Light a Candle

The soft, flickering glow of a candle in a tall, warm-colored glass mosaic holder transforms an ordinary space into a sanctuary of profound tranquility. The flame dances behind the shards of amber, gold, and green …

First Aid

I can’t tell you how many times I carried this along on camping trips to the High Sierras in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the time, this Johnson & Johnson plastic first-aid kit …

Navy Bean & Ham Soup

Navy bean and ham soup feels “magical” because a handful of humble ingredients—beans, a ham bone, a few vegetables—transform into something deeply flavorful, comforting, and nostalgic. The magic isn’t mystical; it’s the chemistry of slow …

Moonshine

This rustic little shack proudly masquerades as an artisanal mountain distillery where the local moonshine is brewed with an uncompromising dedication to flavor and questionable hygiene standards. Deep in the mountains where the tall pines …

Cool Your Jets

March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California, offers an astonishing variety of objects that bring more than a century of aviation history to life. Visitors can wander among more than one hundred historic aircraft, from …

Busy Bee

I enjoy using my photography to create digital art. The photography community’s feelings toward digitally enhanced art seem to be deeply split. It’s a spectrum that ranges from embracing powerful new workflows to feeling a …

Comfort

Stuffed chairs in motel rooms are the unsung heroes of travel, bravely accepting everything from your jacket and backpack to that mysterious shopping bag you swear you’ll unpack later. They’re the perfect place to sit …

Morning Along the Fence Line

Cattle ranching came to the San Bernardino Mountains in the mid-1800s as herders like the Talmadges and Dunlaps drove stock up seasonal trails from the desert and valley floor into high meadows such as Little …

Coquille River Lighthouse

The Coquille River Lighthouse was built between 1895 and 1896 at the mouth of the Coquille River near Bandon, Oregon, to help ships safely navigate the hazardous river bar and nearby Pacific coastline. Congress approved …

Mission San Miguel Arcángel

Unlike many other California missions, Mission San Miguel Arcángel did not originally possess a formal bell tower; for most of its history, the bells hung from simple wooden structures or a unique campanario (bell wall) made of adobe and …

You Have Mail

In the early days of rural mail delivery in the San Bernardino Mountains, getting the mail was less of a routine and more of an adventure with a schedule that politely ignored the clock. Mail …

Fish Tacos

The Taco Shack here in town is one of the city’s most popular destinations, earning praise for its crispy grilled and battered fish tacos, fresh toppings, flavorful salsa bar, and relaxed downtown atmosphere. Their fish …