Valley of the Moon (Jack London Ranch)

[lindaljune23]

It is a lovely location. It was always hot and dry when I visited. Very haunting when you see the ruins of the burned mansion.

[Masiakasaurus]

I live near there, and I've been there a number of times. It's a great hiking park, and the Wolf House is always worth visiting. :)

[4everjackjohnson]

It is a shame that Jack London was such a product of his time. He was a simple racist and could not see beyond his turn of the century views. He was not a visionary. He was a good writer, but there have been thousands of those throughout the years. Jack London is truly dated, and it is a shame he could not see beyond his own hatred. Hopefully, he has found peace and understanding wherever he may be. The last thing he should be though is glorified...

[oogieboogiewaltz]

Thanks for the great video! :-)

[ilgattapardo]

Thanks for your video, which brought back memories of my visit there a decade ago.

[databknight]

Thank You, Jack London! You are allways in my heart! Никто не мог бы с большим основанием повторить: "О, люди, я жил!.." Он бессмертен!

[MsRagazzino]

Мне повезло ребёнком учиться грамоте, читая повесть "Белый Клык" (восьмитомник издания 1955 года)  Спасибо!

[lsalvadorable]

The Bush families are the culprits of this economy!! Read your History. Never since the great depression has our society face such challenges due to incompetences and narrow minded old leaders

[thegreatsubscriber]

I read it was a1000 acre ranch, not 100.

[iNSANEcOOkieMONstEr]

Actually, Thegreatsubscriber, I just visited the park and a Ranger there told me that with London's accumulations, he gathered a total of 1400+/- acres. I think he may have started low, but definitely ended up with a larger number.

[kalpal67]

bit of a racist if you ask me

[dale1966gto]

no one asked you.....so keep it buttoned.

how's your ''hope'' and ''change'' president doing.

i can't make question marks.

if you think it's bad now, wait until the end of another 3 years.

the world will witness the takeover and destruction of the u.s., the most powerful nation ever by a group of radical leftists. it will be so bad no one in the liberal media will acknowledge it. i'll like to see what kind of excuses they'll make for him.

it will take someone like palin to rebuild it.

[kalpal67]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha­hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha­ha!!! Palin! that was good. Wow its been so long i don't remember this. did i even mention politicss or was i just talking about jack london as a known racist?

[ZLATIKOR]

thanks...jack london is my idol...at least i drink like him.lol...just kiding john barlycorn is a piece of art as well but he is my here for real.respect jack..you will never die

[kenrg]

I'm glad this video is finding so many appreciative readers on YouTube. Thanks!

[Leopolduslizessu]

я училась читать по книгам Джек Лондона.

Герои романов "Белый Клык", "Сердца трёх", Морской Волк", "Мартин Иден" - я жила среди них в детстве.

[kenrg]

From my bad translation, I think you said you learned to read from Jack London's books. That's excellent!

[Leopolduslizessu]

Jack London was my childhood hero. My first book - "The White fang". Russian Translation. My relic :)

[AllHailDiscordia]

cry - cry

i love jack - am reading valley of the moon - now.

call of the wild is one of my very favorite books - buck is so timeless.

i live in the sf bay area - jack is one of my true heroes

thanks for the vid

i have been to the first and and last last saloon in jack london square - that is a very cool place

[MARECLOUD]

I have just come across his work [my two year old nephew picked up the scarlet plague which is forword by Tony Robinson on our trip to the book store.] Anyway i think the book harbours quality insights.

[ladfemax]

Interesting! Did you take the videos?

[kenrg]

Yes - I shot this last June, during all the wild fires, which is why the sky has that gray haziness to it.

[captainfury2007]

This was really fascinating. I have to agree with willyrobinson. That house would have been Hollywood standards.

[kenrg]

Hell, it would have invented Hollywood standard!

[dragerger]

kenrg, you made this film? Are you an amateur? The film is on highest prof level!

Don't reply thanks - you'r probably tired already :-). I thank you - watching this film was an exceptional experience! I thank you in the name of all Jack London fans.

[kenrg]

Yep, I made this one. Once in a while I squeeze out something worthwhile between the lousy vlogs ;^)

[ericrob123]

LONDON STEINBECK GREAT STORIES!!!!!

[kenrg]

Thanks!

[AlfoLora]

only 717 persons have watched this video?

T.T this is so sad!

this guy almost make me cry in his story "the call of the jungle" (la llamada de la selva, en español) well..... anyway I'm so happy for see the ranch of Jack London

THX Kenrg

[kenrg]

Thank you - So glad you enjoyed it.

[Zea107]

So this is the place he is mentioning in John Barleycorn... oh that king alcohol.

[kenrg]

Yeah, this place shows up in lots of his later books, in one form or another.

[willyrobinson]

man that london was classy. that house would've been a cream dream.

