Frontier Days

The town of Willits, California is home to a week-long 4th of July celebration known as Willits Frontier Days—host to California’s oldest continuous rodeo.

This year’s theme is Roping A Star. So plan on throwing your rope around our “4-star” events from the barbecue to the parade, from the gymkhana to the rodeo, from the horseshow to the Cutest Little Cowboy & Cowgirl contest, and much, much more.

You can learn more about Willits Frontier Days at www.willitsfrontierdays.com

Welcome to Willits

Willits was originally called Willitsville.

The city is the eastern terminus of the California Western Railroad (otherwise known as the “Skunk Train”), running through the Coast Redwood forests to coastal Fort Bragg.

Every July, Willits hosts the Frontier Days & Rodeo, the oldest continuous rodeo and Independence Day celebration in California. It is also home to the Roots of Motive Power Locomotive Museum and the Mendocino County Museum.

The Willits area is the final home of the racehorse Seabiscuit. Ridgewood Ranch, where Seabiscuit trained, recuperated, lived out his retirement and was buried, is located a few miles south of the city.

Some notable names from Willits include Tre Cool, the drummer for Green Day, and Mona Gnader, the bass player for Sammy Hagar. Although the band Tommy Tutone is usually referred to as “a San Francisco band”, they were located in Willits at the time that their enduring hit single “Jenny (867-5309)” was released. The folk singer Jeff Buckley spent a year at Willits High School. Stagecoach bandit Charles Bolles (aka Black Bart) stole multiple Wells Fargo boxes and mail from stagecoaches traveling through Willits.

Willits Little Lake Valley

One of my favorite places to photograph is the valley, mostly because it’s so easy to get a good picture there. But even when I was a kid I remember my mom “taking the long way home” and I would always have my nose out the window watching the scenery fly by.

All year round the valley has interesting things to see. Animals, scenery, buildings, history, you name it. Just make sure to keep an eye on the road… Another thing the valley has a lot of is turkeys, deer, and at least one peacock.

Below are some pictures I’ve taken out in the valley. Hopefully this whole feature of the month thing works out and I can spend more time on it in the future.