Best of Family
Seeking out the county’s natural and man-made thrills
Place to See Pre-O.C.
(dirty fingernails version)
At an outcrop off Silverado Canyon Road in the unincorporated community of Silverado Canyon is a place where Orange County’s prehistoric past comes alive. About 14 million years ago it was underwater, and that’s why today you’ll easily find many gastropod fossils from the Turonian age of the Cretaceous period. Where the river bends at the narrows, just before you reach the middle of the town, you’ll find the exposure of Turonian-age shale and limestone. It’s a great place to take your kids to dig for shells, ammonites, and other aquatic fossils—up in the mountains.
Place to See Pre-O.C.
(clean fingernails version)
You don’t need to actually get filthy, or take the family to the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, to marvel at local finds. Orange County boasts an exceptional museum: the interpretive center at the Ralph B. Clark Regional Park in Buena Park. It offers an amazing view of pre-O.C. through displays and guided tours highlighting fossils of plants and animals. Paleontologist Lisa Babilonia presents educational programs and even leads occasional tours across the street to look for fossils at the foot of the Coyote Hills. 8800 Rosecrans Ave., Buena Park. 714-973-3170.
Place to Make Butter
If you can pull your kids away from Facebook and Grand Theft Auto IV—it’s hard, we know—then take them for a taste of actual American history. The centerpiece of the Centennial Heritage Museum in Santa Ana is the 1898 Kellogg House, which provides a hands-on experience in late-Victorian lifestyle. Decorated and furnished in authentic Victorian décor, a tour of the house is like stepping back in time—right down to the part where you can churn butter. (Visitors also will discover a variety of garden areas and a natural area including two small wetlands.) 3101 W. Harvard St., Santa Ana. www.centennialmuseum.org.
Place to See Nature at Work
Nowhere was the devastation from last October’s wildfires more visible than along Santiago Canyon Road, between Jamboree and El Toro roads. By late March, the blackened tree stumps were sprouting fresh leaves, and grasses and wild mustard reclaimed the scorched hillsides. Today, you can still see charred trees, gnarled cacti, and other reminders of the fire. But you’ll also see field upon field of new growth and plenty of reason for optimism.
Bird-Watching Spot
The observation porch at Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon is a bird-watching haven. It’s a short walk from the sanctuary’s entrance, past Henry the tortoise’s enclosure and over the bridge that spans Modjeska Creek. Inside, bird watchers can gaze out the windows that overlook the sanctuary and feeders that run the porch’s length. Anna’s hummingbirds (left), black-chinned hummingbirds, scrub jays, hooded orioles, lesser goldfinches, house wrens, and mourning doves are just some of the birds visitors tend to spot, says Marcella Gilchrist, the sanctuary’s site manager. 29322 Modjeska Canyon Road. 714-649-2760. www.tuckerwildlife.org.
Intense Thrill Ride
The beating heart, the sweaty palms, the struggle to breathe—welcome to GhostRider, billed by Knott’s Berry Farm as “The West’s Best Wooden Coaster!” If by “best” they mean rickety … or heart-stopping … or prayer-inducing, then they nailed it. To board one of the ride’s mining cars is an adventure, not because of the 4,533 feet of track you traverse, but because, at one point, the cars round a corner that creaks like an old rocking chair and passengers wonder why it’s called GhostRider. Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park. 714-220-5200. www.knotts.com.