Yosemite National Park is not just about Half Dome, spectacular as it is. There's so much beauty and bounty to check out in its northern reaches, where the crowds are sparse and the sights spectacular. So we asked park ranger Jamie Richards about some of her favorite spots. She's particularly fond of Tuolumne Meadows and the points along Tioga ...Read more

OYSTERVILLE, Wash. -- Usually, razor clams get all the publicity.

Last spring's razor clam-digging opening on the 28-mile-long Long Beach Peninsula's ocean beach was a big deal because state fisheries honchos temporarily upped the daily limit after a long closure assured a good harvest. Fanatical diggers descended in droves.

But cross the 13/4...Read more

There's something irresistible about autumn picnics. Summer's heat has waned and the crisp air makes us long for al fresco feasts -- perhaps with a Thermos of something warm and hearty to accompany those sandwiches, cider and sides.

The foothills of California's Gold Country are dotted with beautiful picnic spots. Here are just a few of our ...Read more

LEESBURG, Va. -- The rolling hills around this historic town and county seat northwest of Washington, D.C., has long been known as horse country. Jackie Kennedy famously rode with the Piedmont Fox Hounds in nearby Middleburg, and even today there are more horses than houses in Loudoun County, which was settled in the mid-1720s and still feels a ...Read more

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. -- "The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature," Thomas Jefferson wrote of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in 1783.

"This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."

Many appear to have heeded his recommendation. On a recent weekend, you ...Read more

It's the question no local wants to hear when they're entertaining friends or family from out of town -- "Can we go to Fisherman's Wharf to see the sea lions?"

Or even worse -- maybe your loved ones suggests a Segway or double-decker bus tour.

Nothing sucks the fun out of a Saturday afternoon like fighting through hordes of tourists pointing ...Read more

BISHOP, Calif. -- In the Eastern Sierra near Bishop is a mountain route unofficially known as the highest motorable road in California.

The dirt section at the top is maintained by the University of California scientific research facility at Barcroft Station and access is open just two days a year. (Dates for 2017 have passed, and those for ...Read more

SUTTER CREEK, Calif. -- The Gold Rush brought a flood of argonauts, gamblers and adventure-seekers to California's gold-flecked hills. But modern-day visitors are wooed by something else -- a taste of the Wild West, yes, but one washed down with barbera and rose, perhaps with a little charcuterie or fried Brussels sprouts on the side.

We've ...Read more

As the vintage wooden Chris-Craft shaved a path into the still lake, shades of coral, cherry and lime rippled in the trailing wake.

The florid shoreline, replicated in those blurred patches of water, seemed to be preening.

"The colors are just really getting going," said Michael Andrews, our captain. "By the end of the day, you'll see -- it's ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Three blocks from Smithsonian exhibits depicting the Big Bang and evolution, Washington's newest museum will tell a different story of the creation of the universe.

The Museum of the Bible will showcase the impact of the Old and New Testaments using ancient artifacts and examples of ways the holy book has influenced the modern ...Read more