For 2017, a daily California bucket list will take you to the hidden, the hilarious, the history of the Golden State
Cheers, readers. We’ve made some New Year’s resolutions for you — 365 of them.
To get 2017 off on the right foot — and to remind ourselves of the wonders that every Californian has close at hand — we’re building a California Bucket List.
The Travel section plans to post a new must-do adventure every day this year so that by Dec. 31, we’ll have 365 classic California feats, all searchable.
We’re starting in Yosemite because it’s Yosemite. But this list is not in order of importance or geography (although you can search by region). We’ll soon hit Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, the Golden Gate Bridge and the redwood forests (but not the Gulf Stream waters).
We’ll get to Leggett (where the state’s finest drive-through tree endures) and Death Valley (which is California’s low point, despite what some people say about Hollywood).
Along with the easy trips will come edgy feats, such as climbing Mt. Whitney or four-wheeling on the dunes of Imperial County. But we won’t suggest anything unless one of the Travel section’s staffers or contributors has tried it.
Although you’ll find a few restaurants and hotels on the list — mostly storied old places — this isn’t an eating-and-sleeping list. It’s about going and doing and maybe understanding a little.
Most of the adventures will be free or inexpensive, but not all. Because, as you may have noticed, California isn’t especially free or inexpensive these days.
We know most folks aren’t going to climb Whitney. (In fact, most of us are never going to climb Whitney.) But this list isn’t about what it takes to be a pretty good Californian. It’s about being a consummate California traveler, going high and low, lively and sleepy, comic and tragic, diving into nature and culture.
In other words, we’re bringing together the Grateful Dead Archive (audible at UC Santa Cruz) and the Watergate tapes (audible at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda) at last, on this list.
Have a suggestion for a bucket list item? We want to hear it. Please send ideas to travel@latimes.com, subject line BUCKET LIST IDEAS. Many thanks and happy trails.
Follow Reynolds on Twitter: @MrCSReynolds
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