NORTH FORK — After investing four years of blood, sweat and money into reviving a North Fork treasure, owner Jennifer McMillan has run straight into a roadblock as she tries to reopen the restaurant and saloon at Bandit Town (formerly known as Old Town). The historic Old West-inspired little town is located at 55420 Road 226 just west of North ...

This photograph is from our Bishop Collection, however we have little information about the people in the photo. We are also particularly interested in learning about the building in the background. Any information you can share about where the building was located, the name of the building, or the people, is greatly appreciated. Jordan Clark Sierra Mono Museum North Fork, ...

As we hiked down to the old Kistler Cabin site, we could easily make out the animal tracks on the damp trail and there were quite a few bear tracks. We didn’t see any of those bear but we did come across an 8-toed bear track, which was extra scary. Where: Yosemite National Park, Sierra National Forest Distance: 9.54 miles ...

Editor’s note: We catch up with our friends Karen and Ken Geiszler of Winery-Sage.com as they continue their wine-tasting adventure in Lodi (Winery-sage: Stuck On Wine Tasting In Lodi). Our tasting trip started with a visit to the Lodi Winegrape Commission, a great facility with a knowledgeable staff and a broad selection of Lodi wines. If you have time for only ...

By Bob Labozetta (Mariposa Master Gardener) Gardening in this time of increasing global temperatures, rising sea levels, and changing environments is challenging to say the least. In our own locale, we notice significant impact on our backyard habitats: With higher average temperatures and inconsistent precipitation, plants are blooming earlier and growing seasons are becoming unpredictable. Even warm-weather plants like tomatoes ...

By Karen and Ken Geiszler, Winery-Sage.com —  Red wine headaches. It’s the most common reason we’ve heard for people abstaining from red wine, even though they like it. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “The sulfites in red wine give me headaches.” Ahhh!!! … asoioaweyr923q8htt9q48y9 … That was me banging my head against the keyboard. This is one ...

Wildflowers and snow, all in the same hike! Who would have guessed? We had heard that a few early wildflowers were blooming above Redinger Lake so we headed on up to check them out and got a good workout in as a bonus. Where: Sierra National Forest Distance: 10.03 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 1,404′ to 3,521′ Date: February 21, ...

OAKHURST — Together, we can beat our biggest rival, say organizers, as the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Eastern Madera County kicks off its new fundraising season on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oakhurst Lutheran Church. “Our main reason for having a Kick-Off this Saturday is to get the community excited about our Relay ...

I joined the Sierra Hiking Seniors on an adventure to hike below Bass Lake and visit the old bunker-type graves of four men. We also got a bit of exercise in and had a few surprises along the trail. Where: Sierra National Forest, Pacific Gas & Electric Distance: 5.09 miles (but you can go more or less if you want ...

By Karen and Ken Geiszler, Winery-Sage.com —  It’s hard to take a wine region seriously when its claims to fame were the birthplace of A&W Root Beer and the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, Lodi. For most of the 20th century Lodi had the stigma of being a “box or bulk” wine producer. The region still produces 20 percent of the wine ...