a line from Joni Mitchell’s 1970 song, Big Yellow Taxi, that says: “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone”. Which might explain a big trend that’s happening lately in travel: the popularity of dark sky locations. People are gravitating towards places that allow them to see something that is becoming increasingly rare in today’s light-polluted world: starry night skies.
