The trail at Caples Lake

A week or so ago I shared some photos from an outing to Caples Lake near Kirkwood and Carson Pass, and today I have a few more scenes from that trip. There were quite a few images that I overlooked until going back through my archives recently, and I’m always very happy to find pictures I’ve forgotten about, sitting there […]

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Walking to Manchester

Mendocino County has such a beautiful coastline that it can be frustrating when we often find access blocked by private property and “No Trespassing” signs. I’m really grateful that the California Coastal Commission is always working to protect the state’s coastal habitats and to improve access to beaches and bluffs. Whenever we get over to the coast for a few […]

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Salmon Falls splendor

Colors, details, and wide vistas — all found on an autumn hike by the shore of Folsom Lake, on and around the Monte Vista Trail. I sometimes wish I could have seen this area before the building of Folsom Dam. It’s clearly very rich in history as well as plants and wildlife.

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Coastal sunshine

Our mid-November trip over to the Mendocino coast was short but very sweet — just what was needed after our trip in September caused more stress than it eased. Even though our November stay started off with a jolt from a minor earthquake (with the epicenter only a few miles away from Point Arena) and we lost part of one […]

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Summer at Carson Pass

I went digging in my archives looking for more forgotten images, and found quite a few from a visit to Caples Lake in August 2021. The lake is just down the hill from Carson Pass on State Route 88 in Alpine County. The pass was named after famed mountain man Kit Carson, while the lake’s current name (it has had […]

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The scenic side of life

I’ve written before about traveling back and forth between Sacramento and Clear Lake via Highway 16 and that it’s now my preferred route. It takes me from Woodland along Cache Creek, and most of the time I have this two-lane road to myself once I’ve passed the Cache Creek Casino near Brooks. I usually look forward to stopping at some […]

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Lost in the woods

I’ve shared some of the images from this March 2023 hike before, but to be completely honest, I’m still not entire sure exactly where we were walking. I had found a hike in my trail guide book called Pole Line Trail to Big River Trail which told us to head east on Little Lake Road; but after driving deeper into […]

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Walking to McVicar

Anderson Marsh State Park remains one of my favorite spots to visit in Lake County, although I sometimes have trouble finding the perfect time to hike there. It seems that either the air is too hot and dry for a long march across the open grasslands or the ground is too muddy or even flooded for the trek out to […]

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