During last summer's two week peak bagging extravaganza, I took a few 'rest' days with easier peaks. On one of those days I decided to head up into the White…
Every time I drive south down highway 395 between June Lake and Mammoth, I am struck by the imposing face of Mount Morrison. A steep pyramid, it rises from the crest…
The third day of our Thanksgiving trip was spent in the southern end of Mojave National Preserve, exploring some fun rock formations and old mining sights. The Sheep Corral is…
I'm going to use the theme of "Throwback Thursday" to start revisiting some trips I never got around to writing about. First up is an exploration of the Surprise Tank Petroglyphs…
Carrizo Plain is a wilderness area in the middle of nowhere between Kern county oilfields and Paso Robles. At first glance one wonders why this is a special place, but it…
Yesterday I did a short morning hike in Harvey Bear County Park (between Morgan Hill and Gilroy) to see how the wildflowers were doing in this dry year. I didn't…
Last week I published the first part of David's guest post on making Damascus Steel. Read that before continuing on with part 2!This week you'll see how the billets are…
And now for something completely different!While this blog is my hobby, my husband has a much more active spare-time activity with blacksmithing. He really enjoys the labor-intensive process of making…
If you've ever driven along highway 5 between the Bay Area and Southern California, you know there isn't much in the way of landmarks. It's a long and boring drive…