By Dan Carrion, E Clampus Vitus Historian One of the Valley’s most famous landmarks was located on Highway 99 at Fairmead. The “Mammoth Orange,” and its sister across the highway the “Whoa Boy Giant Orange,” served voyagers on Highway 99 for over 50 years. The Whoa Boy was built in 1941 on the west side of Highway 99 near the ...

Hello, I’m Miss Muffet. Maybe I should be called Marilyn instead of Muffet, you know, like Marilyn Monroe? I think my photo speaks for itself. Of course, beauty is only fur deep! Underneath all of this gorgeous fur, I am a lover at heart. I am only 10 months old and already know I like everyone! I am currently available ...

MARIPOSA — The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU) encourage residents to continue their hazard reduction burning in Eastern Madera County. Valid San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District permits are required and can be obtained by contacting San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control (APCD) at 559-230-6000. CAL FIRE stations will not be ...

I walked up the same dirt road, but a different spur road, to a beautiful meadow. Interesting history with hard working men who had a vision for this country but not all of these stories have a happy ending. Distance: 6.77 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer) Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 3,418′ to 4,840′ Date: April 15, 2020 ...

By UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County With “stay at home” orders in place, more people are starting a home garden. For the novice gardener, knowing where to begin can be a challenge. A few tips and steps will get you gardening in no time! If this is your first vegetable garden, start small. You will want to get the ...

MADERA — Madera Community Hospital announced this week that they have improved their COVID-19 test result time to less than 60 minutes. Until this week, people tested for COVID-19 in Madera County relied on the public health lab or national commercial laboratories to process their test results. Those test results were not typically known until two to seven days later. ...

Dear Neighbors, During the past month our community and hospital have made significant changes in how we work. For us, this is the first time in our careers when we are caring for patients without the patient’s friends and family physically visiting to provide emotional and spiritual support. We understand families are missing out on celebrating the first hours of ...

Lots of history on those dirt roads where I live and one of those dirt roads took me on a historic wagon road that Galen Clark’s company built to help connect Mariposa to Wawona. Distance: 5.61 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer) Difficulty: Easy Elevation Range: 3,418′ to 4,388′ Date: April 10, 2020 Maps: Ben Hur and Daulton ...

YOSEMITE — We have good news and bad news. The bad news is that fire season has not been cancelled due to the coronavirus. The good news is that the virus will likely result in there being far fewer outdoor activities and gatherings this summer, which should lead to fewer forest fires. That’s what we’re hoping, anyway. So what can ...

Taking a walk up a dirt road close to home got me out of the house on a small adventure with some exercise. No wildflowers on this hike but a few views along the 953 foot gain helped make my outing a good one. Distance: 8.42 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer) Difficulty: Easy Elevation Range: 3,409′ to ...