Where: Inyo National Forest, John Muir Wilderness Distance: About 16 Miles Difficulty: Moderate Elevation Range: 7,800’ – 11,160’ Date: July 16, 2015 Highlights: I put my cowboy boots on for this adventure on a horse, riding the trail through a variety of colorful wildflowers and watching the white puffy clouds float by. Mom and I headed east over Tioga Rd., ...

OAKHURST – Salt and Light Ministries invite you to meet an inspirational speak and author who is coming to the Oakhurst area to share her message. Born without complete legs and hand, Judy Squier is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of five who started public speaking at the age of thirteen. She is the author of three books, ...

By Kelly Silva Fine Nicaragua, Part One: From Sadness to Surfing Last year I decided, with the help of my hubby, to finally do a surfing trip, since I was turning forty-five. I convinced my childhood BFF, Kari, to join me, so we traveled to Nicaragua for a week during the end of May for surfing, yoga and other activities ...

Our footprints were the first ones on the fresh snow for most of our hike and I just love it when that happens! We also had very blue skies and white puffy clouds to walk along the ice covered lakes up to the old mining town of Dana City.

CHOWCHILLA – Blue Jeans and Country Dreams is the theme for the 2015 Chowchilla Fair. The excitement begins Thursday, May 14, and will run through Sunday, May 17. This year’s action packed entertainment kicks off with bull riding, mutton busting, and an FFA greased pig competition on Thursday evening in the grandstands.

O’NEALS – Two cars sit smashed and broken in the aftermath of what has been reported as a head-on collision at Minarets High School. In one car, the dazed teenage driver is moaning in pain; his 17-year-old passenger is lying across the hood, bloodied and broken, and another is severely injured, trapped in the back seat. In the other vehicle, ...

MARIPOSA – The shocking robbery was over within minutes, and when it was done, more than a million dollars worth of historic gold and minerals had been stolen, destroying a collection dating back to the California Gold Rush. What had been taken could never be replaced, and in its absence there was only one thing left to do: catch the ...

First, a little back-story. A few years ago I was diagnosed with a medical issue that forced me to quit my job and seek other means of employment. My previous job involved vigorous walking, and the illness would no longer allow me to continue walking as far on a day to day basis. Suddenly, deluged with a plethora of time, ...

HORNITOS – At once exciting and nearly ethereal, a candle-lighting and procession in the old Mexican town of Hornitos winds its way from plaza to cemetery each year on November 2, to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Hornitos in Spanish means “little ovens,” as the town in Mariposa County is named after Mexican tombs shaped ...

OAKHURST – It’s one of those “where were you when…” moments: where were you when the Courtney Fire started? In the midst of a dreamy nap on Sunday, Sept. 14, a phone call came alerting us to a fire that would ultimately destroy 30 homes and leave hundreds of residents displaced. The Courtney Fire tore through neighborhoods with destructive force, ...