Written by Glenn Raggio — There is much to be said of the adage, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Status quo, when compared to the darker alternatives of nearly everything, wins hands down. Getting older encourages the cliché more than anything else I might imagine. We have inherited our parents’ and grandparents’ views, habits, and superstitions in regard to ...

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — The signs are all around us, from the withered buckeye and earlier darkening skies, to little hints of temperatures dropping that send us running to the closet to pull out just one long sleeved shirt, for a change! The autumnal equinox, when days and nights are approximately equal in length, arrives this year on Thursday, Sept. 22 ...

Written by Linda Giampa — CALIFORNIA — Whether heading out for a long backpacking trip, local day hikes, or an all-terrain run with our dogs, all of us are consistently aware of the need to pack provisions for varying weather, terrain and potential dangers. However, very few of us would stop to think about ticks or the dangers of tick-borne ...

YOSEMITE — Yosemite National Park encourages all fourth graders to visit the park for free this year as part of the Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) program. The program gives fourth grade students, and those accompanying them, free access to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters. Visit www.EveryKidinaPark.gov to download the pass and obtain more information. “We ...

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — The 2016 Perseid meteor shower is upon us, and the excitement is about to double. At its usual yearly peak, the Perseid can rain down up to 100 meteors per hour. This year, astronomers say we can look forward to twice that, with an outburst at its peak of about 200 meteors per hour. Associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseid ...

NORTH FORK — When a fire destroyed a mobile home in North Fork last Friday, everyone was very lucky to have gotten out alive and unscathed. However the real story of how that happened and who was responsible for saving six lives is just now being told. It was just after 10 p.m. on May 20, and Zachary Zukovsky was ...

Four of us piled in my rig and we headed up for our toughest snowshoe adventure this year, full of fresh snow. The Merced Crest is famous for the spectacular views of the high country to the east. We started our adventure with beautiful blue sky with a few clouds and we had a few surprises along the way. Where: ...

EARTH – Coming up this weekend, overnight on Sunday, Sept. 27 – Monday, Sept. 28, we get to experience another supermoon, the time when the moon is closest to our planet this year. Precisely speaking, the moon is full at 7:51 p.m. PDT on Sept. 27 and will appear full all night. For the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the Harvest Moon: ...

By Scott Lange — The 2015 Perseid meteor shower is upon us, and this is a great year to view the show because it falls at the same time as the new moon, meaning the sky will be very dark so the meteors are easier to see.  At its peak, the Perseids can rain down up to 100 meteors per ...

BASS LAKE – Independence Day was celebrated last weekend it all its glorious forms, from time-honored events like pancake breakfasts and small-town parades, to family picnics, barbecue dinners, patriotic displays and even a laser light show over the lake. “We offered a safe alternative to fireworks, at no charge,” says Michelle Miller of Miller’s Landing, who is secretary of the ...