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 ...

Lucca was a one day stop over between Cinque Terre and Tuscany, but it turned out to be a real find. It’s completely surrounded by medieval walls and the tops are wide enough for biking, which we did the morning we left. Our hotel was on the main piazza which took the shape of the Roman amphitheater that once stood there. ...

I’ve run into an amazing number of people recently suffering from plantar fasciitis (one of those Greek phrases meaning inflammation of the connective tissue on the bottom of the foot). I’ve had this condition and most people I know have either struggled with it themselves or are closely related to someone who has. It can take a year to fully ...

By Helen Willoughby-Peck (UC Master Gardener, Mariposa) It is a good idea to take a walk in your garden every day. It is good for you, but more importantly, it is good for your plants. Observing your plants on a regular basis can help control pests beginning to enjoy your tomatoes before you can. When caught early, pests are usually ...

YOSEMITE — Thanks to the Yosemite Conservancy and the San Francisco Zoo, Yosemite National Park now has the makings of a robust population of California red-legged frogs in Yosemite Valley, after decades of absence. In the early 1950s American bullfrogs were introduced in Yosemite Valley. According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, American bullfrogs were intentionally introduced into the western United States as a ...

I had never hiked to the top of the Devil’s Dance Floor. I had tried but failed last year but we succeeded this year! We headed off trail and reached the top, a huge granite flat rock that looks like an aircraft carrier deck with views of Foresta, Bridalveil Fall and beyond! Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 8.80 Miles Elevation ...

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 ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — An easy-going group of like-minded, ultra-competent individuals, the Sierra Freepackers unit of the Back Country Horsemen of California (BCHCSFP) is comprised of a small but committed unit of volunteers, currently 50 members strong. Despite their moderate size, the group consistently ranks among the highest per capita for volunteer hours in trail maintenance, public awareness and education, logging ...