The heat does not break at the California State Fair so much as give up. On a Saturday in mid-July I walked in off Exposition Boulevard at the ugliest hour of the day, a little after five. The asphalt at Cal Expo still threw the afternoon back at me, and the shade under the oaks …
In Pavilion B at the California State Fair, tucked behind the livestock barns, there is an archway built entirely of flowers. Sunflowers and dahlias, roses and Protea, blue delphinium spilling over orange ranunculus, and every stem of it grown somewhere in California. A working flower shop sits underneath the arch. Behind it stands a wall …
Where to shop for antiques, vintage, and mid-century furniture in Sacramento, from someone who spent years selling it. The stores, the monthly Faire, and how to buy well.
Inside the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento: the cars, the Towe Ford origin story, Sunday Drives, admission, hours, and what makes the floor worth it.
A Sacramento local’s day trips, sorted by drive time. Wine country, Tahoe, the coast, Gold Rush towns, and Yosemite, with real drive times and what to skip.
A Folsom resident’s guide to Old Town, the restaurant scene, the lakes, the rescue zoo, the prison museum, and the trails. Real costs, hours, and what to skip.
The most important choice at Folsom Lake happens before you see the water: which of the six gates you drive to. Get it right and the day sorts itself out, a swim beach or a boat ramp or a quiet cove, exactly as you pictured. Get it wrong and you are looping the long way …
Some seeds wait decades for the right moment. They sit dormant in the soil through wet winters and dry summers, through drought years and El Niño storms, through generations of hikers passing overhead who never know they’re there. Then fire sweeps through. The heat cracks their seed coats. Smoke chemicals trigger ancient germination sequences. And …
Fuller Lake is a roughly 70-acre mountain lake at 5,400 feet in the Sierra Nevada, about 24 miles from Nevada City. PG&E runs it as a day-use site for paddling, trout fishing, and hiking. Helpful Links: How to Get There Fuller Lake is in Nevada County. From Nevada City, take Highway 20 east for about …
Mushroom foraging for morels is far from glamorous. After a day spent traipsing through the woods, my pockets may have been filled with mushrooms, but my bare feet held together a displeasing combination of bear scat and red dirt. The area around Mount Shasta had received plenty of rain during springtime and was primed for …