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BORAX VISITORS CENTER: BORON, CA
Overlooking California’s largest open-pit mine and the largest borax mine in the world, the Borax Visitor Center includes a museum, gift shop and an original 20 mule team wagon that once ferried borax...
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RINCONADA MINE HIKE: CENTRAL COAST, CA
Opening in 1872 and worked over the next 90 years, the Rinconada Mine was once one of the largest producers of mercury in San Luis Obispo County. Located in the Santa Lucia Wilderness near Santa...
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THE 14TH FACTORY: LA’S BIG EXPERIENTIAL MULTIMEDIA ART PROJECT
British Hong Kong-based artist Simon Birch transforms an empty warehouse in Lincoln Heights into a mythic universe created collaboratively through video, installation, sculpture, sound, paintings, and...
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TUNNELS TO NOWHERE HIKE: A STRAYNGER RANGER EVENT
It was the perfect day for our first ever group event at the Tunnels to Nowhere in the San Gabriel Mountains. When I launched Straynger Ranger back on April 1, 2016, organizing group events was always...
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STRAYNGER RANGER: ONE YEAR, NO FEAR
What a long stRAyNGE trip it’s been. A look back at Straynger Ranger’s first year and what to expect in the future. Straynger Ranger officially launched on April 1st, 2016. It was April Fools’ Day but...
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UNDERGROUND 2016
This annual 3-day event allows explorers of all skill levels access to miles of underground mines that were once some of the most profitable in the Death Valley region. I’ve been a fan of the...
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LAWS RAILROAD MUSEUM & HISTORIC SITE: BISHOP, CA
The rich history of Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra is preserved at this former railroad station & settlement outside of Bishop, CA. I must have driven by this sign at least a hundred times...
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ET’S OWN HOME
Built for space travel but never flown, this orange 66,000-pound, 15-story-tall aluminum phallic tank is actually the world’s last fully functional space shuttle external tank (ET) and it now calls LA...
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SALT CREEK HILLS ACEC: A GREAT SIDE TRIP ON THE WAY TO DVNP
This oasis at the southeastern tip of Death Valley is rich with history of the Old Spanish Trail, Mormon mines and what is believed to be the oldest standing structure in the Mojave Desert. “Though...
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HIKING CHINA RANCH: TECOPA, CA
Known for its delicious date shakes, unique history and incredible beauty, this desert oasis is also one of the best places to hike in Death Valley. China Ranch has become one of my favorite places to...
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RETURN TO ROBERTS RANCH: WHITE MOUNTAINS, CA
It’s been 30 years since I last visited the old mining cabin my family and I used to stay in while hunting in the White Mountains. Not much has changed, accept for me of course. I was only 16 years old...
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SPITTING SAND AND MAKING WAVES IN MORRO BAY: CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL COAST
Kayaking through the shallow waters of the Morro Bay Estuary over to the Sand Spit, where 80-foot high sand dunes separate Morro Bay from the Pacific Ocean. As a Central Valley California native, I...
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FORT ROCK: TUFF & RUGGED IN OREGON’S HIGH DESERT OUTBACK
Rising like a mirage out the barren desert, this fort shaped National Natural Landmark makes a great side trip when traveling through the Oregon Outback. Located 70 miles southeast of Bend, Fort Rock...
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TREEHOUSE LIVING IN BEND, OREGON
Fall asleep to the sound of a river’s flow and wake up to a rooster’s crow at this one-of-a-kind treehouse in Bend, Oregon. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose when renting through Airbnb. This my...
View ArticleLIVING ON VIDEO
Over the past two months I’ve cut back on writing posts and cranked up the videos. 16 videos to be exact, that’s an average of two per week. I’ll get back to writing regular posts shortly but just...
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HIKING SANDSTONE PEAK: THE HIGHEST POINT IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS
Hiking the Sandstone Peak Trail to reach the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. It was late in the summer and my friends and I were looking for a short hike that would hopefully take...
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GHOST MINE: EASTERN SIERRA NEVADA
Sitting at an elevation of 8000 feet in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, this ghost mine operated from 1909 to 1938. During its lifetime, it produced over one million dollars in gold and built and tore down...
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STRAYNGER RANGER: TOP 10 POSTS OF 2017
Reviewing where we’ve been, where we’re going and counting down the top 10 most popular posts of the year. We definitely weren’t a straynger to the range in 2017 as we continued our search for the most...
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ET’S OWN HOME
Built for space travel but never flown, this orange 66,000-pound, 15-story-tall aluminum phallic tank is actually the world’s last fully functional space shuttle external tank (ET) and it now calls LA...
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STRAYNGER RANGER: TOP 12 VIDEOS OF 2017
We went BIG with video in 2017. Out of the 83 original videos that we made over the past year, these are the Top 12 of 2017. 12. This was the second Bunks & Burros event that I organized for the...
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