Some Golden Finds

Sure, Los Angeles is a great city . . . what’s not to love? Swimming pools, movie stars. But sometimes a celebrity sitting at Gelson’s just isn’t enough. So expand your horizons and take in the whole state . . . without even leaving your desk.

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Photo Archives: If reading isn’t necessarily your bag, but you’re still interested in California’s rich history, check out the California Heritage Collection from UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library (https://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calheritage/). The site “is an online archive of more than 28,000 images illustrating California’s history and culture.” If it sounds like a lot to wade through, don’t worry, they make it easy to navigate the collection.

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Landmark Task: Donald Laird is on a mission. He’s determined to visit and photograph all 1,070 of our state’s historical landmarks. As of last month, he had been to 824 of them--from the original building of USC to the Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City. Although the site (https://www.donaldlaird.com/landmarks/) is mainly a listing of the landmarks, you will find some pictures of both the area and the historical markers.

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Our History: Always wondered about the winding road California took on its way to statehood? Well, then head on over to https://www.ccnet.com/~laplaza/calhist.htm. Read about the pre-European population, when we were officially made a territory and who seized an opportunity to construct our state constitution.

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Golden Oldies: There’s always been gold in them thar hills. Even before the California Gold Rush, if you believe the historians. The Virtual California Gold Country (https://www.malakoff.com /vcgc.htm) has the history of gold in our Golden State and sections on the mining camps and “Gold Rush players.”

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Ill-Fated Pioneers: At https://www.metrogourmet.com/crossroads/kjhome.htm it is contended that we don’t know as much as we think we do about the Donner party, the group of settlers who had a tough trek (to say the least) on their way to California from Missouri 152 years ago this month. This site aims to set the record straight. There’s a Donner party roster (information about members of the group), myths and misperceptions, recently discovered or little-known documents and lots of links.

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On a Mission: Peace and spirituality missing from your life? Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for while checking out the California Mission Studies Assn. site (https://www.ca-missions.org/). There’s a list of the missions, how to get in touch with them, where they’re located and links for the missions with their own Web sites.

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As the Leaves Turn: You wouldn’t know it from the heat, but officially autumn is almost upon us. Fall Color in California (https://calphoto.com/fall.htm) lets you know where in the state you’ll find the yellows, reds, browns, oranges and purples--and I’m not talking about the haze from smoggy sunsets.

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Literary Note: California’s literature is a lot more notable than you might think. For the whole story, point your browser to https://www.nciba.com/californ.html. The Northern California Independent Booksellers Assn. site has the skinny on the state’s literary history and lists of notable works with California settings and authors we can claim as our own.

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Travel Tips: Thinking about getting away for the day? The weekend? The week? Even the month? If you plan to do most of your sightseeing in-state, then your first stop should be Travel.org’s California page (https://travel.org/cal.html). There are links to city and travel guides so you can plan your outing--general information, activities, lodging, museums, restaurants, transportation. From up north to down south and all the stops in between.

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Vino, Vino: California’s wine tourism is a thriving part of our state’s landscape, and SteveO’s California Wine Touring Guides (https://home1.gte.net/otruba/wine_gde.html) offer more than a taste of what’s out there.

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Please send site suggestions to cutting.edge@latimes.com.