The next day we took a train to Siena to see the sights. We were a bit disappointed because we learned — with both Siena and Florence — that the cities are okay, they have a number of pretty spectacular churches, but the real things to see are the items in the museums and they take far longer than we ...

I love to hike up the Mono Pass Trail. There is something about those views of Mono Pass, up Parker Pass and Kuna Crest that make me feel like I am on top of the world. But clouds make it extra special, casting shadows on those multi-colored mountains, changing the colors with every cloud. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 10.22 ...

YOSEMITE – Three Yosemite National Park employees were honored on July 4th by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke at the 73rd Honor Award Convocation Ceremony in Washington, D.C. Park Ranger Jesse McGahey, Park Ranger Philip N. Johnson, and Firefighter/Paramedic Nick Bliss received the Valor Award of the Department of the Interior for heroic actions, courage, and professionalism exhibited in ...

I love to hike up to the glacial fed Conness Lakes above Saddlebag Lake. I don’t know how the colors of the lake’s waters magically change from green to turquoise to deep blue before my eyes, so magic is the best explanation I can come up with. Where: Harvey Monroe Hall Research Natural Area, Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Distance: ...

We encourage you locals to get out and enjoy your backyard, the Sierra National Forest. One of our favorite day trips is a drive up to Whisky Falls, just less than an hour from North Fork. We recently made two trips up to the Falls. First was to take my cousin Bev from Kansas and the second some friends of ...

Wine tasting in Tuscany has been a decades-long goal of Karen’s and mine, so when we finally got to Tuscany we knew we’d be spending some time in a winery. The interesting part is that, in Tuscany, Chianti reigns supreme. But in our little corner of heaven — San Gimignano — a curious wine grape called Vernaccia is the queen (it ...

OAKHURST — There’s a new restaurant opening up in Oakhurst. It’s called Rev’s Farm House, and owners Brian and Renée Velasquez say they’re here to stay. Taking over the former Crab Cakes location, the opening date isn’t set in stone, though they figure it to be around the first of August. Rev’s Farm House is an expansion and re-envisioning of their ...

O’NEALS — Great news out of Minarets High School and in North Fork, as Precision Axes of Mariposa is sponsoring a team of male and female athletes who will compete in timber as a varsity sport. Right now, they’re getting ready for the Loggers Jamboree. “It’s a reality!” says North Fork resident and Minarets parent Deborah Hough. “We are happy ...

This month we are featuring not so much a Mystery as a celebration of the past from Christina McDonald. “As the Sierra Mono Museum embarks on a new phase in cultural preservation, let us remember the original ground breaking that took place in the 1970’s. Community members please identify the people in the groundbreaking photo. Let us see who you ...

Saddlebag Lake Campground in the Tioga Pass area had just opened and I wasted no time heading up there to check out the high country. Four days of camping gave my dog Sally and me plenty of time to wander by the high lakes in the area and get some fishing in! Where: Hoover Wilderness, Inyo National Forest Distance: 9.08 ...