Hiller Tunnel

We discovered the Hiller Tunnel at Malakoff Diggins State Park purely by accident, after we had already hiked most of the Diggins Loop trail and were hot, thirsty, and tired. Our main interest at that point was in getting back to the car for lunch — but once we noticed the sign, we didn’t hesitate before turning off the main […]

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Just curious

We went looking for deer along the American River bike trail in Rancho Cordova yesterday morning. Not surprisingly, we managed to spot more females than males; the bucks are especially camera shy. These deer do their best to avoid humans, but they feel quite safe hiding among the dredger tailings and are used to seeing bicycle traffic. They did seem […]

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The Adventure Continues… Songbird of Manzanar

Yesterday I wrote about two very inspiring men who lived through the forcible relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War 2. Today I’m continuing that theme with this episode of California’s Gold from 2005. Manzanar War Relocation Center was located in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, and although the camp barracks were dismantled long ago, the past […]

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The art of endurance

I recently finished listening to an audiobook called Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, written by Andrea Warren. Norman Mineta was born and grew up in San Jose, California; in 1942 he was an 11-year-old Cub Scout when he and his family were sent to Heart Mountain War Relocation Center in Wyoming. After the war his family were very […]

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Channel surfing

This morning I ventured out to the dredger tailings on Mississippi Bar hoping to spot some deer. Although I did manage to catch a glimpse of a buck and a few does, none stuck around long enough for me to point my camera at them. So instead I found myself exploring a dry creekbed that runs through the tailings. The […]

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