Sally and I packed up our dog food and fishing gear to head over to Little Lakes Valley, above Rock Creek Lake south of Mammoth Lakes for 3 days of hiking and fishing. We saw so many beautiful lakes and snow flecked peaks, it was hard to keep count.

We were on a mission to get to the icy lakes in and around Yosemite National Park before they had thawed and our timing was perfect on this hike up to Helen Lake. White puffy clouds floated over the lake, creating reflections along the edge that had started to melt. I said the word “Wowie” more than once when I ...

Sally and Raven took us up to the old mining town of Bennettville in the Tioga Pass area, then up to icy lakes above the 10,000 foot elevation. Snowy mountains surrounding the lakes with puffy clouds made the scenery even more dramatic this day and the dogs always add an extra fun actor!

My dog Sally took me on a hike up to beautiful Lady Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness where we saw some gorgeous high lakes with backdrops of snow covered mountains.

Harlequin lupine always put a smile on my face and they are in their prime bloom right now, right along the trail, on the way up to Alder Creek Falls. There were many other colorful wildflowers, including larkspur, pretty face, paintbrush, dogwoods, snow plants and the beautiful mariposa lilies.

Bright, clear blue skies contrasted with iced over Upper Cathedral Lake and the snow covered mountains. And when I say those skies were bright blue, I really mean it!

Frozen high lakes in the Tioga Pass area and snow covered mountains with building clouds were the backdrop for our latest adventure.

YOSEMITE – The cables to the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park will be reset this Friday, May 16. This opening date is a week earlier than previously scheduled due to the low snow pack. Hikers wishing to ascend the cables between May 16 and May 22 can apply online at: www.recreation.gov for a first-come, first-served, permit.

Tioga Road Opens!!May 2 is a pretty early date for Tioga Road to open, so you know what Sally and I did. On opening day, we took a drive and hike across the higher country to see what the snow conditions were and I thought you might like to see what we saw. (click photos to enlarge)

Mom and my dog Sally were in search of blooming dogwoods and we headed up to Nelder Grove, just out of Oakhurst. We saw a few of those dogwoods starting to bloom, along with gooseberry and apple. It was my mom’s first visit to Nelder Grove and I think she was quite impressed with those huge Giant Sequoias, thousands of ...