Native Americans who populated the various ranchos of Mexican California as laborers are people frequently lost to history. The "rancho period" was a critical time for California Indians, as many were drawn into labor pools for the flourishing ranchos following the 1834 dismantlement of the mission system, but they are practically absent from the documentary record and from popular histories. This study focuses on Rancho Petaluma north of San Francisco Bay, a large livestock, agricultural, and manufacturing operation on which several hundredÑperhaps as many as two thousandÑNative Americans worked as field hands, cowboys, artisans, cooks, and servants. One of the largest ranchos in the region, it was owned from 1834 to 1857 by Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, one of the most prominent political figures of Mexican California. While historians have studied Vallejo, few have considered the Native Americans he controlled, so we know little of what their lives were like or how they adjusted to the colonial labor regime. Because VallejoÕs Petaluma Adobe is now a state historic park and one of the most well-protected rancho sites in California, this site offers unparalleled opportunities to investigate nineteenth-century rancho life via archaeology. Using the Vallejo rancho as a case study, Stephen Silliman examines this California rancho with a particular eye toward Native American participation. Through the archaeological recordÑtools and implements, containers, beads, bone and shell artifacts, food remainsÑhe reconstructs the daily practices of Native peoples at Rancho Petaluma and the labor relations that structured indigenous participation in and experience of rancho life. This research enables him to expose the multi-ethnic nature of colonialism, counterbalancing popular misconceptions of Native Americans as either non-participants in the ranchos or passive workers with little to contribute to history. Lost Laborers in Colonial California draws on archaeological data, material studies, and archival research, and meshes them with theoretical issues of labor, gender, and social practice to examine not only how colonial worlds controlled indigenous peoples and practices but also how Native Americans lived through and often resisted those impositions. The book fills a gap in the regional archaeological and historical literature as it makes a unique contribution to colonial and contact-period studies in the Spanish/Mexican borderlands and beyond.

With over 28,000 copies sold, Peter Browning's perennially popular guide to Northern California's most scenic drives is now available in a completely revised, updated, and redesigned edition. Including 28 picturesque routes, each paced for a leisurely day away from the city, Day Trips is jam-packed with black-and-white photographs, handy maps, and fascinating historical information. Offering a terrific alternative to the crowds and traffic at most local tourist attractions, Day Trips is perfect for anyone seeking an adventure within easy reach of San Francisco.

Before the Gold Rush of 1848-1858, Alta (Upper) California was an isolated cattle frontier--and home to a colorful group of Spanish-speaking, non-indigenous people known as Californios. Profiting from the forced labor of large numbers of local Indians, they carved out an almost feudal way of life, raising cattle along the California coast and valleys. Visitors described them as a good-looking, vibrant, improvident people. Many traces of their culture remain in California. Yet their prosperity rested entirely on undisputed ownership of large ranches. As they lost control of these in the wake of the Mexican War, they lost their high status and many were reduced to subsistence-level jobs or fell into abject poverty. Drawing on firsthand contemporary accounts, the authors chronicle the rise and fall of Californio men and women.

The official guide to the ever-growing Bay Area Ridge Trail, a proposed 400-mile route that circles the ridgeline of the San Francisco Bay, crossing over nine counties. Five new trails and 13 more miles await discovery in this new edition, bringing the mileage of the completed Ridge Trail to 225.

"A guide to the back roads of the Greater Bay Area. Twenty-eight trips that can be made in a day or less. Each trip has a detailed map, one or more photos, historical background, and often quotations from early travelers"--Provided by publisher.

For Dummies Travel guides are the ultimate user-friendly trip planners, combining the broad appeal and time-tested features of the For Dummies series with up-to-the-minute advice and information from the experts at Frommer’s. • Small trim size for use on-the-go • Focused coverage of only the best hotels and restaurants in all price ranges • Tear-out “cheat sheet” with full-color maps or easy reference pointers San Francisco is one of the most exciting, inviting, unique, and eclectic cities in the world. From the Golden Gate Bridge to Lombardy Street to the Embarcadero…from Little Italy to Chinatown to Russian Hill, there’s an invigorating mix of attractions and cultures. This friendly guide helps you zero in on your "must sees" and plan your personal itinerary. Enjoy incredible upscale shopping or bargain-hunting in Chinatown, browse for books at City Lights, or hit Haight Street or Hayes Street for the latest trends Choose from all kinds of entertainment options, ranging from a Giants game to grand opera to theater to blues to leather-clad, fire-dancing performance artists Have a romantic dinner at Absinthe or Quince, sip a cappuccino in North Beach, enjoy authentic Italian pastas, or try the catch of the day Take a day trip to Berkeley, an overnighter to the coast, or a getaway to Wine Country, including winery tours and a mud bath Like every For Dummies travel guide, San Francisco For Dummies, 5th Edition helps you make the most of your vacation. It includes: Down-to-earth trip-planning advice Info on the best ships for every budget Tips on sightseeing at ports of call Handy Post-it Flags to mark your favorite pages Whether you want to experience the thrills and views provided by the cable cars, escape from Alcatraz, climb Telegraph Hill, bike in Golden State Park, or simply relax in a room with a private outdoor soaking tub, this guide helps you find your way in the City by the Bay.

“The landscape of monotony is elsewhere,” Jack Newcombe writes, and the routes he traces through the vineyards, towns, and parkland of northern California—along with the variegated pleasures to be explored en route—bear the proof: • Mud baths and wine tasting in Calistoga • A view from the top at Mt. St. Helena • Wine touring, the slow and selective way, in the Napa and Sonoma valleys • “A Beer Experience” in Petaluma, and a dining treat at the New Boonvile Hotel • Whale watching on the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts • Walking the redwood forest trails • Finishing fleets and Victorian mansions in Eureka These attractions and more—and the colorful past that gave rise to them—are presented in Northern California: A History & Guide, an exciting, indispensable travel companion for a most spectacular region.