Drive around this state long enough --- or maybe take public transportation, or a bike, or a walk --- and you are bound to come upon a fading metal plaque affixed to a rock, denoting that location as significant.

These are California's State Historical Landmarks, the first of which was designated 75 years ago on March 29, 1933: Giant Desert Figures, located north of Blythe (three large figures, etched in the desert mesa sand, origin unknown). Today, throughout California, there are more than 1,000 such sites, including (of course) the 21 Spanish missions, as well as the great, the small and --- California being California --- the quirky. (Like the Hawthorne childhood home of the Wilson Brothers, Brian, Dennis and Carl, where they and cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine recorded "Surfin'," and were forever after known as the Beach Boys.)

In Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, there are 120-plus other, less sand-oriented historic sites with religious significance to the state's colorful history, pre- and post-colonization and statehood. If your family has a fourth-grader this fall, you may want to take particular note of these sites, since they may well turn up in the study of California history taught to nearly every fourth-grader since, it seems, Don Gaspar de Portolá and Father Junípero Serra trod the Golden State.

The oldest designated State Historical Landmark in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is Father Serra's Cross in the hills above Ventura (N. 113, in Grant Park, at end of Ferro Drive). Situated on "La Loma de la Cruz," or the Hill of the Cross, it was erected by Father Serra on March 31 (Easter Sunday), 1782, at the founding of Mission San Buenaventura --- the ninth and last mission founded by Father Serra in California.

The original cross --- erected by the Franciscan Padres to let travelers (arriving by land or sea) know where Mission San Buenaventura was located --- was weakened by weather elements, and a replacement cross blew down in 1875. But in 1912 members of a Ventura ladies service organization constructed a third cross (using the same Jeffrey Pine of the original, from the same spot in Santa Paula Canyon), mounted in a zinc cylinder with concrete support. It was replaced in 1941 and has withstood not only the elements but a 2003 constitutional lawsuit charging that the separation of church and state was being violated by the City of San Buenaventura's ownership and maintenance of a cross. The Ventura City Council solved the problem by selling the cross and an acre of land surrounding it to the highest bidder (San Buenaventura Heritage, for $104,216.87).

Here, from north to south, are some of the region's historic sites, some less known than others, within an hour or two's reach (and hopefully less than a mortgage payment's worth of gasoline), with descriptions and locations provided by the California Office of Historic Preservation:

Santa Barbara County

---Burton Mound: Thought to have once been the Indian village of Syujtun, this site has yielded some of the most important archeological evidence found in California. In 1542 the village was recorded by Cabrillo while on his voyage of discovery, and again in 1769 by Fray Juan Crespí and Portolá. Don Luís Burton, after whom the mound was named, acquired the property in 1860. 129 W. Mason St., Santa Barbara.

---Carpinteria & Indian Village of Mishopshnow: The Chumash Indian village of Mishopshnow, discovered by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on Aug. 14, 1542, was located one-fourth mile southwest of the monument. Fr. Crespí of the Portolá Expedition named it San Roque on Aug. 17, 1769. Portolá's soldiers, observing the Indians building wooden canoes, called the village La Carpinteria, the Carpenter's Shop. 950 Maple Ave., Carpinteria.

---Royal Spanish Presidio: Established April 19-21, 1782 by Governor Felipe de Neve, Fr. Serra and Lieutenant José Francisco Ortega, under orders of King Carlos III to provide the benefits of government for the inhabitants of the Santa Barbara Channel region. Santa Barbara and Canyon Perdido Sts., Santa Barbara.

---Chapel of San Ramon: This redwood frame chapel, erected in 1875 by Frederick and Ramona Foxen Wickenden, illustrates the transition between the architecture of the old missions and the frame churches of the American settlers. It is a unique example of the use of wood to create strong, simple forms that had formerly been executed in adobe. Today it is a mission of St. Louis de Montfort Church, Santa Maria. Tepusquet and Foxen Canyon Rds., 15 miles SE of Santa Maria.

Ventura County

---Old Mission Reservoir and Aqueduct: Part of the mission water system for Mission San Buenaventura, this was the settling tank or receiving reservoir from which water was distributed to the church and to the few Spanish families who lived near the mission. The aqueduct was built by Chumash Indians 1805-15 to meet the needs of the mission population. The entire water system was destroyed by floods and abandoned in 1862. Eastwood Park, 115 E. Main St., Ventura; 234 Canada Larga Rd., Ventura.

---Warring Park, Portolá Expedition: On Aug. 11, 1769, the explorers and priests accompanying Portolá found a populous village of Piru Indians near this point. Carrying their bowstrings loose, the Indians offered necklaces of stones, in exchange for which Portolá presented them with beads. The expedition later arrived at the junction of the Arroyo Mupu and Santa Paula Creek, at a place they named the Holy Martyrs Ipolito and Cassiano. The priests of the Mission San Buenaventura here established the Asistencia Santa Paula, where they held services for the Mupu Indians. 700 block of Orchard St., Piru; 1400 block of Harvard Blvd., Santa Paula.

