Yosemite National Park is an inspiring place no matter the season, but there is something magical about the park in winter, with its sparkling snow-covered meadows against a backdrop of grey monoliths and towering evergreens. The girls and I had another opportunity to visit our perennial happy place with Owen this past weekend as we… Continue reading Happy Isles and a Happy Dog in the Season of the Sticks
A fish swam into a concrete wall. Oh dam. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is located in the northwestern corner of Yosemite National Park and supplies drinking water to residents of the San Francisco Bay area. The reservoir is contained by the massive 430-foot O'Shaughnessy Dam, which was built in the 1920s along the main stem of… Continue reading Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
The tall trees in the Stanislaus National Forest After three restful days at Angels Camp, our adventure continued into the Stanislaus National Forest. We had driven through the eastern portion of the national forest on the Sunday prior on our drive from Bridgeport to Sonora, passing through the Summit and MiWok Ranger districts along the… Continue reading Stanislaus National Forest
After three days in Bridgeport and a pleasant brekky in Lee Vining, Sami and I hit the road and headed north along U.S. Route 395 to CA-108. California State Route 108 is an east-west highway that traverses the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California. The Sonora Pass is steep and winding in many places. While… Continue reading Driving CA Route 108: The Sonora Pass
For part two of Owen's grand adventure weekend, we headed out of Yosemite National Park and southwest to Hensley Lake to a place called Hidden View Campground. Hensley Lake was formed in 1974 with the building of Hidden Dam on the Fresno River. The 1500-acre lake has a capacity of about 90000 acre-feet of water.… Continue reading Hidden Views in Madera County
The Cranky Camper 