When you’re a California native, you can’t help but be drawn to public television’s Huell Howser. His program “California’s Gold” is synonymous with my coming of age in the golden state. The first episode debuted early 90s and he’s probably one of the reasons I love being a tourist where I live.
When I first watched the show I thought he was making fun of Californians with his “Golly, gee whiz!” attitude but I realized it was just who he was. I admit that Howser wasn’t the best interviewer but what he did have was an awesome staff of producers and researchers that sought out the precious gems of my home state – like visiting the historic fountains of Los Angeles or the soda shop in Highland Park that sells every kind of soda you know and don’t know. They were everyday places that most Angelenos would pass by and not give a second thought but Howser and his production team made us think twice about the mundane and made it all interesting. I loved it!
So this brings me to the flowers… the California state flower: the golden poppy. Right now is the flower’s peak season and I remember several years back (OK, many years back) when Howser stood in a field of bright orange poppies – I wanted to go there. I wanted to lay down in the field of poppies and stare at the sky and map the slowly moving clouds. And on a spontaneous Sunday (this past Sunday!) I did just that. Thank you, Huell Howser.
Here are the photos from the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.
From far away it looked like a massive bag of Cheetos exploded over the hills.
angela is here... 