Spring has definitely sprung in the Merced River Canyon and the poppy show has begun! Hike it, bike it, drive it or find a good spot to sit in a chair and watch it. There are so many ways to view these beautiful, golden poppies. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation Management AreaDistance: 10.76 miles round trip but ...

Old dirt roads led me along the Merced River, by old mines, wildflowers, views, a singing frog and the Love Shack. Starting at Briceburg, I walked up the Burma Road switchbacks then beyond. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation Management AreaDistance: About 15 miles roundtrip but you can go shorter or longerDifficulty: Moderate to StrenuousElevation Range: 1,138′ ...

I love walking the same road each week in the spring, admiring the changing wildflower colors, butterflies, bugs and occasional critter. Snake tracks on the road also told me that the rattlesnakes were waking up. Last week I had spotted a few old mines on the map not far from my path and you know me, I had to check ...

By Sal Maccarone The word utilitarian refers to something that is useful, or serves a function. Utilitarian art is something that has function as its main priority, but is at the same time aesthetically pleasing. Like many other artists, I like to think of my own work as utilitarian art. The fact is, many important architectural wonders can be considered ...

I was in the mood for a good conditioning hike with some miles and a climb. 12 miles with about 2,000 elevational gain at the Merced River at Briceburg would do the trick. It was a little early for the beautiful spring wildflowers that this area is known for but I found a few early birds. Oh, and I had ...

Have you ever snowshoed into Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias? This was one adventure I had not experienced until this week. Tuolumne Grove was one of the big stops that early travelers made on their way to Yosemite. In the 1870’s, they left Hodgdon’s Stage Station, then headed up through these huge trees, even driving through one of the dead ...

By Sal Maccarone A finished piece of sculpture can take many forms. The sculptural process is loosely defined as: The art of carving, modeling, or otherwise producing works of art which are three dimensional, such as would be a relief, an intaglio, or a sculpture-in-the-round. Breaking this definition down, a relief gives the impression that an image has been raised ...

Already February and I hadn’t gone on a single snowshoe this year. It was time to fix that problem with an adventure in Fish Camp but what would the snow be like? Where: Sierra National ForestDistance: 3.64 miles, but you can walk much farther or shorter if you wishDifficulty: Easy to Moderate, depending on the depth of new snowElevation Range: ...

There was a really good reason why I headed up to Yosemite Valley when I did. A nice storm came in and the timing for it moving out would be a perfect time to be in the valley. Maybe if I was lucky, I would see clouds swirling around the high places on the rim. Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: About ...

This is one of the most recent donations to the Coarsegold museum. We are hoping to get more information about this item for our records. Stories about how it is used, or families that had one on their ranch or in their yard. Thank you for your participation in the History Mystery project. Our museum is closed at this time, ...