Hiking to the shore of Grapevine Lake on a warm day in early June proved a bit of an adventure. With a couple of different paths to choose from after parking the car, the Big Guy ignored the map and headed off on a trail that plunged into the woods and meandered through brush and knee-high weeds before eventually emerging […]
I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m still hoping to stop in Southern California for a closer look at the Tehachapi Loop; but in the meantime, here’s a shot from Highway 58 with a view of a freight train traveling west on the Loop. At the upper left, a large white cross sits in the center of the Loop, standing as […]
When I hear the name ‘Walnut Grove’ I tend to think of the California Delta or the setting for the 1970s TV show “Little House on the Prairie.” But the other day I discovered a new Walnut Grove along the shore of Grapevine Lake in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The path we followed toward the lake took us through a […]
The summer season at Berryessa officially opens on May 5, but during our visit nearly two weeks after that date we had no trouble finding escape to the sights and sounds of nature that we were craving.
There’s really only one negative thing that I can say about both of our visits to the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. On each occasion, we stayed for only one night before traveling on; and while it was unavoidable, one night is not nearly enough time to explore the area. Both the Big Guy and I feel that we’re […]
On shore fishing trips, I normally don’t get to stop and check out places like this visitor center at Lake Berryessa. We’ve passed by this sign quite a number of times without even slowing; but on this occasion, we were looking for a quiet and shady spot to eat lunch. We found what we were looking for here, and even […]
On my most recent visit to Anderson Marsh State Historic Park on Clear Lake, I had the boardwalk almost entirely to myself. The morning was already warming up, but a small group of state park workers had clearly been working for hours under a tent beside the trail leading out toward Cache Creek. At first I wasn’t sure what they […]
My camera finds spring wildflowers almost irresistible; and it’s always a delightful surprise for me to notice small insects going about their business among the petals. A lot of the time I don’t even realize the bugs are there until I’m going through the images on my computer at home. Most of these photos are flowers seen recently at Lake […]
If you look at a map of Lake Berryessa, you’ll find Smittle Creek just off the Berryessa Knoxville Road, tucked into the western shore and hiding behind a couple of islands (called Small Island and Big Island). The last time I explored along this trail was back in January 2019; since then, the Spanish Fire scorched vast areas on this […]