“… blogging about life, travel, books, food and the outdoors”
Trek in Upper Bidwell Park a loop through constant beauty
Ascending from the foggy parking lot, it didn’t take long before we were above the grayness. Remarkably, though, it was that layer of fog that created some of the most stunning scenery. While thick in the canyon within Upper Bidwell Park in Chico, the fog became...
read more Trek in Upper Bidwell Park a loop through constant beauty
Ascending from the foggy parking lot, it didn’t take long before we were above the grayness. Remarkably, though, it was that layer of fog that created some of the most stunning scenery. While thick in the canyon within Upper Bidwell Park in Chico, the fog became...
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Child care chaos talking toll on working moms
It’s being called the “she-session,” the “mom penalty” and the “mom-demic.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the number of women in the workplace has dropped by 1.8 million since the start of the pandemic, with the number of women working hitting its...
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Renewed appreciation for road bike riding
The road seemed to go forever with a headwind that made it feel like I was sitting still instead of pedaling forward. I was afraid it would never end. Amazing what a difference a 90-degree turn can make. Suddenly I was moving. A smile crept across my face. It also...
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Book Review: Learning to belong in ‘Braving the Wilderness’
Belonging. There can so much wrapped up in that one word. With how divided our society has become, it seems like belonging can be even harder today. Brené Brown tackles this concept in her book Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to...
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Caldor Fire’s scar a reminder of nature’s fragility
Tell me granite can’t burn and I’ll show you the remnants of the Caldor Fire. So many people, people much more knowledgeable about fire than me, had said the granite in the Sierra Nevada mountains would act as a natural fire break. They were wrong. So, very wrong. It...
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It’s time to put the kibosh on material gifts at the holidays
Gift giving at the holidays is a wasteful, crazy sham. What is the point of gifts at Christmas and Hanukkah? Some consider the Christmas ritual tied to the three wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus. What that has to do with today’s hoopla is beyond me. Let’s be...
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Chico store hosting book signings by Tahoe outdoor author
Chico Sports LTD will be hosting outdoor book author Kathryn Reed on Nov. 27, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18. She will be there starting at 10am this Saturday, and at 11am on the two Saturdays in December. Come out and say hello, then grab a copy of The Dirt Around Lake Tahoe:...
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Craft distillery using North State rice for much of its booze
I don’t think of myself as being “that person.” You know, the one who buys a bottle of something because of the label and nothing more. In this case, the label did draw me in, but the contents also swayed me. And the fact that mom liked it, too, well, all the more...
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Jack London park awash in hiking trails
We had a vague idea of where we were going, then let intuition and strangers help guide us. This was fortuitous because two women asked us if we were headed to the old redwood. We wondered, “What old redwood?” And off we went at their urging. “After logging the...
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Time to rethink the celebration of Thanksgiving
How much of what I learned in school was the truth? It seems like every year there is another startling lie that comes to light. While disclosure of the truth is a good thing, I wonder how much more I have to unlearn or learn for the first time. It’s not news that...
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Chile approved marriage equality legislation in a landslide vote after four years of inaction.
Both houses of Chile's Congress authorized the measure with overwhelming majorities, making it the eighth Latin American country to allow same sex marriage. https://n.pr/3lKQWQi
