Scout Island

Scout Island is located in Fresno, California and serves as an educational center for children of the central valley.  Schools bring bus loads of children each week to experience hands on learning about the life-giving San Joaquin River that runs through the island on its trip through the valley.  Fun and interactive activities allow children to learn as they play.  Children use nets to capture river tadpoles and other aquatic life then view their catch under a magnifying microscopes, go on nature hikes to search out animal tracks, and end with a nature focused scavenger hunt.  Scout Island makes nature education fun for the young and young at heart.

Central Valley Sunset

This glorious sunset last Sunday evening brought the most fantastic thunderstorm the Central Valley has seen in many years.  The downpour that followed threatened the raisin drying I recently wrote about.  Fortunately, the storm was late in the drying season and the majority of the 2010 crop suffered little to no damage.

California Raisins

August ushers in grape harvesting season in the Central Valley.  It is the time of year when crews harvest grapes and lay them on paper trays in the sunshine.  Three weeks of consistent sunshine work their magic, resulting in the California Raisin.

Fresno, California currently produces half the world’s raisins.  The consistent summer temperatures provide the ideal drying conditions necessary to produce the sun-dried fruit.

In 1872, California Scottish immigrant William Thompson imported the Sultanina seedless grape from a cutting he imported from Rochester, NY.  The hearty variety thrived in the hot California summers.  In 1875, unaware of the grape’s formal name, Thompson dubbed them Thompson’s seedless grapes.

Today, 95% of California raisins are produced from Thompson’s seedless grapes.

Fresno City College




Fresno City College Library

Fresno City College, founded by Charles L. McLane in 1910, is currently celebrating 100 years in education.  The bustling campus, serving over 25,000 students each semester, remains a vital link to higher education in the Central Valley.

In May of 1910, the campus began as Fresno Junior College with a mere twenty students in attendance.  At the time of its inception, the college was located on the Fresno High School campus and intended as an extension of the high school.

In 1958, Fresno Junior College became Fresno City College and relocated to the current 1101 E. University Avenue location in 1959.

The California Community College system currently enrolls 1.5 million students on 109 campuses and continues Mr. McLane’s legacy of higher education for the Central Valley and beyond.

Lake Kaweah

Lake Kaweah, Three Rivers, California

North East of Lemon Cove, California, you’ll find Lake Kaweah. The lake was created after the completion of Terminus Dam in 1962 and is visited by countless families looking for a place to cool off during the sweltering Central Valley summers.

The Terminus is one of many Dam’s along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range that provide flood control and much needed irrigation water for the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley.

Childhood Memories and Screaming

The Ferris Wheel at Rotary Playland and Storyland, Fresno, California

In 1955, Rotary Playland and Storyland opened two parks on the grounds of Roeding Park located in Fresno, California. The parks were adjacent to one another and themed after cherished Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Since then, the park has provided endless hours entertainment for children and adults alike.

Storyland remains the peaceful park and as you enter its gates through larger than life storybooks, Nursery Rhymes are brought to life with magical keys and a little imagination. Playland is pure fun and features rides for all ages, including the mammoth Ferris Wheel featured above.

Last year, Rotary Playland and Storyland completed their three-year renovation campaign and the community has embraced the park once again. Adults who enjoyed the park as children now bring their own children and it is exciting to see the parks bustle with excitement once again.

Of course, when you get near the mammoth wheel above, you have screaming too. On the other hand, perhaps that was just me.

Little Sweden

Dala Horse, Downtown Kingsburg, California

Located twenty minutes south of Fresno, you will find the beautiful city of Kingsburg, California. Meticulously maintained and charmingly quaint, the Swedish Village is a hidden gem in the heart of the Central Valley.

Great pride is taken in preserving the rich Swedish ancestry of the town's founders and you'll find touches of Sweden hidden throughout the City.

The Dala Horse, one of these touches, can be found nearly everywhere you look and is just one of the distinctive qualities that make Kingsburg a very special place to visit.

Valley Figs

Peter's Honey Figs

The rich, fertile soil of the San Joaquin is responsible for producing nearly half of the world's food supply.

In 1910, a gentleman by the name of J.C. Forkner began planting fig trees in Fresno, California. Because the valley was covered in a nearly impenetrable hardpan soil, Forkner required dynamite to dig the holes necessary to plant 600,000 fig trees on his 12,000 acres of land. Blasting through the hardpan allowed the trees an opportunity to build root systems and reach the soft soil below. The area that Forkner farmed is still known today as Fig Garden.