Favorite California photos by Tom Dempsey include: Yosemite National Park (El Capitan, Half Dome, Cathedral Peak and Lake, waterfalls, reflections, ice, backpackers, Virginia Peak), Burney Falls in Shasta County, Monterey Bay Aquarium (jellyfish, octopus, seahorse), lush green forest on Cataract Creek Trail in Mount Tamalpais Watershed, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Patrick's Point State Park, historic Russian colony at Fort Ross, geologically unique Bowling Ball Beach at Schooner Gulch State Park, crashing waves, sea stacks, coastal birds, natural patterns, Sutter Buttes panorama and hiker under sunny oaks

Peaks of Desolation Wilderness rise in the background of this lake panorama at Wrights Lake Recreation Area, Eldorado National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Directions to Wrights Lake Campground: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3), 9 miles east on Forest Road 32 (Wrights Lake Tie Road), and 2 miles north on Forest Road 4 (Wrights Lake Rd).

Off Highway 88 near Carson Pass, hike a varied loop through lush wildflower fields from Woods Lake Campground to Winnnemucca Lake, then Round Top Lake, in Mokelumne Wilderness, Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada. The excellent loop trail is 5.3 miles with 1250 feet gain (or 6.4 miles with 2170 feet gain if adding the scramble up Round Top).

Photos below from Yosemite National Park, in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA include: El Capitan, Half Dome, Cathedral Peak and Lake, waterfalls, reflections, ice patterns, backpackers, Virginia Peak, bird nest, Yosemite Museum, and a reconstructed Indian Village of the Ahwahnee. In 1984, Yosemite National Park was honored as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Intriguing towers of calcium-carbonate decorate the South Tufa Area, in Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, near Lee Vining, California, USA. The Reserve protects wetlands that support millions of birds, and preserves Mono Lake’s distinctive tufa towers — calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Mono Lake has no outlet and is one of the oldest lakes in North America. Over the past million years, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams and evaporation has made the water 2.5 times saltier than the ocean. This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and blackflies. Since 1941, diversion of lake water trubutary streams by the city of Los Angeles lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. In response, the Mono Lake Committee won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially restore the lake level. Nearby, Benton Hot Springs (elevation 5630 feet) saw its heyday from 1862 to 1889 as a supply center for nearby mines. At the end of the 1800s, the town declined and the name Benton was transferred to nearby Benton Station. Today, exploring rusted cars and farm machinery is worth an hour.

On the east side of the Sierra Nevada, explore weathered wood buildings and artifacts in Bodie State Historic Park, a fascinating ghost town that thrived on gold mining 1876-1917. The park lies in the Bodie Hills in the Basin & Range physiographic province, in Mono County, near Bridgeport. After W. S. Bodey’s original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold and silver ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed “Bodie” from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.

Inyo National Forest is a vast playground for great day hikes and wonderful backpacking in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Photos below include: Schulman Grove, in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, in the White Mountains; Mammoth Lakes area (Shadow, Thousand Island, Garnet, Ediza, Iceberg, Cecile, and Minaret Lakes); McGee Creek Canyon; beautiful Little Lakes Valley; Bishop Creek watershed hikes from South Lake (Bishop Pass Trail, Treasure Lakes Trail), Lake Sabrina (Piute Pass), and North Lake; Onion Valley Campground; Brainerd Lake; Mount Williamson; Mount Whitney; and Silver Lake reflections along June Lake Loop road. Flower images include: Giant blazingstar or smoothstem blazingstar (Mentzelia laevicaulis), Opuntia fragilis (brittle pricklypear), white Datura flower flower blossoms, Coville’s columbine or Sierra columbine (Aquilegia pubescens), Alpine Penstemon (Penstemon davidsonii), Iris missouriensis (or Iris montana), tiger lily or Columbia lily (Lilium columbianum), prickly poppy (Argemone Genus), Castilleja (Indian Paintbrush or Prairie-fire).

