Folsom - April 2013

Folsom, CA is a city near Sacramento which is also one of the original Gold Rush towns in California. The city is located on the American River and has a rough and tumble history matching most old towns in the area. It is also the home of the Folsom State Prison. These days, there are far more professionals and suburban warriors living there than convicts, but the downtown area still retains that frontier charm.

Along Sutter Street, there are many shops and restaurants in the old restored buildings. You can browse antiques, get your fortune told, buy some Christmas ornaments in one of the best places for such I have seen (seriously, sushi ornaments!), and even get a good local beer from the Lockdown Brewing Company - my favorite is the Scotch Ale.

Within walking distance from downtown Folsom is the American River, downstream from the Folsom Dam. Legend has it that they named the dam after the town. The dammed river is used by many boaters and makes a nice backdrop for hikers and bikers. The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (aka American River Bike Trail) is pictured above crossing the river and is used by many brave commuters to bike downtown. There is now a light rail train that can provide the same service for those afraid of skin-tight lycra. Please enjoy the rest of the Folsom pics below:

Calaveras Big Trees State Park - April 2013

First off, I want to apologize to all the people who had to walk around my tripod and wait for me to take my pictures. The Calaveras Big Trees State Park is just such a nice place to take some serious pictures, and there are plenty of volunteers reminding you to stay on the sometimes muddy path. The park is about 30 minutes past Murphys along Highway 4 in the Sierra Nevadas and has a large grove of sequoias that are very old and very tall. This is probably why the park is named Big Trees.

I took the North Grove Trail which is about 1.5 miles long and close to the parking lot. It should take a normal person about an hour to hike the loop, but toting photo equipment and stopping all the time made my trip nearly three hours! Tall sequoias are always much more impressive than their SUV namesakes seen in a neighborhood Target parking lot. The hike is perfect for nearly everybody and has lots of big trees!

The loop takes you past all the key sights of the park, although you need to hike further to see the Tuolumne River. If you go, make sure to bring some water and food since the park is pretty basic. And yes, part of the trail involves walking through a tree. I was fortunate to have a warm, clear spring day for my adventure which made the pictures even better. Please enjoy the rest below:

Murphys, CA - April 2013

If you ever travel to Calaveras County, you will notice a higher than normal amount of frogs. They probably have the normal number of real frogs, but ever since Mark Twain published The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County the region celebrates the frog at every opportunity. That said, there are plenty of other reasons to visit the county, especially the quaint little town of Murphys.

The town only has about 2,000 people, although on the weekends there are about 2,000 couples visiting for a romantic weekend of drinking wine, shopping antique stores, drinking more wine, hiking in the forest, drinking even more wine, enjoying a nice dinner, then finishing their day drinking more wine. Yes, most of the regional wineries have tasting rooms in the beautiful small downtown area, and they get used very often. Other than the good wine, the scenery is beautiful with a river and lots of beautiful trees in the downtown area.

The region also has many caverns - Moaning Caverns and Mercer Caverns - and remnants of the gold rush. Some people even say that the old water flumes crossing the hilly landscape are used for things other than carrying water...

I can say that I know 0.3% of the town's population, all 6 of them! Don't forget to check out the annual Frog Jump and the Calaveras Big Trees State Park when in the area. Enjoy the rest of the Murphys pictures below:

Desert Hiking - March 2013

Growing up in the desert, it is hard to convey what that means to people who have never been to one. Most people have images of Bugs Bunny stuck in endless sand dunes or some desolate place devoid of any life. The Sonoran Desert which covers Phoenix has a tremendous amount of flora and fauna. The City of Phoenix set aside a massive park - South Mountain Park - with over 13,000 acres of desert mountains right in the center of town. Since this was close to my house, I am very familiar with the park as is anyone who drives around and sees the massive TV towers on the southern edge lighting up the night sky.