[kenrg]

It would have been something to see it completed - but the ruins are very cool too.

[iiswansongii]

That was really good :D You have a voice for voice-overs! :D

[kenrg]

Thanks much!

[blackturtleus]

Very interesting presentation! It's pretty bad luck when a house gets burnt down before it's even completed!!!

[kenrg]

Yes, very bad luck indeed. But it does make for a great tourist destination.

[ajdpadbury]

Well-presented and informative Ken, I did not know much about the author but I reconize the movies made from his books, I wonder if there are more that can be made?:)

[kenrg]

With over two dozen novels and several short story collections, I'm sure there's much more that can be filmed... and I'll be some of it is in the public domain and royalty free ;^)

[IAGuy06]

Very interesting.

Thank you.:)

[kenrg]

Thanks!

[kenrg]

If you were at the winery, you were right around the corner! Well, next time. Thanks!

[ChordToNowhere]

Excellent video - informative, interesting, and well made! The only issue I noticed was some audio clipping on the voiceovers (gotta watch out for that!)

[kenrg]

Yeah, the audio sucked. I have a good vocal microphone, but it's got a short in the chord, so this is just the darn condenser built in to the MacBook. ... must fix mic ...

[Minniver]

Fascinating stuff, ken! Thanks for sharing this story and showing us around.

[kenrg]

My pleasure - Glad you enjoyed.

[kenrg]

Yes, it's very sad about the bowling alley - it was made from all old-growth timber, but rather than the redwood, which is fire resistant, he used douglas fir, which goes up like a sparkler. All gone, automatic ball return and everything. They say he never rolled anything over 180 after that.

[DanPostropheL]

Nicely told. Thanks for sharing this, Ken. You did a very good job on it. That was quite the house he was building for himself.

-dan'l

[kenrg]

Thanks - I was thinking of doing a remodel of my own house using the Wolf House as guide...

[ockteby]

Excellent documentary, Ken and you did an excellent job with the narration. A professional presentation.

Frank

[kenrg]

Thanks - Of course, I'm not satisfied with it at all, but - as they say - "it's only YouTube."

[ockteby]

I know how you feel, Ken. I have never been able to satisfy myself with anything I ever did in radio or music. But believe me as an observer and part time critic "You did an excellent job on this video. I am sure the majority agrees with me. Give us more.

Frank

[andymooseman]

Great video Ken.

I read a biography of Jack London a few years ago. He sure lived an interesting & full life :)

[kenrg]

They don't make 'em like that anymore, that's for sure.

[thefrozenghost]

Great stuff, Ken. How did the house catch fire?

[kenrg]

Okay, several people have asked that here, so I just did a little research: "In 1995, a team of forensic experts, led by Bob Anderson, visited the site for several days to determine the cause of the fire. Their report concluded that the fire was caused by a pile of rags soaked with linseed oil, which ignited spontaneously on that hot August night in 1913."

[yaffle]

wolf house has 9 fireplaces? yaffle house has 10.

[kenrg]

10 regular fireplaces? Big deal. London's 9 were all solar powered, self-cleaning, with remote temperature controls, and 150 channels of cable pornography on a wireless internet system that sensed which room he was in, which room his wife was in, and set the appropriate programming automatically.

[kenrg]

Thank you.

[Rikotistic]

This is definitely one of your best. The wolf house structure, the lava rock, will likely stand a thousand years...I adore those gravity arches. That structure will outlast L.A. or any other city of boast. Elegant, my friend, truly elegant and captivating. I had an Alaskan Husky I named Nanook...my friend throughout my teen years. I despised his domestication. Three days a week, we went to a forest and wrestled like the creature he was and the deliberate-yet-unrefined human I aimed to be.

[kenrg]

I had a feeling London had been an influence on you... Thanks!

[TamHickey67]

Ken, that was just great. What a fantastic and world wide story teller he was!

[kenrg]

He was an interesting person, and not afraid of a little adventure.

[Blinkazoid]

Thanks for the interesting bit of history Ken! I didn't know any of that.

[kenrg]

I didn't know much of it till I got there!

[Urnkneekovaks]

Professional quality, Ken. Congrats!

[kenrg]

Thank you.

[achampag]

this was neat!

how did he die?

interesting to hear somebody from that time talk about farming like that

[kenrg]

Some say that he died of complications from alcohol and drug abuse. More likely, it was an accidental complication from the pain medications he took for injuries from his many adventures.

[Elaina43]

Do they know how the Wolf House caught fire?

[kenrg]

There wasn't any information on it at the ranch, so I'm not sure if the cause was ever known.

[juliact]

great! i read all his books when i was a kid.

[kenrg]

Thanks - We all read them back then, now I need to go back and read them again!

