Interested in local OC history hikes?

Do you like hiking?  Are you into Orange County history?

If your answer is "yes" to both, then you are in luck.

Holy Jim Historic Trail in the Trabuco Ranger District.

Once the summer heat cools down a bit, my colleague, Chris Jepsen, and I want to start up a series of Orange County local history hikes.  These outings, open to anyone interested and of varying length and difficulty, will explore some of our fabulous trails that also share a bit of historical significance.

My husband and I love to hike, we do it at least a couple weekends a month.  And we both have thoroughly enjoyed exploring bits of Orange County history as we have hiked along Orange County trails this year.  When I read about Chris's drive up to Old Saddleback on the 4th of July, I was reminded of the desire Jeff and I have to hike up to Santiago Peak.  Chris's post helped shed a bit history on that area.  So, I tossed out the idea to Chris, who's equally as enthusiastic about the idea as I am, and we did a bit of brainstorming.

We are still in the planning stages, and are certainly open to suggestions.  So if you have ideas in mind for hikes, please comment below.  And if you're interested in attending or leading any of these hikes, please comment below.   I hope to have some initial dates and locations posted soon.

By the way, if you haven't already done so, read up on Chris's Anaheim Union Water Co. fieldtrip  in Yorba Linda.

-- Colleen Greene

Deadline approaching for American Heritage Preservation Grants

Are you affiliated with a small museum, library, or archive that needs financial assitance to help preserve your special collections?

If so, Bank of America is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to award 1-year grants of up to $3,000 each to help preserve select types of local heritage collections:

Grants will help to preserve specific items, including works of art, artifacts and historical documents that are in need of conservation. Applicants will build on completed conservation assessments of their collections to ensure that the grants are used in accordance with best practices in the field, and underscore the importance of assessment planning.

The application deadline is September 15, 2009 -- so don't miss out!

-- Colleen Greene