A friend and I set off for a nice hike in South Mountain along with many other Phoenicians that day. The weather was warm and sunny, and the wildflowers were in bloom. There are many trails easily accessible from the city for all activity levels. Just bring lots of water and a camera, and you will easily have a good time. The smells, sounds, and sights of the desert are very unique and unlike anything most people have ever experienced. If you get the chance, I always recommend it.

Spring Training Baseball - March 2013

The stated purpose of my recent trip to Arizona was to see three Spring Training games with my San Francisco Giants, although seeing my friends and getting back to nature were also motivators. I am not alone in visiting Arizona during March as shown in the above map of visitors staying at my hotel. March is a beautiful time to visit the Valley of the Sun with temperatures in the 70-80 degree mark with sunny skies and very expensive rental cars and hotel rooms.

The first game was the Colorado Rockies v. Giants at Scottsdale. Scottsdale Stadium is one of the older parks in Phoenix for Spring Training and is showing its age. The location is perfect, but the parking is tough and the seats and speakers are not enjoyable. It was my first hot dog and beer of the season which were bought at the only stand where 100% of the profits went to the little league team running the stand! Plus, a night game was a perfect cool introduction to Phoenix baseball. Unfortunately, the Giants lost this game.

The next day, I went to the Giants v. Rockies at the new Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. This place was impressive. It is the first ballpark built on Native American land next to Scottsdale and near the new Talking Stick Resort, which is a fun place to lose your money too. Everything was perfect except sitting in the desert sun for over two hours. Beer and sunblock work well in those brutal conditions. Their food is also impressive with a highly recommended Bison Dog with excellent flavor. Local beer from Four Peaks and SanTan too. I had my big camera with me to take some better photos. I had a great time there, especially with a Giants win!

The final stadium was HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ to see the Giants v. Chicago Cubs. This is the final season at this old park, so I made sure to pop an Old Style and squeeze in between some big Cubs fans. One of the nice things about Phoenix is that the mountains are usually visible in the outfield which makes any hit even more impressive. Ironically, I did not get a hot dog here since my belly was still full from an awesome green chile fry bread taco from my favorite place in Phoenix. The Giants won this last game of my trip, and fortunately I had full shade the entire game - plus a little A/C from the press boxes directly above me.

Even though I enjoyed my trip, I will probably not return for Spring Training. I recommend that every baseball fan visit at least once - especially to justify a trip to Arizona - but the scene has changed from the simpler times I remember growing up. The tickets are expensive, the stadiums are packed, and the baseball is not very interesting. We are really just watching practice games with few big names and fewer big plays. Fortunately, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the National League West and seeing my Giants play at Chase Field will always be a draw.

Sedona - March 2013

Words cannot accurately describe the beauty of Sedona. This small town is nestled at the base of the Mogollon Rim in Northern Arizona in the middle of red rock country. The region was formed when erosion carved through the sandstone rock and created the cliffs and rock formations seen around the region. Sedona sits at the top of the Verde Valley in central Arizona which itself used to sit at the bottom of a large ocean.

Arizona was subject to many geologic events which created the Grand Canyon, regional volcanos, and the beautiful scenery around Sedona. I spent many days in this region during college and also exposed hundreds of rolls of film. This time, I let a professional do the driving courtesy of Pink Jeep Tours.

Their Broken Arrow Tour took me down the off road trails near town to places not easily visited by rental car. The tour was simply amazing with incredible scenery and a great tour guide and group. I highly recommend taking the tour if your get the chance. It was a great experience.

Of course I had to get my obligatory self portrait in front of the red rocks. On this trip, I was able to bring my Nikon D5100 camera with the standard 18-55 mm DX lens. I used a polarizing filter to accentuate the blue skies and red rocks for even better pictures.

We encountered some mountain bikers and other jeep tours on the ride. You can also rent your own off road jeep to drive around the area, but I found it much better to leave it to the professionals.

Enjoy these other Sedona pictures: