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The Orange County Fair is one of Southern California's most anticipated summer events. From its first year in 1890 with a few livestock exhibits and horse races, the fair evolved into what is now a month-long extravaganza of rides, games and entertainment that still celebrates the importance of local agriculture. Millions of visitors have crowded the grounds over the years to enjoy the spectacle of everything from ostrich races and demolition derbies...
2) Nevada
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Would you like to stroll the streets of famous ghost towns where fortunes were made? See early Las Vegas from pioneer days? Visit the stations used by Pony Express riders? It's all here in amazing Nevada! Come with me as I travel across this great country, seeing it as it should be seen, by car!
Welcome to “Wandering Woman: Nevada”, the third book in a series of state-by-state guides to historical places, and little-known interesting spots. You...
3) Fort Bridger
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The history of Fort Bridger represents a microcosm of the development of the American West. Situated in an area initially inhabited by the Shoshone people, Fort Bridger was established during a transitional phase between the fur-trade era and the period of western migration. The fort became one of the most important supply points along the nation's western trail network. Later, the post served as a bastion of civilization as one of a number of western...
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Established in 1867 in the Gallatin Valley of Montana, Fort Ellis played a key role in the development of the Montana frontier. From post commanders attacking the town to restoring order when riotous mobs got out of control, explore the ambivalent, albeit contentious, relationship from 1867 to 1886 between the civilians and soldiers in whimsical but dramatic fashion. Competing visions of economic and military conditions on the frontier led to a complex...
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Since Pres. Harry Truman established the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in December 1950, it has played a vital role in the security of the United States. For four decades, the test site's primary purpose was developmental testing of nuclear explosives. Atmospheric tests conducted over Yucca Flat and Frenchman Flat between 1951 and 1962 involved thousands of Army troops and Marines simulating nuclear battlefield conditions. Civil defense planners studied...
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The Rocky Mountain and Great Basin states are the heart of ghost-town country. Once-bustling pioneer outposts, mining camps, lumber towns, and railroad villages stand today as reminders of the glory days of gold rushes, industrial progress, and that pioneering spirit of the Old West. This book guides readers to the fascinating and scenic ghost towns of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Nevada. Varney highlights popular tourist destinations...
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On January 30, 1847, the small harbor village of Yerba Buena was rechristened "San Francisco." As the Gold Rush quickly propelled the population to over 50,000, fortunes made in the silver Comstock lode and the railroad transformed the area into the financial and cultural center of the West. Captured here in over 200 vintage images are the life and times of the city's earliest residents and their livelihoods. Spanning the mid-1800s through the early...
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Phantoms in Paradise!
Southwestern Montana boasts a bloody past that produces a persistent paranormal presence. In 1899, drunken Charles Sheppard murdered John Benson with a fence post in Deer Lodge and threw his body into the river. Some still witness the bloody apparition of a man on the water's edge. The spirit of Doctor John Singleton Meade still roams his Hotel Meade in the renowned Ghost Town of Bannack. The old Montana State Prison, now...
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What goes bump in Boise? Searching the darkness of the City of Trees reveals what lurks in the liminal spaces. Idaho's capital city is dotted with haunted residences, hotels and penitentiaries where many still reside in death. Two youngsters lives were cut short, but their spirits never left their childhood homes. Strange specters prowl the foothills, including hooded figures seeking sacrifices. Strange objects patrol the skies. Spooks haunt local...
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The Games of the XXIII Olympiad, Los Angeles 1984, reimagined the Olympic Games and reinvigorated a troubled Olympic movement. Its innovations included the following: a nationwide torch relay that yielded millions for children's charities; an arts festival that surpassed any prior efforts; the first Opening Ceremony featuring a professional theatrical extravaganza; new sports disciplines, such as distance races for women, windsurfing, synchronized...
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The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were a long-shot effort that succeeded beyond the wildest expectations. Working in a sparsely populated valley in the Sierra Nevada with only rudimentary facilities, organizers created a world-class Olympic site in four short years. For the only time in Olympic history, the venues and athlete residence halls were located in a compact, intimate setting that encouraged sportsmanship and interaction between athletes. There...
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Celebrating at their encampment near Crow Creek on July 4, 1867, railroad surveyors named the settlement after the local Cheyenne tribe. By the time the Union Pacific Railroad arrived in November, the town had grown from a tent city to a "Hell on Wheels" town of ten thousand souls. Cattle barons brought herds to graze the open range, while they reposed in mansions on Millionaires Row. By 1890, the gleaming dome of the new capitol building was visible...
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Situated at the end of a reef six miles offshore of Crescent City, California, stands St. George Reef Lighthouse. Constructed after the wreck of the coastal steamer Brother Jonathan in 1865, the beacon warned mariners of the dreaded "Dragon Rocks" of St. George Reef for nearly a century. This book chronicles the loss of the Jonathan, decades of efforts to make the light a reality, the 10-year construction period, manning of the station by keepers...
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The low rumbles of the fog signal and flashing beam of light from the powerful lens have guided mariners away from the perilous waters surrounding Point Arena Lighthouse since 1870. After the great earthquake in 1906 and the rebuilding of the tower in 1908, Point Arena's navigational aids continued to warn ships away from the peninsula off Northern California's Pacific coastline. The original tower was replaced with a concrete cylindrical tower that...
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The portion of California's Highway 99 between Modesto and Bakersfield presents a fascinating and nostalgic environment. The highway has a unique charm and character that are significant to California natives, visitors, and those who have moved to the California Central Valley over the past century. This roadway has never been upscale or presumptuous but is truly egalitarian. This book is a pictorial and textual history of the highway itself, the...
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Cheyenne Frontier Days™ originated in 1897 after a few individuals conceived a signature event as a way to revive the thrilling incidents and pictures of life in the Old West. Their vision included a celebration that would bring visitors from all over the world to the capital city of Wyoming. From its beginnings, Cheyenne residents valued a rural lifestyle that inspired them to create a frontier festival. For more than a century, Cheyenne Frontier...
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In the spring of 1916, Ruby and Minnie Syrett packed up their children and belongings and traveled to their new homestead at the gateway of what would one day become Bryce Canyon National Park. In the early 20th century, Southern Utah was still pioneer country. Hardy descendants of Mormon converts worked to tame the land and create productive farms. Little time was left to marvel at the scenery that surrounded their small communities. By 1919, the...
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After the discovery of Alta California, the Spanish Crown charged the first Franciscan friars to enter into the New World through Lower Baja, with a succession of conquistadors, explorers, and soldiers, on a trail called El Camino Real or "The Royal Road." The settlement began in 1769 at Mission San Diego de Alcalá, a new port and military presidio with buildings of mud, brushwood, and tule grass. Fr. Junípero Serra, the legendary mission presidente...
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California's first settlement began on a trail called El Camino Real, or "The Royal Road," that was traveled by missionary pathfinders, soldiers, and conquistadors on a dramatic journey into a mysterious land. Monterey was discovered in 1603, leading to the quest. Explorers Don Gaspar de Portolá and Juan Bautista de Anza, along with ambitious Franciscan missionaries, founded 21 monumental Spanish missions and several asistencias and chapels for native...
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Legendary explorer Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza completed a 1,000-mile journey from Sonora, Mexico, crossing the Mojave Desert with the first settlers, to San Francisco's pristine harbor. Fr. Francisco Palóu celebrated the dedication of Mission San Francisco de Asís on June 29, 1776. First established to protect Spain's interests in Alta California from foreign ships, California's landmark buildings are featured here with newly discovered photography...
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