Page 22 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

CA.CITIES
THE CARSON MANSION, above,
built in 1884-1885 in Old Town Eureka, is
considered the finest example of Queen
Anne style Victorian houses in America. In
Bakersfield, an urban renewal project took
advantage of an irrigation canal to
produce a park with rock-lined lake and
covered bridge, right. Tournament of
Roses Parade in Pasadena, opposite.
» FIND YOUR
CITY FUN
Napa
visitnapavalley.com, 707-251-5895
Ventura
ventura-usa.com, 800-648-2075
San Luis Obispo
visitslo.com, 805-781-2777
Bakersfield
visitbakersfield.com, 866-425-7353
Nevada City
nevadacountygold.com, 530-265-2692
Eureka
redwoods.info, 800-346-3482
Palm Desert
palm-desert.org, 800-873-2428
Pasadena
visitpasadena.com, 800-307-7977
20 2014 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
BAKERSFIELD: Buck Owens & Basques
Calling all honky-tonk angels: Bakersfield
may just be a must-stop. Once home to
country-music legends Merle Haggard and
the late Buck Owens, this San Joaquin Valley
community’s workaday, unpretentious
Palace, with its mementos of Owens and his
band, the Buckaroos, and catch a show by
contemporary country musicians. It’s a fine
place to listen to a swooning steel guitar by
the light of the juke box.
facade masks a city of surprises. Located
inland and northwest of Los Angeles, Bak-
ersfield is reached via California routes 99
and 58. The city of 323,000 is home to one
of the largest and most vibrant Basque com-
munities in the United States. Family-style
Basque restaurants like Wool Growers and
the Pyrenees Café add diversity to the
downhome cooking of Bakersfield’s truck
stops and roadside diners. Fans of country
music can drop by Buck Owens’ Crystal
NEVADA CITY:
Postcard from the Gold Rush
In 2010, this postcard-pretty inland com-
munity in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
counted 3,068 residents—1,000 fewer than
it had in 1880 in the afterglow of the 1849
California Gold Rush. These days, travelers
journey to Nevada City’s woodsy setting on
the western slopes to admire impeccably
restored 19th-century buildings, take in
scenic hillside views, ski the nearby
JAYME BURROWS AND RICHARD THORNTON/SHUTTERSTOCK..OPPOSITE: MARIE APPERT/SHUTTERSTOCK