There is so much room to roam over the Stornetta Public Lands near Point Arena that during our three separate visits I’ve only managed to scratch the surface of this beautiful coastal hiking area. In September 2021 I thought I was doing pretty well when I managed to walk from the northern gate to the private road running from Highway […]
The last time I was in this part of Lake Berryessa, around Steele Canyon, was back in October 2004,when the Big Guy was fishing in a two-day bass tournament that launched here. Although I only have vague memories of how different everything looked back then, I do recall the date because his second-place trophy is hanging on our livingroom wall! […]
I always enjoy driving through the small coastal towns along Highway 1 in Sonoma and Mendocino counties; you can often spot weathered old houses and other cool details without even getting out of the car. But on this occasion, a foggy midmorning in September, I had the chance to walk along a back road parallel to the main highway. There […]
As we headed over to Lake Berryessa on Tuesday morning, we were fully expecting to hit some kind of traffic delay on Highway 128 just beyond the town of Winters. I already knew that Cal Fire crews were conducting a controlled burn along the hillsides above Cache Creek on Monday and Tuesday; so it wasn’t a bit surprising to find […]
It was a bit chilly when I started my hike from the parking area at Anderson Marsh SHP (Lower Lake) a bit after 10 AM, but as the afternoon wore on, staying warm was no problem at all. In fact, I was grateful for any shade I could find and wishing I had brought along just a bit more drinking […]
Back in January 2017 I wrote about the Orangevale Avenue Bridge; built in 1915 as part of the historic Lincoln Highway, it narrowly escaped being dismantled and replaced by something unmistakably modern. Despite lingering misgivings around the need to preserve the original structure, the necessary construction updates went ahead, and the bridge reopened to traffic in mid 2017. My post […]
I have returned many times to Rattlesnake Bar on Folsom Lake for the hike to Avery’s pond. Last Thursday I shared a few 2006 images from this beautiful area, so this week I’m jumping ahead 10 years with photos from a hike we took on April 1, 2016. I previously posted some of these pictures back in May 2018 (see […]
I don’t do this very often, but this week I’ve decided to repeat an episode — one that I originally featured way back in May 2017. For the past few Mondays I’ve been sharing photos with you that I found in the Hicks Album from the Feats of Clay XXIII exhibition, one of the last years the event was held inside Gladding McBean. The images have raised a few questions about the terra cotta factory; and the fact that the company no longer offers tours to the public makes this look inside all the more wonderful. I hope you enjoy seeing Huell’s visit to Gladding McBean as much as I have. My original post: Lincoln is a little town not too far up the road from my house, and I’ve never spent much time there at all. So I was very surprised when I first saw this episode of California’s Gold to realize there is such an important and historical company located there. From the Brooks Brothers emblem to light standards for a bridge in Moosejaw, Canada, these guys create art for public spaces, and every piece is created by hand. Step back in time with Huell to the olden days of making pottery the Gladding McBean way. The 118-year-old company in rural Lincoln, near Sacramento, is the nation’s only remaining major manufacturer of terra cotta. From decorative to functional, McBean’s terra cotta is acclaimed for its distinctive style which graces […]