I love to explore small side trails as I’m hiking, assuming I have the time and energy. Sometimes I’ll find unexpected surprises along those lightly worn paths; and on this particular day, hiking near Brown’s Ravine, I came upon a forgotten stacked stone wall on a hill overlooking Folsom Lake. The lone strand of rusted barbed wire curling along its […]
Rocks of all shapes and sizes at Caples Lake near the Carson Pass, Highway 88.
This summer has not been a good one when it comes to wildfires, not only here in California, but unfortunately all around the world. This morning part of my sadness comes from the fact that a beautiful area I’ve very recently visited and enjoyed hiking and photographing has become ground zero for our region’s latest forest fire — El Dorado […]
Since I live only a short drive away from the site of Mormon Island 1 (normally located under the waters of Folsom Lake since 1955, except during drought years), it may be only natural that driving along Iron Mountain Road, near Pollock Pines in El Dorado County, always gets me wondering exactly why this route is known as the Mormon […]
Even though we’re in a drought this summer, I still found plenty of colorful flowers growing in the high mountains of El Dorado County in late July. I’ve used the Google Lens app to tentatively identify a few of them.
It’s very easy to miss Bridal Veil Falls as you travel along Highway 50 just east of Pollock Pines. I overshot the first time, so I made sure not to miss the spot on my way back home later in the afternoon. Happily, there’s plenty of parking space by the road. Of course, in late July the waterfall wasn’t nearly […]
Quaking aspens at Caples Lake, 7800 feet (2377 meters) elevation, near Kirkwood, California. I always find these trees so beautiful and photogenic, even when they are far past their prime!
I only caught a glimpse of this spot as we passed by, heading east on Highway 50 — but I knew immediately that I had to go back to try to capture it with my camera. A bend in the South Fork of the American River, a small bridge, and a cluster of log cabins in the shade of towering […]