Hawaii (Chapter 17)

It is interesting to note that the Antelope Valley is home to a significant population of Native Hawaiians, as shown in the charts below. In particular, Palmdale has a higher percentage of Native Hawaiians than the California average as well as the United States average; also, while Lancaster has a smaller percentage of Native Hawaiians than Palmdale, it still has a higher percentage than the national average.

(Sources: http://www.areavibes.com/palmdale-ca/demographics/, http://www.areavibes.com/lancaster-ca/demographics/)

It is possibly the result of this significant population of Native Hawaiians in the Antelope Valley that has led to the establishment of a Native Hawaiian dance studio in Lancaster, called HULA From the Heart, which opened in 2011. As the studio's website states:

HULA From the Heart is a traditional Hawaiian dance studio featuring the dances of the Hawaiian Islands. Our studio targets children and adults in the Antelope Valley. Anyone who has the desire to learn, share, and be challenged is welcome. Our goal is to help perpetuate the rich culture of Hawaii.

Below are pictures of some of their dance performances:

 


(Source: http://www.hulafromtheheart.com/about-us/)

Finally, Hawaii is renowned for its unique flora and fauna, as well as its ongoing conservation efforts to preserve its native species for future generations. Similarly, the Antelope Valley also has aspects of a distinctive biogeography. In particular, the AV's indigenous Joshua Trees are found only in two areas of the world: the Mojave Desert (which the AV is a part of) and Israel. Thus, these plants have become an iconic symbol for the Antelope Valley, and that is why I chose them for the background of this blog. The Antelope Valley is continuing to try to preserve its natural environment as well; an example of this is the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve in Lancaster, shown below:

(Source: http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/Index.aspx?page=764)

The Pacific Northwest (Chapter 16)

In Chapter 16, we learned about the Pacific Northwest region, which in many ways is very different from the Antelope Valley in terms of its physical and cultural geography. But these two regions do share a few similarities, as outlined below.

The Pacific Northwest is well-known for its farmers' markets, such as Seattle's Pike Place Market shown on page 311 of the text. Similarly, the Antelope Valley is home to a few farmers' markets, including one located on Lancaster Boulevard called the Blvd Farmers' Market. This market is organized by the City of Lancaster in partnership with Raw Inspiration, a non-profit operator of California Certified Farmers Markets. It is hosted every week, as shown in the poster below:



A picture of the Blvd Farmers' Market

(Source: http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/index.aspx?page=1160)

Also, the town of Littlerock, which is known as the "fruit basket of the Antelope Valley", is home to Charlie Brown Farms on Pearblossom Highway, which originated as a local fruit stand and has since grown into a well-known tourist attraction. Locals and tourists alike can visit the store and buy locally grown fruit, honey, and wine, as well as candy and other delicacies. I have personally visited this store with my family many times; it is pictured below:


(Source: http://www.charliebrownfarms.com/index.html) 

As noted on page 312, in the 1970's the Pacific Northwest became the center of  the craft beer movement with microbrews. The Antelope Valley has likewise begun to open microbrew facilities with two popular locations in Lancaster. The first microbrewery is Kinetic Brewery, shown below:


(Source: http://www.kineticbrewing.com/)

The interior of the second microbrewery, Bravery Brewery, is shown below:


Finally, just as the economy of the Pacific Northwest has depended on aircraft manufacturing in many areas, the Antelope Valley's economy is also highly dependent on the aerospace industry as well. As mentioned in previous blog posts, the AV is home to several aerospace manufacturing companies. Just as a Boeing 747 is shown on page 314 in the text, which is manufactured in Seattle, below is a picture of the Global Hawk, which is manufactured in Palmdale by Northrop Grumman:

California (Chapter 15)

Since the Antelope Valley is located within California, there are many similarities between the AV and the California region discussed in Chapter 15.

In particular, the Antelope Valley has become a location source for many Hollywood films, TV shows, and commercials, which is part of the entertainment industry that is integral to the economy of California. The Antelope Valley Film Office serves to recruit new film productions into the Antelope Valley, and it has largely been successful in bringing many famous films to the AV, as shown in the video below:

(Source: http://antelope-valley-film-office.hollywoodserve.com/videos.php)

There are also several iconic locations located within the AV that have been used repeatedly in film productions, such as the famous "Club Ed", shown below, which has been used in a Brittany Spears music video, a Backstreet Boys music video, and numerous commercials and movies.


(Source: http://clui.org/ludb/site/club-ed)

Out of the many commercials that have been filmed in the Antelope Valley, one of the most famous is a Honda commercial for which the producers constructed a "musical road" in Lancaster. This musical road is the only such road in the United States, and it was grooved to play the William Tell Overture when driven across at 50 mph. Currently, it is maintained by the City of Lancaster as a major tourist attraction. The video below shows what the road sounds like, which I have personally driven across:

(Source: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/19149)

Finally, the Antelope Valley is home to a California State Park, Saddleback Butte State Park. According to the California State Parks website:

 Saddleback Butte, elevation 3,651 feet, is a granite mountaintop that towers some thousand feet above the broad alluvial bottom land of the Antelope Valley about fifteen miles east of Lancaster, on the western edge of the Mojave Desert. The state park surrounding Saddleback Butte was created in 1960 to protect the butte (one of many similar land features in the Antelope Valley) and examples of native Joshua Tree woodlands and other plants and animals that were once common throughout this high desert area.

Thus, this State Park is responsible for preserving some of the Antelope Valley's most iconic geographic features and native wildlife, and it is pictured below:

  

(Source: http://www.parks.ca.gov/mediagallery/?page_id=618)

Ultimately, as a part of Los Angeles County, the Antelope Valley is a part of the one of the most well-known counties within California: