A great workout with beautiful flowers and a ton of history! This hike was right up my alley on a cooler day between raindrops. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation Management Area Distance: About 9 miles roundtrip to the gate but you can go shorter or longer Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous Elevation Range: 1,138′ – 2,835′ Date: ...

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — After abundant rainfall this winter and spring, we’re being treated to a wild host of wildflowers decorating the mountains with bright splashes of yellow mustard, orange poppy, white popcorn, and purple-blue lupine. Now, we’re being treated to what’s known as a pink full moon, and that designation doesn’t reflect the color of the moon in the sky, ...

NORTH FORK — More than a dozen artists gathered in a local native garden this week, tools of their respective trades in hand, poised to capture the magic as a soft breeze blew and the Sierra sunlight gently dappled the grounds around them. When we heard that members of Yosemite Western Artists would convene for a plein air day at ...

AHWAHNEE – The Redwoods and Coolwater Ranch are happy to welcome back guitar wizard Richard Smith. If you’ve seen Richard play, you know he’s one of the world’s greatest. If you haven’t seen Richard play, come check him out. He is Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and Tommy Emmanuel all wrapped into one. The Coolwater House Concert Series is a showcase ...

Puppies and poppies, both being an entirely worthwhile addiction, we loaded the former in the car and set off to see the latter. We had been told that the bloom was like nothing we’d ever seen before. But there were billions of things we’d never seen before and so we couldn’t help but wonder which one it would turn out ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — They are fast, tough, smart, sweet, sneaky, showy, social and definitely loud — they are Visit Yosemite | Madera County’s official Welcoming Committee, and they’re about to take Madera County, Bass Lake and Yosemite National Park by storm with a campaign starting Monday, April 1. “The Welcoming Committee campaign was designed to showcase attractions in Madera County, ...

MADERA – Six Madera County residents were honored today by the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff’s Office for heroism in going above and beyond to save the lives of fellow citizens. Today at the weekly board of supervisors meeting, Justin Krucki, Shawn Anthill, Ryan Hansen, Scott Hamilton, Justin Hamilton and Ryan Ellis were recognized for their life-saving efforts during ...

O’NEALS — Like our local first responders, Minarets annual all-school lip dub has gone above and beyond. First things first. A ‘lip dub’ is a type of creative expression that combines lip sync and audio dubbing to make a music video, and on Thursday, April 11 the entire Minarets student body and staff did just that. The lip dub is ...

COARSEGOLD — The pending sale of an apartment complex called the Grandmother’s Village has upended the lives of dozens of local seniors. The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians confirmed this week the tribe is buying the 40-acre property located on Oonay Nation Road. The real estate deal closes escrow May 1. “The property will provide low-income housing for tribal members ...

OAKHURST — The historic “Little Church on the Hill” will be host its second annual Easter Sunrise service  at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Apr. 21. The church is located in the Oak Hill Cemetery, perched gracefully atop the knoll overlooking town. In the years since its restoration, the Little Church on the Hill has been host to weddings, baptisms, memorials ...