---Ventura County Courthouse: The courthouse was designed in 1910 by pioneer architect Albert C. Martin, Sr., who also designed many local churches. Dedicated in July 1913, the structure is an outstanding example of the neoclassic style prevalent in the U.S. at the turn of the century. 501 Poli St., Ventura.

---Rancho Simi: Today's Strathearn Historical Park is the site of the headquarters of the Spanish Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi. The name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. At 113,000 acres, Rancho Simi was one of the state's largest land grants. 137 Strathearn Pl., Simi Valley.

Los Angeles County

---Brand Park (Memory Garden): Given to the city for a park Nov. 4, 1920, it is a part of the original land grant of Mission San Fernando de Rey de España, and preserves the colorful and picturesque atmosphere of the early California missions. 15174 San Fernando Mission Blvd., Mission Hills.

---Domínguez Ranchhouse: The central portion of the ranchhouse was built in 1826 by Manuel Domínguez. Rancho San Pedro, ten square leagues granted provisionally by Governor Fages to Juan José Domínguez in 1784. In the battle of Domínguez Ranch (Oct. 8-9, 1846), Californians led by José Antonio Carrillo repelled U.S. forces under Navy Capt. William Mervine, in an attempt to recapture the Pueblo of Los Angeles. 18127 S. Alameda, Compton.

---Los Angeles Plaza: Part of the original pueblo lands of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula founded in 1781 under the Spanish Laws of the Indies during the reign of King Carlos III, the plaza is located close to the site of the original plaza. It includes the historic sites of Nuestra Señora La Reina De Los Angeles, the Church of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels (dedicated Dec. 8, 1822), still an active parish; Avila Adobe, the oldest existing house in Los Angeles (c. 1818); and the Pico House (Hotel), the first three-story hotel built in Los Angeles (1869-70). 400-500 block of N. Main St., L.A.

---Site of Mission Vieja (Old Mission): The first buildings erected, and later abandoned, by the fathers for Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. The permanent buildings for the mission were located about five miles distant. N. San Gabriel Blvd. and N. Lincoln Ave., Montebello.

---Old Mill: El Molino Viejo was designed by Fr. José María Zalvidea and built of fired bricks and adobe about 1816 to serve Mission San Gabriel. Another grist mill was built in 1823 near the mission and the old mill was gradually abandoned. The property remained in private hands until 1903, when Henry E. Huntington bought the building and used it for a golf clubhouse. Later owners had the mill restored in 1928. 1120 Old Mill Rd., San Marino.

---Serra Springs: The Portolá Expedition of 1769 encamped at this spring, and it is reported that in 1770 Fr. Serra celebrated Mass here for the natives of this area. This spring was also the former water supply of the town of Santa Monica. The site is now the campus of the University High School. 11800 Texas Ave., L.A.

---Portolá Trail Campsites I & II: Spanish colonization of California began in 1769 with the expedition of Portolá from Mexico. With Captain Don Fernando Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant Don Pedro Fages, Sgt. José Francisco Ortega, and Fathers Juan Crespí and Francisco Gómez, the Portolá party camped near these spots on Aug. 2 and 3, 1769, en route to Monterey. Elysian Park entrance, at N. Broadway and Elysian Park Dr., L.A.; 325 S. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills.

---Los Encinos State Historic Park: The Franciscan padres used El Encino Rancho as their headquarters while exploring the valley before establishing Mission San Fernando in 1797. In 1849 Vincente de la Osa built an adobe with nine rooms. Subsequent owner Eugene Garnier built the existing two-story limestone house in 1872. In 1891 Domingo Amestoy acquired the property. 16756 Moorpark St., Encino.

---Point Dume: On Nov. 24, 1793, English explorer George Vancouver, commander of an expedition to determine the extent of settlement of the northwest coast of America, named this rocky promontory, Point Dume, after his Franciscan friend, Father Francisco Dumetz, at Mission San Buenaventura. Point Dume is the western terminus of Santa Monica Bay and has been an important landmark for navigators since Vancouver's voyage in 1793. Point Dume State Beach, Malibu.

---El Monte, First Southern California Settlement by Immigrants from United States: El Monte was first an encampment on the Old Spanish Trail, an extension of the trail from Missouri to Santa Fe. By the 1850s, some began to call El Monte the "End of the Santa Fe Trail." Early in that decade a permanent settlement was established by immigrants from Texas, the first settlement in Southern California founded by U.S. citizens. Santa Fe Trail Historical Park, El Monte.

For a complete listing of the 123 California State Historical Landmarks in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, visit www.the-tidings.com.