Today we"re celebrating the 169th anniversary of the Golden State"s admission into the Union with an appropriately golden image of a Central Coast winery and landscape. In 1850, just 14 months after the peace treaty ending the Mexican-American War ceded most of California along with a large portion of western territory to the US, the former self-proclaimed California Republic became the 31st state. California is one of only six states admitted to the Union without first being recognized as a US territory. Some link this to the California Gold Rush, which began in January 1848 and rapidly increased the California population by more than 1,000 percent.
A toast to California!
Today in History
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Get on your bike and ride
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The stylish Spanish shawl
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Birds of the Drömling
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An old celebration for a new season
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Loud waters
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Tolkien Reading Day
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Pups of the prairie
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An historic forest
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Art in the chapel
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Where is this gorgeous peak?
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Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
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Reflections on Memorial Day
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White dunes, blue lagoons
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Falling for Tennessee
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South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida