Barbera and Biking Shoes: A Road Bike(?) Tour Murphys, California
Last month Trails and I hit the roads surrounding the little Sierra Foothills winery town of Murphys, California to burn some rubber (road bike tires, of course) before we burned through some wine tastings. Or rather, to burn through some brakes while navigating a terrifying stretch of dirt road on tiny road bike wheels before rightfully rewarding ourselves for surviving. Murphys Road Bike Loop – San Domingo & Murphys Grade…
The Exact Center of California & The Redinger Campground: about what you would expect
Trip planning requires pooling your resources and hoping for the best sometimes. Especially when visiting a less popular location (Redinger Lake) at a less than popular time of year (Winter). In this case, the trip down to road bike the Million Dollar Rd was supplemented by a random search of Roadside America (a favorite for offbeat attractions) and the always (not so) informative Forest Service website. One main objective (Road…
The Foresthill Bridge: A Bridge over a Reservoir that Never Was
Earlier this year I had fallen into an internet search blackhole, learning about dams in California, and the sometime bizarre “recreation” opportunities they provide. I think it had started with looking up dams that were hoping to profit from the passing of Proposition 2. It was like a cemetery of hopeful but ill-fated large expensive dams, now forgotten except by the local politicians still clinging to old plans. In my search I found the…
Foresthill Park: Best Use of Chainsaw Art in a Public Park
Last weekend I visited Foresthill, CA – a small little town near the American River. It is a small little remnant of a Gold Rush town with a hidden treasure: The Foresthill Memorial Park. Or more specifically, the chainsaw bear art located within the Foresthill Memorial Park. It appears that instead of cutting down trees the park instead has someone carve the trunks into whimsical bears (and one eagle). Have…
Road Trip Jams
This is embarrassing, but Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off – before it was overplayed on the radio – might have been the official “jam” of my drive to Colorado this summer. It was a good choice mostly because when stuck in a car for 12 hours shaking it off is good for rest stops and getting over the anxiety of NEVER GETTING THERE. Shaking it off on the drive to Colorado…
Passing by Groom Lake on the Extraterrestrial Highway (Area 51)
Normally on this blog when mentioning lakes I am talking about those gorgeous oases where I filter my drinking water, allow Curtis some free time to fly fish, or maybe take polar bear swim in to rinse off the sweat from a hard day of hiking. Groom lake is not one of those lakes. Groom Lake, better known as Area 51, is a salt flat requiring clearance from the U.S. Air Force to visit… not…
Mystic Hot Springs, UT: Bizarre Beautiful Baths
Driving Back from our Colorado trip Curtis and I had a slight conflict of interest: we were going to be whizzing past all these amazing national parks, yet we wanted to get home in a reasonable amount of time. Plus it was labor day weekend, meaning many of campgrounds and reasonably priced hotels were booked up. I took it as a sign to do a quick search on other options in the middle of our 1000 mile journey. Using one of my new favorite websites to find local cafes, camping, and tourist traps I hit the jackpot – a little hot springs resort in the middle of Utah: Mystic Hot Springs of Monroe…
“Mystical Horizons” – The Stonehenge of the Prairie
I recently discovered the SF Gate’s running series Tourist Trapped. The column’s writer travels to the heavily tourist-ed destinations in the San Francisco area and reports back on the highs and lows. I am in love it. I want to take a weekend and go nuts eating Jelly Bellies and taking ghost tours with hundreds of other people in the Bay Area. Tourist Trapped made me realize that a place…
International Peace Garden, ND – Throwback Thursday
The other day my prized “Why Not Minot” shot glass, a funny parody of the North Dakota city sold to me be the Minot Scandinavian center, broke in a tragic cleaning accident. I doubt the shot glass in still available in the Minot Scandinavian center, of which my mind has concocted a story of a witty scandinavian making (in good humor) the shot glass only to be lectured by the Minot chamber…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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