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Columbia Night
We took the urge to see the first touch of fall in the Sierra, a drive back to Columbia. It’s fall, time to pay homage to our sweet old charmer. When we arrived, most tourists are already gone, just locals. Follow the only noise in town, several kids were running and screaming on their race…
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Chinese Camp
We’ve been to Chinese Camp before, years ago. It was just a highway historical marker we saw after hours of driving from Yosemite, or some point further west, felt disappointed. Couple of days ago I saw the name, got re-ignited and decided to come back. We know the road, arrived earlier than last time, the…
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Lone Pine
Lone Pine is such a charm. Many years ago, we stayed here on our way to Death Valley. It’s an original Western small town, full of character. Here is the gateway to Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. It’s also the entry way to the Alabama Hills, Hollywood’s favorite shooting place…
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No Time Zone
We went back to Eastern Sierra, exactly the same time as last year and once came back fully recharged. Certain places have healing power: high Sierra peaks still carrying winter’s snow, like a finger print; the Merced River giggles into white waves turning corners. When the setting sun hits Half Dome, the Yosemite Valley quiets down…
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New Conversation with an Old Friend
We went back to Columbia S.H.P in the Sierras. It has been months, last time it was cold winter and the daylight was extremely frugal. I miss the drive, as we started climbing the foothill, the horizon starts to open up, and cows are dotted on the open ranches, enjoying sunshine and the grass. Old…
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Show Time!
Today, we wanted to visit Capitola for the Christmas lights. Given it’s a regular week day, and not holiday yet, hopefully the parking wouldn’t be too bad. However, when we arrived, the road was blocked by police cars and signs that said major incoming flood! At the same time, many fire trucks zoomed by with…
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Locke- a Celebration for Life
Following the beautiful Sacramento River, we went back to Locke, the largest surviving and most intact historic rural Chinese-American community in the United States, built exclusively by Chinese, for Chinese. Founded in 1915, Locke has more than 50 commercial and residential buildings, covering approximately 14 acres along the east bank of the Sacramento River. Whenever I’m…
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Grinding Rock in the Sierra
We went to Indian Grinding Rock State Park, ancestral grounds of Central Sierra Miwok and where the largest grinding rock in North America lies. Chaw’se, is the Miwok word for “grinding rock”. The “grinding rock” is marbleized limestone with 1,185 mortar holes, which is the largest collection of bedrock mortars anywhere in North America. The Miwok used the…
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Hello September!
I saw the first tarantula this year, it seems like fall is really here, even though Indian Summer still lingers. Fall is the mating season for tarantulas, they walk around actively looking for their mate. This tarantula climbed on a tall blade of grass, slid down like an acrobat, entering the deep grass and disappearing…
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Columbia after Dark & a Letter Caught in Time
We went back to Columbia State Historic Park, a gold town of the 1850’s in the Sierras. I was touched by two highlights from this trip. The first is the original hand written Chinese letter from back in 1850’s. It was a letter from a son to his family back in China. From the writing, he…