With my cousin Beverly from Dodge City, Kansas visiting, we wanted her to experience how great our high country is so we decided to take her on a day trip up into the mountains to see Wishon and Courtright Reservoirs. We loaded up the trusty Chevrolet Colorado with a picnic lunch and drinks, including a water dish for our traveling ...

Bergamo was great and we were really looking forward to Cinque Terre. Unfortunately, what we didn’t realize was — most of Western Europe had a three-day weekend and the UK had a whole week off and, you know what?  They all descended on the highway between Bergamo and Cinque Terre. We fly for twelve hours to get away from California ...

Day five and we’re in Verona. We’re here because the maître d’ at my favorite Italian restaurant in New York City is from Verona and said it’s a beautiful city and we had to see it.  Karen, of course, adores me and so was willing to go along with whatever I suggested (I typed that after she proof-read it if you ...

I got a sneak preview of the newly revamped Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park after it has been closed to the public since Spring of 2015. 250 acres with nearly 500 mature trees is a must see if you are visiting Yosemite. Reopening this Friday, parking at the Mariposa Grove Welcome Center and taking a shuttle up to Mariposa ...

Sally and I needed a break from weedeating and we escaped over Tioga Pass, camping along roaring Lee Vining Creek. Relaxing and reading were my goals but I walked back through history up to the Poole Hydroelectric Plant. Where: Inyo National Forest, Aspen Campground Elevation: 7,490′ Date: June 4-7, 2018 Maps: June Lake Topog Dog Friendly? Yes Sally and I headed ...

The first day in Venice, we just walked around all day and got a feel for the city. There are over 400 bridges, each linking what was once an island to the next island. The Venetians slowly filled in the gaps between the islands so that only the canals remained. We split up for lunch because Justin and Allison saw an ...

Riley’s pick for the Animal Compassion Team (ACT) foster and adoption Dog of the Week for SNO is a young Aussie named Mowgli. “Hi, my name is Mowgli and my foster mom says I’m an adorable boy. Good in the car and on leash, I love cuddles and to go for walks. I’m a gorgeous Australian Shepherd, about 60 pounds and ...

Some of us snowshoed, some of us hiked and all of us postholed and sank through the spring snow on our way up to beautiful frozen lakes in the Tioga Pass area with blue sky and white puffy clouds to add some sparkly to the day. Where: Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest Distance: 4.98 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: ...

Fair warning to those looking for our normal wine posts… the first couple are just vacation posts for friends or for Karen and I when we get senile and can’t remember what we did when we were here… Danny finally graduated which means — Italy, here we come! We’ve been waiting to take this trip since he graduated from high school, ...

Whatever you have wanted to ask about my recent horse camping trip with Hondoo Rivers and Trails but were afraid to ask is what this blog is all about. We sure did ride across some beautiful country in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park and adjoining lands but there it takes a lot to make this happen. I cannot begin to address the ...