I Love You, California

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After the Louisiana purchase and the Mexican-American War our country found themselves with a lot of land causing the great westward expansion. Many families ended up in the mid-west, states like Oklahoma, where they were given land to farm and ranch and make something that was their own. In the 1930s those families faced one problem after another - first it was the great depression - then it was the Dust Bowl. A series of poor rain seasons left the central part of the countryside thirsty and left the people hungry. Without food many families were forced to look elsewhere - this is when they heard about our state, CA, and the agricultural mecca that it was. As all those families starting coming here looking for work and opportunity in what is called the largest American migration of people ever, we had to find someway to house and help all these workers.

Many were stopped and turned away at the state line, but then the Farm Security Administration came into action and built several worker camps up and down the valley. The most famous of those still standing is our destination today.

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One day a year and a half ago or so I was driving home from work and listening to various podcasts as I tend to do and I heard someone raving about a new book they had just received about California natural history. It was a bit odd in that they just gave generalizations, it was a book, talked about California Naturalism, and was just beyond beautiful. Not only that this was on a podcast about pod culture and technology, not the kind of place I expected to hear about such a book. As soon as I got home and looked up the book on Amazon but it was sold out and going for way too much from third-party dealers...so I just added it to my wish list and forgot about it.

About 6 months later I was on a photography trip from my home in Central California up the coast of Oregon and back. On the way we stopped in a local museum in the town of Ukiah and I saw the book in their gift shop. I got excited, related the story to my wife, and decided I had to buy it then and there and I was not disappointed. Today’s episode is about the California Field Atlas by Obi Kaufmann.

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