The photogenic Alabama Hills are a BLM Recreation Area on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the Owens Valley, west of Lone Pine in Inyo County, California. The Alabama Hills are a popular filming location for television and movie productions (such as Gunga Din, Gladiator, Iron Man, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), especially Westerns (Tom Mix films, Hopalong Cassidy films, The Gene Autry Show, The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, How the West Was Won, and Joe Kidd). Two main types of rock are exposed at Alabama Hills: 1) orange, drab weathered metamorphosed volcanic rock 150-200 million years old; and 2) 82- to 85-million-year-old biotite monzogranite which weathers to potato-shaped large boulders. The striking Mobius Arch frames Mount Whitney (14,505 feet or 4421 m elevation), the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada. The Eastern California Museum in Independence is worth visiting to see fascinating old machinery and historical artifacts from building the controversial Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Photos from San Francisco Bay Area, California, include: verdant Cataract Creek Trail, mushrooms, and slug on Mount Tamalpais, city views, Lands End Park, Alcatraz Island, rainbow over Sailing Ship Balclutha, old millstone cocoa grinder at Ghirardelli Square chocolate factory, Pinnacles National Park, and the Big Sur coast.

Photos of California northern coast and redwoods: See jellyfish/jellies, octopus, seahorse, anemone, Harbor Seals, diver feeding shark, at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Admire Bodega Head, Sonoma Coast State Park, Russian River, Bowling Ball Beach geologic wonder at Schooner Gulch State Park, sea stacks, Fort Ross State Historic Park (former Russian colony 1812-1842). Walk in Stout Grove, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (where "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" speed racer sequence was filmed) in Del Norte County. Walk in one of the world's tallest forests on Simpson-Reed Trail. Tree branches tangle in fractal patterns over fern lined trail at Patrick's Point State Park, near Eureka. Stand up paddle surfing on a wave. California's Redwood National and State Parks were honored as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. Fern Canyon, Murrelet State Wilderness, Gold Bluffs Beach,

As the home town for Tom Dempsey's childhood, Chico and the surrounding Sacramento Valley and foothills attract him back regularly to visit his lovely parents. Photos from the Central Valley and foothills of California include: Bidwell Mansion, Bidwell Park, California State University Chico (CSUC), Sutter Buttes panorama and sunny oaks with hiker silhouette, almond orchard leaves turning yellow, Manzanita tree flower blooms, pipevine flower, Acorn Woodpecker, child's hand in black bear paw print, California poppies, lavender poppies, Honey Run Covered Bridge built 1894 between Chico and Paradise, fawn lily (Erythronium californicum), flowers on North Table Mountain Biological Reserve near Oroville, and Feather Falls.

- Photos from the Cascades mountains in Northern California include: Burney Falls, a beautiful National Natural Landmark on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County. - Photos from the Klamath Mountains include: scenic Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park.

Photos from California deserts include: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Borrego Badlands, Ocotillo with red blooms against blue mountain range, coastal fishhook cactus, barrel cactus yellow flower, green spider camouflaged in datura flower.

During our visit 19-21 April 2018, some refreshing sprinkles formed a rainbow over Death Valley's colorful geology. Parting clouds revealed fresh snow whitening Telescope Peak (11,043 ft), impressively high above Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America (282 feet below sea level). Cresting the Panamint Range, Telescope Peak has one of the greatest vertical rises above local terrain of any mountain in the contiguous United States. At our feet, evaporation from Badwater Basin concentrated crystalline mounds of sodium chloride (table salt), plus calcite, gypsum, and borax (famously mined 1883-1889 with Twenty Mule Teams). Artist's Drive was worth the short side trip to explore the colorful geologic formation of Artists Palette. More than 5 million years ago, multiple volcanic eruptions deposited ash and minerals which chemically altered into a colorful paint pot of elements (iron, aluminum, magnesium and titanium). We were delighted to photograph sunrise illuminating a tapestry of golden yellow striated landscape patterns at Zabriskie Point. Next, driving around to Golden Canyon Trailhead begins a great hiking loop uphill to Red Cathedral then back downhill via Gower Gulch (6 miles with 800 ft gain), our favorite walk in the park. Around lunchtime, I enjoyed photographing pioneer-era mining and transportation machines outdoors at the Borax Museum at Furnace Creek Ranch. To escape increasing heat, we drove up Emigrant Canyon Road to 4100-foot Wildrose Campground, where faucets provided tasty drinking water. Along the winding road, we luckily spotted some Desert bighorn sheep with lambs. Campground quiet was suddenly shattered with the loud hee-haw braying of an alpha donkey keeping his herd in line. Near Stovepipe Wells, the first light of sunrise spectacularly highlights Mesquite Flat Dunes. Then, along the hike to Fall Canyon's dry waterfall (6.7 miles with 1250 feet gain) I photographed some feisty Zebra-tailed lizards, some lusciously creamy yellow flowers of the desert rock nettle (desert stingbush) clinging to shaded canyon walls, plus some intriguing rock patterns.