California's-Gold

The Adventure Continues… Black Diamond Mines

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In California you just never know where you might stumble upon some historic site, and the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Contra Costa County is a great example of that. This 500-acre park has transformed from an mining hub in the 1800s to a ranching area and finally to a beautiful nature spot full of both native and imported trees, multi-use trails, and views of nearby Mount Diablo. I had never heard of this park until today, but now I’ve added it to my list of places to visit in the future. Huell travels to the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in the East Bay. It was once a thriving coal and sand mining area, and is now a great place to bike and hike while taking in the beautiful landscape filled with blue oaks, manzanitas and carpets of springtime flowers. Huell stops by the Underground Mining Museum and also hikes to the remains of the mines. (Click on the linked image below to see the video.)

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Animals

Life goes on

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Due to the drought and the heat, large areas around Folsom Lake are already dry and full of brittle weeds; but on my visit to New York Creek a few days ago I came across a small feeder creek that was still very green and full of animal life. In the morning shade of an old oak, with a cool […]

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Animals

Mexico Monday Redux, Week 21

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Axochiapan and Mexico City — In last week’s post I mentioned the small town of Axochiapan, and as promised I have some images my dad shot there when we visited in 1970. Axochiapan is about 2.5 hours south of Mexico City on today’s roads; but I’m not sure how long the trip actually took us in our VW camper, nicknamed […]

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archived photos

Sunday buggy ride

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Last week I returned to the Angels Camp Museum for the first time since my first visit in 2018. This is one of those places that, although fairly small, has so many historic items to look at that it’s impossible to take everything in during a single visit. The only real downside of this charming museum, for me, is the […]

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Animals

On the wing

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These may not be the greatest Canada goose photos I’ve ever shot, but I can’t help liking them. Yesterday morning I went out to Folsom Lake with the Big Guy. It was still relatively cool at at 10 o’clock, and I was sitting on a rock gazing at what’s left of New York Creek, which currently looks like this: Suddenly, […]

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Animals

Surprise

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Sometimes I have to look really hard to find the beauty that inspires me to use my camera. And other times, the beauty just pops up at me unexpectedly, where I least expect it. Like the oleanders I had just trimmed and tossed into the green waste bin. Or the late afternoon sun glowing orange on the side of a […]

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