Where I Go: Seeking Peace on the Upper Slopes of Mount Shasta

How Cycling (and Tandem Biking) Has Made My Rural Northern California 'Neighborhood' Home

“Lonely as God, and white as a winter moon, Mount Shasta starts up sudden and solitary from the heart of the great black forests of Northern California.”
—Joaquin Miller, from his 1873 autobiographical novel, Life Among the Modocs

When you move to a new neighborhood, you scout it out. It’s all a matter of staking out territory, getting comfortable in your new surroundings. If you’re in the city, your early forays on the streets might lead you to that perfect pastry at the corner bakery, the savory brick-oven pizza from a …

by Tim Holt | May 27, 2021

A Letter From Napa Valley, Where Love Burns Hotter Than Fire

A Writer Reflects on Fleeing Northern California's Glass Fire, the Written History She Lost to the Blaze, and the Relationships That Sustain Her

by Eileen R. Tabios | October 8, 2020

I nearly died last week, which is how I realized: All of my stories are about love.

It was about 3 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, and my husband Tom …

If You Can’t Beat the Bay Area, Join It

Solving Northern California's Toughest Problems Requires a New Megaregion, from San Francisco and Tahoe to the San Joaquin and Salinas Valleys

by Joe Mathews | July 30, 2018

Welcome to the Bay Area, Merced!

Further north, welcome as well to Modesto, Sacramento, Placerville, and Yuba City. And, to the south, you’re invited, too, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and …

All Aboard, Bay Area, on Your Fast Train to Wasco

This Kern County Town, a Conduit for High-Speed Rail, Has a Lot to Offer

By Joe Mathews | March 2, 2017

Dear Bay Area,

Welcome to Wasco.

You may never have heard of this small city of 25,000 in the San Joaquin Valley. You probably can’t pronounce it (it’s WAW-skoh).

But you and …

I, Bigfoot, Am One Frightened Californian

Sasquatch Used to Instill a Healthy Fear of the Wild, Now He’s Crowded out of His Favorite California Haunts

By Bigfoot (as told by Joe Mathews) | September 1, 2016

I’m so famous for keeping a low profile that some people doubt my existence. So I’m here to tell my fellow Californians that I’m proudly one of you.

I travel …

How California Can Teach Itself About Water

The Wet, Wasteful North and the Dry, Conserving South Must Share Perspectives, and Plans

by Chris Austin | November 12, 2013

In California, we owe the existence of our communities to the willingness of previous generations to rearrange our natural assets. Billions of dollars have been spent rerouting rivers to channel …

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