By Sal Maccarone Always on the lookout for art oriented historic hotels to visit, I was very fortunate to stumble upon a real jewel. Completely lost in Riverside, Ca. on my way to somewhere else, I turned a corner and there it was. At first, it appeared to be one of the California missions, but the Padres didn’t build a ...

Views of Mono Pass, Parker Pass and Kuna Crest surrounded me as I hiked up Yosemite National Park’s Mono Pass Trail. I made a short cross country hike up above Spillway Lake, through some snow up to Helen Lake. A 20% chance of thunderstorms isn’t much of a chance but it all comes down to what cloud you are standing ...

Clouds were just passing through and they teamed up with the waterfalls to create ever changing reflections in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Walking up that trail had me wondering about the old trails and people who walked here back in the day. Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: 6.86 Miles (About 5 miles rt to Wapama Falls, 13 miles rt to Rancheria Falls)Difficulty: ModerateElevation ...

I had been dreading taking this hike because of the devastation left behind when the 12,047 acre 2017 Railroad Fire roared through the area. It would be a sad hike through many burned trees to visit the Giant Sequoias along the Graveyard of the Giants Trail up on Nelder Ridge. Where: Sierra National Forest, Nelder Grove.Distance: 6.28 miles, but you ...

When those views of Mono Pass, Parker Pass and Kuna Crest are streaked with snow, they contrast so beautifully with those multi-colored mountains. This is one of those hikes that I love to do soon after Tioga Road reopens for the year and those white puffy clouds always liven up the scenery, even if they threaten a bit of the ...

Yosemite National Park had plans to close Tioga and Glacier Point Roads temporarily due to a storm rolling in. What “temporarily” meant was yet to be seen but I had this need to get somewhere where I could see and feel that storm coming in but had to move quickly to beat that road closure. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: ...

I try my best to hike up to Helen Lake while there is a smidge of ice still on it. There is something special about how a bit of white snow sets off the red colors of the surrounding mountains and it is a lovely hike up a historic Native American trail and mining route. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: ...

YOSEMITE — Filled with Shakespearean scenes about forests, animals and the environment and featuring live music and the writings of John Muir, “Shakespeare in Yosemite” is an original hour-long play written especially for Earth Day (Saturday, Apr. 22) and William Shakespeare’s birthday (Sunday, Apr. 23). Click on poster to enlarge. The show will be performed on these days at 2 ...