[puffyjo]

WOW Amazing , fasinating, never knew that. I have heard of the books you mentioned but it is always good to hear more. You have a real knack of making docs. Thank you for posting. would love to see more like this.=)

[kenrg]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed! I'm happy to oblige with more.

[Moueska]

That was a stunning video essay. Beautifully done...

(God, now I wanna go on vacation again. If only just to see the cool skeleton of a house that he never actually got a chance to complete.)

[kenrg]

I've always wanted to visit the Wolf House ruins - that was the main reason for my visit; the rest was just gravy :^)

[speedyconkiwi]

That was really interesting!

Jack London went green, hm? I like that.

And I especially like the name "House of the happy walls".

[kenrg]

He was Green before it was cool to be Green! And the walls really did seem happy.

[PappyStu]

I attached the Ghost Ranch Series via the first which has the last two sequentially attached... These are very complementary pieces to this fine work... Well watched Compadre... Worth every minute of the wait...

Perhaps someday someone will muse over our bones... vbg

[kenrg]

I'm sure many people are waiting to muse over your bones. Wait, that didn't come out right... Well, thanks!

[droppedelbow]

Really fascinating film. I've heard of London but never read any of his books. Looks like I may have missed a treat.

The music was a little sinister though. I had a feeling that the final phrase was going to be along the lines of "Although they found the hand, the prospector's body was never found, bwah hah hah hah!" But of course, that would have been innapropriate.

Aaaanyway, can we please have more guided tours? Living in the UK these are places I'm unlikely to visit. 5/5.

[kenrg]

Hmmm... that would have been a good ending! Maybe I've got to pull this and do some more editing...

Glad you enjoyed - I enjoy doing the video tours and hope to do more - maybe even in the UK someday!

[PrettyHarold]

I felt as if I were walking through a Legend of Zelda game thanks to the music. lol

5 Stars

[kenrg]

Did Kevin MacLeod do the Zelda music too? He's everywhere ;^)

[PrettyHarold]

Haha, I wouldn't be surprised really!

[MissTruly]

Very nice. I read Jack London as a teenager and just loved his books.

[kenrg]

It seems that's when we all read his stuff. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't delved into it much more recently than that. But now that I've visited the ranch I'll be digging through the shelves to find and re-read what we've got of his here in the house.

[Annaconda1984]

kenrg 4 frontpage (-:

what an excellent tour.

[kenrg]

Thanks!

[yellowlabrador]

i loved your little documentary, it was beautifully made. i read some Jack london books as a teenager and it was lovely seeing where he lived and died. interesting that he was part of the green movement, he wasn't the only author at that time, interested in organic farming.

[kenrg]

What I didn't get into was that he became acquainted with Luther Burbank who was doing his plant experiments just a few miles away in Santa Rosa. All very interesting.

[thizizliz]

I liked London when I was in high school, better than Hemmingway, but I think we read them the same year. I'll have to put this on my list of neat places to go - so to me, that makes your film successful you made me want to explore it more. Thanks Ken

[kenrg]

Thanks - There's also a boat house, but it's a further hike than I could get to in the time I had (and the rotten air quality from the wild fires), so I'll have to go back as well!

[EddyBergman]

Very cool. I feel like I've been on a guided tour. 5/5

[kenrg]

Yep, guided tour. That'll be $5 please. Actually, I only did this so that I could say "manure" a couple of times without feeling dirty.

[EddyBergman]

Hahaha, I always suspected you had a dirty mind ;)

[puffyjo]

lol good one

[kenrg]

Thanks much - It's sad that these author we "had to read" in middle and high school get forgotten once we're adults. They're great books for any age.

[liz1060]

With the interplay of the images, the text and your voiceover, you captured not only the spirit of the place and the people but of the time, as well. I think Jack London would be pleased, if not downright tickled!

[kenrg]

I certainly hope so - I'd hate to have him haunting me. Thanks.

[taragolden]

ken, is it known why the house burned down or is that still a mystery?

[kenrg]

Still a mystery, as far as I learned on my visit.

[Perroquet51]

Wonderful video, Ken. This going into my favs.

[kenrg]

Thanks!

[NewWarriorMan]

Very well done, Ken.

Nice honoring of the man.

You've got a future in documentary film making, son!

Best, Reid

[kenrg]

Hey! You left a comment! And only one! Thank you, sir. (no need to comment again).

[OhCurt]

Wowzers!

Educational film making should always be this good.

[kenrg]

It was always my ambition to make driver's ed films with a nice, bloody, early Brian DePalma influence.

[Justinmazing]

Hey it's I'll flood u with comments day for OhCurt! Yay!

[OhCurt]

LMAO!

[Justinmazing]

"Darn the wheel of the world! Why must it continually turn over? Where is the reverse gear?"

[kenrg]

Reverse gear is for pussies.

[Justinmazing]

Agreed. I have no regrets. Well maybe that one hooker but thats it.