Take a day trip to Whiskey Falls… Come visit Whiskey Falls and the surrounding high country area in the Sierra National Forest. You can experience some cooler weather and more wildflowers than you can count! Reach it from Bass Lake area or from North Fork,….the Sierra Vista Scenic Loop is where you head up from…
Call of the Wild! Attention, Four Wheel drivers… The view from the top of Bald Mountain, looking down on Shaver Lake is astonishing and awe-inspiring. The summit where the fire lookout stands is one of the highest places you can drive in the Sierra National Forest! Check out our four wheeling day up on Bald Mountain and the directions…
Corn lily or Skunk cabbage? I find out… A wildflower walk yields a new name and an interesting plant to photograph up in the high country near Jones’s Store in Beasore Meadow. Travel from Bass Lake, California, up Beasore Road, opposite the Pines Village, and you’ll be in the high country within 40 minutes. Cattle…
A gardener’s April day trip On a recent visit to Coarsegold, California, I stopped by the Hillside Iris Farm of Bill Tyson, just before the peak bloom. His farm is open to the public just during the month of April when Iris are in full bloom and ready to order by color and shape. You choose the ones…
Looking into the Sierra Foothill’s past Generations ago —women would gather at these spots to grind their acorn meats. “That’s where they would go get to work. That’s their kitchen — they would keep that very clean,” “You’ll find different holes at different depths. Traditionally, they like a shallower hole to pound the acorn flour.…
Locating a local landmark 7 Rock is a landmark referred to in the coverage of the recent Willow Fire, smoldering now, as this is written. Just where is 7 rock? ‘7 Rock’ is a granite formation surrounded by green pine trees, high on a mountain in the Sierra national Forest. It can be found when…
Celebrating a fine nursery… Have you been here? I hope so! We are very fortunate to have a nursery nearby that purchases and grows plants that are perfect for our foothill gardens. Besides having a wide variety of California native and drought tolerant Mediterranean plants, Bonnie Bladen, her husband Ray Laclergue and their staff are…
“Hmmm. Wonder where that goes?” My husband says as we pass by a hidden trail heading into the forest. Those are familiar words to me and a joy to him as a new trail is a treat to explore with his friends where they’ll find new routes long ago forgotten through the spectacular Sierra National Forest. I know he’ll file that bit in his mind somewhere and go back later to check it out.
Central Camp Road, near our place
It was my husband’s work that brought us here to these woods and a particular joy to me to be able to get up high on granite peaks and deep into pine forests where the pines get shorter as you get higher.…
A new video has just been released today by Steve Bumgardner, who has lived and worked in Sequoia and Yosemite Park for over 20 years. I recommend this whole series highly because of his filmmaking skill using new timelapse techniques that bring the park to life. I keep a page with the entire series of Yosemite Nature Notes in the Cool links tab. Thanks, Steve!…
Field Trip: Hornitos On a recent photo trek through the area between the Sierra foothills and the Central Valley of California, the little tiny town of Hornitos was found, baking in the 105 degree heat. My brother Ken accompanied me. Quiet and deserted now, the one-street town once had 15,000 people living there, Mexicans who…
Lewis Creek is about 7 miles south of Yosemite National Park, CA. The trail all along it with the flowers,waterfalls and natural beauty are a lovely alternative to visiting the Park if you have limited time, or if you want to avoid crowds, or if the roads are snowy in the Spring. I described the trail and…
In May, I decided to take my camera to explore Lewis Creek Trail, just 7 miles south of Yosemite. The creek is named for Washington B. Lewis, one of the Park’s early superintendents and is a few miles of us along Hwy 41 heading north. Part One: The trail and the bugs The trail This is a favorite walk…
