Description

From San Diego near the southern border to the far northern reaches of the state around Mount Shasta, Highways and Byways of California chronicles a trip through California in the very early years of the 20th century, not long after Yosemite became a national park and before the coming boom years transformed the countryside. Traveling the back roads, with stops in some of the celebrated towns of The Golden State, travel writer and folklorist Clifton Johnson describes the scenery and wildlife and entertains with anecdotes and tales from his fellow travelers and the characters encountered along the way.

Excerpted from Highways and Byways of The Pacific Coast, this travelogue was first published by The MacMillan Company in 1908 as part of the Highways and Byways of America series.

About the American Highways and Byways series:

Written in the very early years of the 20th century, each volume in the Highways and Byways series chronicles a trip along the back roads of America-with stops in cities like New Orleans and San Francisco-long before the advent of the interstate and when more than half of the country's population lived in small towns and rural places.

Come along with other intrepid travelers of the day. The roads may be rough by today's standards, but the mood is light, with tales of hunting and Indians, wild animals and highwaymen. Up through the snows and the sugar pines, across deserts, along the rivers and bayous, and deep into farm country-sometimes by stage or wagon, sometimes on foot or by rail-meeting local characters along the way, the adventure continues.