Author Archives: Shawn E. Bell

Activities, Adventures, National Forests, National Parks

Wells Fargo Foundation funds NatureBridge’s Yosemite Summer Field Research Course

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Wells Fargo Scholars program, generously funded by a grant from the Northern and Central California Region of the Wells Fargo Foundation, gives students from Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties an opportunity to attend NatureBridge’s Summer Field Research Course in Yosemite National Park.

Students have the chance to receive a full or partial scholarship based on the strength of their application, recommendations from supportive educators and community leaders, and the individual’s financial need.

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National Parks

Galen Clark and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

On this day in 1814 Galen Clark was born in Shipton, Canada East (now known as Quebec).

As a young man, he became part of the great westward migration.  He first headed to Missouri, where he met his wife Rebecca McCoy, who bore him two daughters. Unfortunately, his wife waste die far too young.

It’s believed that after her death, Galen moved further to the west, settling in California during the Gold Rush to seek his fortune.  After living in the Golden State for five years, Clark contracted tuberculosis at the age of 39.  Consumption was a fatal diagnosis in 1853, as there was no course of treatment or antibiotics at the the time.  Doctors gave him six months to live, and recommended rest and clean air.

Galen moved to Wawona, California – a small ‘census designated place’ located entirely within what would eventually become Yosemite National Park – in 1855.

“I went to the mountains to take my chances of dying or growing better, which I thought were about even.” Galen Clark.

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Geocaching, Personal

Video: Beginner’s Guide to Hiding a Geocache

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Geocaching is a great family-friendly outdoor recreational activity that involves getting up off your butt and heading outside.  Into the real world.  Where life happens.

All is not lost for the technologically savvy, as participants don’t use olde tyme cartographic periodicals to find caches (although they kinda still can), they use Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers or GPS-enabled mobile devices and navigational skills and techniques to hide and seek geocaches (or “caches”) worldwide.

It’s the world’s biggest and most interactive treasure hunt!

A typical cache is a container that holds a logbook, maybe some trinkets, and a pencil so the finder can note the time and date they found it.  Containers can be as small as a plastic film-roll container, or as large as a tupperware box or even a waterproof ammo box.  The contains might contain trading items, and can even contain travel bugs or geocoins – items which are picked up and later deposited in different caches. Geocaching is a great ways to learn about GPS mapping, navigation, orienteering, treasure-hunting, and waymarking. Continue reading →

National Parks

Retired National Park Leaders Oppose Soda Mountain Solar

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Chris Clarke has posted an article at KCET.org about the Soda Mountain Solar monstrosity that seriously threatens the Mojave National Preserve and offers virtually no benefit whatsoever.  From the article:

Five retired National Park Service Superintendents who spent a cumulative 35 years managing California’s three desert National Parks are asking the Bureau of Land Management to move a 4,000-acre solar project they say would threaten the Mojave National Preserve’s wildlife, views and groundwater.

In a letter to BLM California Desert District staff, the five also contend the Soda Mountain Solar project would violate local ordinances regulating renewable energy facilities. They’re asking the BLM to issue a new Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project that would take a serious look at alternative locations for the project, and extend public comment on the project by another 60 days.

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State Parks

Mount Diablo camp spigots go dry during drought

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

A hat top to Dennis Cuff of the Contra Costa Times, who reports that campground visitors at the Mount Diablo State Park are roughing it in a new way: There is no tap water in campgrounds and most park areas because of the drought.

“A third consecutive dry year in California has depleted springs that supply water for most drinking fountains, faucets, flush toilets and showers in the 20,000-acre state park above Danville and Walnut Creek.”

The California State Park page for Mount Diablo states:

With perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen Mount Diablo is suffering from a severe water shortage. Most of the water in the park is produced through a series of springs that is fed to various water tanks, treated, tested and then is ready for the public to use. However, with the lack of rain the springs on the mountain have been reduced to a trickle.

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