NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — The colors of fall in the Sierra are spectacular, without comparison — perhaps especially so in the foothills. This time a year ago we had a wee bit of rain, just enough of a taste to make the mouth water. Now, until the forecast changes, we’ll have to settle for the beautifully changing light, and put those ...

YOSEMITE – Though the firefight has ended on the nearly 97,000-acre Ferguson Fire and only a few smokes remain throughout the interior, the work of repair and restoration continues. On a recent trip to Yosemite West, I was escorted by Anne Grandy, retired from the Bass Lake Ranger District and now serving as a PIO on the South Central Sierra ...

YOSEMITE – As we move into the fall season, we are reminded that though temperature may be cooling down, fire season is not over. There are currently four fires still burning in Yosemite National Park’s wilderness. While hiking trails and sitting at vistas throughout the park, visitors may see smoke in some of these areas and are reminded that wildfires, ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — Our local EMC SPCA says they are in desperate need of new foster people to take care of some very special canines and felines. For anyone who has been thinking about ways in which to help, this is a great way to give volunteering with pets a try. “Recently, we’ve had to turn away both cats and ...

YOSEMITE  – In honor of National Public Lands Day, the entrance fee to Yosemite National Park is being waived, and transportation to the park is free that day, as well. Saturday, Sept. 22 is a fee-free day at Yosemite National Park, as are three other days this year, through the National Park Service. The entrance fee waiver for fee-free days does not ...

YOSEMITE – Visitors to Yosemite National Park should be prepared for one-lane traffic control at numerous locations throughout the park through the end of October. From Sept. 10 to Oct. 28, the park will be replacing the existing traffic counters in Yosemite, beginning this week along Tioga Road. At each location, the park will be installing loop vehicle detectors in ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — We decided to do something different this weekend, so the hubs and I took off from our home in Coarsegold on Saturday morning for a quick trip over Tioga Pass to see what we could find. Typically, we are reservation-type people, but on this particular jaunt over to the Eastern Sierra, we decided to play it by ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park and Ansel Adams Gallery announce the eighth annual Gateway Expressions Student Art, Photography and Poetry Contest, celebrating the creativity of youth in Yosemite’s gateway communities. The contest is open to all students, grades K-12, who attend school or youth programs within the gateway community school districts of Yosemite National Park, including Bass Lake, Groveland, Chawanakee, ...

FISH CAMP — Mother nature may have canceled summer plans in Yosemite, but the park is back open and Tenaya Lodge, recent winner of Sunset Magazine’s 2018 Travel Awards for Best Park Classic hotel, has all the makings for a big fall getaway. Just minutes from the newly renovated Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, Tenaya’s fall season includes everything from ...

YOSEMITE – A young man visiting from Israel died when he fell from the top of Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, 18-year-old Tomer Frankfurter of Jerusalem was killed when he fell about 500 feet. They have ruled the fall an accident. Yosemite officials are still investigating the incident and ...