Throughout history, bold women have been casting off the shackles of conventional life. Women who fought courageously and tirelessly to assert themselves as individuals and experts in their field, something most men have had the luxury of taking for granted.
In the female sect of explorers, there are heiresses, socialites, and rebels. But the one thing they share beyond their sex is an intrepid spirit that thirsts for adventure.
Smoke from fires set by Native Americans, hunting game on the hillsides overlooking San Pedro Bay, inspired Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo to name this natural harbor Bahia de los Fumos or “Bay of Smokes.”
On October 8, 1542, when Cabrillo noted in his log that the bay “is an excellent harbor and the country is good with many plains and groves of trees,” this indented coastline was little more than swampy marshland. Though the expedition did not go on land during their brief visit, they did speak with a group of Gabrielinos in a canoe, who told them there were other white men in the interior (probably survivors of the ill-fated Coronado expedition). Over the next century, other European explorers infrequently skirted Palos Verdes shores, leading natives to tell tales of the ominous “great houses on the sea.”
Continue reading Abalone Sea Cave & Portuguese Bend Palos Verdes
Set on the curve of a steep cliff, where it has stood since 1926, the San Vicente Lighthouse is a historical beauty that continues to renew its usefulness with every passing night. The Vicente Lighthouse has long been one of the area’s jewels. To the landsman, the lighthouse is a scenic delight and continual attraction to tourists, photographers and painters. To the mariner, the lighthouse is an aid to navigation, which marks the northern end of the Catalina Channel on the Pacific coast.
If the stress of everyday life is weighing you down, take a trip to Torrey Pines State Reserve just north of San Diego. Torrey Pines State Reserve is home to one of the biggest “secrets” in San Diego. The secret is not readily apparent, but it is important. The reserve is home to the rarest pine tree in all of North America, and one of the rarest trees on the planet, the pinus torreyana – or, as Californians call it, the Torrey Pine. When you visit, you’re getting to see a very rare, endangered species.
Continue reading Torrey Pines State Reserve: Home to the rarest pine tree in North America.
“Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.”
-Nellie Bly
I get asked on a daily basis WHY am I traveling solo.
“Who are you here with?” curious people often ask when we become acquainted during my travels.
“Um, by myself,” I reply.
“Wow, that’s really courageous!” they exclaim, wide-eyed.
Think of the Sky Island Scenic Parkway, as a kind of time machine. No, really. Let yourself go a minute and imagine a landscape that compresses an extraordinary range of topography into one 30-mile stretch of road. The road, known as the Mount Lemmon Parkway, does just that. It takes visitors through five life zones, from Sonoran Desert lowlands all the way up to a mixed-conifer forest, the geographic equivalent of traveling from Mexico to Canada.
Continue reading Sky Island will make you feel like you’re on top of the world!
Commanding the skyline above Finger Rock Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains is an eponymous stone pinnacle, that resembles a clenched fist with its index finger pointing toward the heavens. This is your first clue to the nature of the trail, that makes an aggressive, unrelenting ascent of its rugged domain.
I was eager to know more about desert habitat, after a hike I attempted in Tucson. (Read about that hike here.) There are plenty of things you should know before hiking in the desert, especially if you’re not accustomed to the climate and the surroundings. I hail from the east coast, where hiking is one hundred percent different than hiking on the west coast. After my ‘hike gone wrong’ I sought out the best place to learn about the desert, and came across the Sonora Desert Museum.
Continue reading The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in the Tucson Mountains
Virgil Earp, the town marshal, enlists Wyatt and Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday. As they walk down Freemont Street on the way to the O.K. Corral, Virgil hands Doc his shotgun in exchange for Doc’s cane. Doc wears a long overcoat and conceals the shotgun underneath it, as not to frighten the townspeople. In the tense moment that followed, Morgan and Doc cock their guns. Suddenly, Billy Claiborne, who stands away from the area, bolts and runs. Ike grapples with Wyatt, who was about to pistol-whip him. The tension explodes and the fight begins.
One of the best things about living in Southern California, is the plethora of beaches. There are beaches for surfing, camping, swimming and even shopping. Most people are familiar with the main beaches like Newport, Santa Monica and Huntington, but many aren’t as familiar with the stellar beaches in the less traveled areas like Laguna Beach. This is exactly where the gem that is Thousand Steps Beach is nestled nicely within the many beaches near Laguna Beach, California, and even though finding it can be difficult, it is worth your time to put in the extra effort.
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