State Park Closures Trip

The Fricot Nugget (pictured right) weighs thirteen pounds and is one of the finest and largest examples of crystal-lized native gold in the world. It is the largest surviving specimen from...

A healthy rainstorm had graced the Clear Lake area the night before, ensuring that our trip this morning to Anderson Marsh State Historic Park was indeed marshy. The sun was shining, but the wind blew cold as we arrived at the old Anderson ranch house...

"Where are you headed?" asked the LA Sheriff's Deputy as he pulled me over for a burnt out brake light. "The Antelope Valley Indian Museum," I replied. "Where's that?" he asked. "Right here in Lancaster," I told him. Lucky for Mr. Deputy, there is...

The 87,000 acres of wild open spaces at Henry W. Coe State Park in Morgan Hill make it the largest state park in northern California. The terrain is rugged, varied and beautiful, with lofty ridges, steep canyons, a full spec-trum of trees and abundant ...

I will always remember my trip to the Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area as the day my long time travel companion - my Cannon Power Shot 12x zoom camera - bit the dust in the middle of a hike. As serendipity would have it, I had brought my c...

Since visiting Jack London State Historic Park last November, it continues to be at the top of my list of recom-mendations for others to visit. It is located in the town of Glen Ellen in the heart of the Napa/Sonoma wine country. My late autumn visit...

The noble tree is no doubt, used to her influential role during the world's most pivotal moments. Be it Buddha's Bodhi Tree, Eve's Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, George Washington's Cherry Tree or Boston's Liberty Tree where pre-American Revo-lut...

Here it is folks! The answer to California's budget and state park woes! Just close down the one mile stretch of beach in Santa Cruz known as Twin Lakes State Beach and all of our problems will be solved!Okay, sarcasm exorcized. Frankly, I think I'v...

Mapquest gave me two sets of directions to Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, so I visted both. The two sites are one freeway exit apart in the heart of Chatsworth/Simi Valley. Both have what I call "pre-desert" terrain. No cactus or Joshua tree...

Up until a couple of weeks ago, it seemed the only snow California was going to get this winter was at Plumas Eureka State Park. Once there, in addition to the novelty of the snow itself, winter delights include hiking mountain trails, cross country s...