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Chushu at Grinding Rock
It is End of Heat (Chushu), the 14th traditional Chinese solar term, when the heat starts to retreat. It’s a day to worship ancestors and welcome Autumn. We decided to go for a drive to Indian Grinding Rock SHP, where we can slow down in the mountains. When we arrived, it’s already late, so quiet…
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Indian Grinding Rock
Haven’t been back to Indian Grinding Rock SHP for awhile. Different from last time during their annual Big Time Gathering, this time it’s almost empty. It’s a perfect place to soak in serenity. Strolling around the path, the ground almost echoes our steps. The traditional bark houses quietly nesting on the open field, randomly. It…
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Ancient Wind
There’s something about standing here at the entryway of the Whitney Portal. Just be still and listen. The mountain doesn’t need to announce its existence, just being there is overwhelmingly enough. Water just sings its way down to the valley. And that wind! That ancient wind that blows from the high Sierras to the mighty…
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Columbia Blue Jay & Wine Table
We haven’t been back to Columbia State Historic Park for awhile, on the same road after experiencing so much, the road seems different. It’s carrying my experiences now, that’s why, even though it’s same road, each time feels different. On our way out, we passed by an abandoned railway bridge, still hanging there like a…
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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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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…