Category Archives: California

News

What hikers do and do NOT do…

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the CHP has rescued a “hiker” from the Pacific Crest Trail.  The guy they rescued was only 12 hours into his hike when young Dartagnan ran out of water “due to the drought” and became lost.

There are a number of things that I find questionable about this story.  Not that the guy wandering around was named Dartagnan, not the silliness about the drought causing him to run out of water, and not even that he became lost after 12 hours of hiking (at night) on a part of the trail that is fairly easy to see.

From the article:

“He scampered into the open beyond the tree line where pilot Souza was able to make a landing at the edge of a cliff.”

Just so that we’re clear: Hikers hike.  They don’t “scamper.”  Ever.

You can read the whole strange tale HERE.

Inspiration, Interesting Places

Photography in the Eastern Sierras by Cat Connor

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I dearly love the State of California; it is one of the most picturesque places in all of the world, with many varied and extraordinary landscapes and vistas. It truly does have something for everyone.

I grew up, primarily, at the beach. I saw many a sunset. Oddly, though, I’ve never really cared for ’em. I’ve never found them particularly romantic. Maybe I’ve seen too many of them, or maybe I just don’t like to throw anything away. And that’s what a sunset is. Sunset is the end of a friendship you had with the day. It’s – as I’ve written before – “the part of the relationship where all the little things you thought were cute grate on you like fingers down a chalkboard and you can’t wait for it to be over so you can go back inside.”

Personally, I believe I’ve got the soul of a cowboy. To this day I love all the great westerns; the panoramas, the wide open spaces. And – even though two of my most favorite cowboy films (Silverado and Tombstone) weren’t filmed there – I’ve had a deep and abiding love for the Sierra Nevadas. I love Yosemite, Kings Canyon, the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails, Death Valley and Mount Whitney. Being alone in the open cathedrals made of forests, rock, light, water, and stone makes me feel at peace within the magnificent machine built by our great Creator. I am a solitary wayfarer experiencing a world created just for me.

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News

California’s drought is 100% the fault of environmentalism

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I have long said that environmentalism is the bane of the planet. Environmentalists are largely to blame for most of the world’s ills – and certainly 100% of the blame for California’s drought is rightly centered on them and their idiotic meddling with nature. We would not be where we are today as Californians if we didn’t listen to environmentalists.  See my earlier post Unnatural Forests about why environmentalism is wrong-headed, and why conservation is the right thing to do.

…and we’d be MUCH further ahead of the game if we didn’t just “take the word” of so-called “reporters” who seem to be just making things up as they go along so they can get a paycheck. Truth be damned!

The latest “statistic” foisted on us by “reporters” is that California’s agriculture uses up 80% of the water in California.

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National Forests, News

Nestle pumping water out of the San Bernardino Forest without a valid permit

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Nestle Waters North America – the bottler of Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water (one of my absolute favorites bottled waters; yes, I am a water snob!) – is in a bit of trouble over their water extraction operation in the San Bernardino National Forest.  It appears that during California’s current environmentalist caused drought catastrophe, Nestle has been pumping out water under permits that may have expired as far back as 1988.

Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, which takes its name from a natural rock formation in the San Bernardino Mountains that’s shaped like a giant arrowhead, is a brand of drinking water that is sold primarily in the western United States, including California, Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest.  The company was acquired by Nestlé in 1987 – a year before the oldest permit expired.

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Interesting Places, National Parks

Ansel Adams Gallery reopens in Yosemite

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The National Park Service is reporting that the first phase of the Ansel Adams rehabilitation project has finished, and that the Ansel Adams Gallery has reopened! It’s a great place to visit.

From the Press Release:

The Ansel Adams Gallery Rehabilitation Recently Completed at Yosemite National Park

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