Californios. This was the name given to the original Spanish ranchers of the Golden State, the ones who created the forever-classic look of white washed adobes with orange-red roof tiles surrounded by pink and purple bougainvilleas. When the Gold Rush brought in the Anglos and the American statehood, California retained its unique stature as the stretch goal of the young nation's Manifest Destiny.

This Sunset edition focuses on a land which could conceivably be divided into several different states. North Coast, Bay Area, Central Valley, Middle Kingdom, Gold Country, Deserts, and Southern California. The book takes a look at each separate section with mucho photos and it's fun to see how people looked back in the late 1960s (much, much thinner).

I enjoyed having this book by my side on a recent drive through the state, as it made it easy to focus on specific areas. Whether it's hitting the North Bay with its "bottled poetry" (Robert Louis Stevenson), hanging with the elephant seals at Año Nuevo, or hiking in 109° Palm Desert ("but it's a dry heat"), California is a magical place for Californians, Californios, and the those dratted tourists (you can look but don't stay).

Book Season = Year Round (it's all good from Diego to the Bay) ( )