There are so many benefits to exploring the natural surroundings close to home. In our case as Sacramentans, the Lower American River provides us with the opportunity for adventure, seasonal escapes, and fresh-air exercise that my family needs to balance our busy lives. It’s personal.

But ALSO, it’s good for the planet!

Here are 5 reasons why adventuring close to home is good for Mother Earth:

During the last week of January, I had the delight of hosting Greg Traverso, Mildly Scenic’s graphic designer and overall layout extraordinaire for some marathon-style days of design work. With a little in-law guest house in our backyard, the honored guest brought along his desktop monitor, special pencil bag, industrial-strength pencil sharpener and got to work.

If you’ve been following along the mildly interesting journey of writing this book, then you’d know how drawing the maps has posed a new and delightful challenge. If you’ve ever picked up a trail guide, it typically will show a map of the trail depicted, along with the description. Here is the story of how six geography students at Sacramento State University came to collaborate with Mildly Scenic to create 20 original maps.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the reasons my fellow Sacramentans aren’t out roaming the American River Parkway like me every day. Besides the daily grind (and why not grind some nature-bathing into the weekly schedule?), I have found a lot of folks mentioning their fear of the river and the solitude. In my years of experience and hundreds of days along the trails, I have never had a scary encounter with another person or animal.

Have you ever wondered why some of the most scenic trails along the parkway aren’t on the maps? They’re called social trails — read on for a bit of the backstory and why I’m mapping them out for my book.

You’ve heard the news — the Fall-run Chinook salmon are here!

I am currently in deep with salmon — yes, pun intended! I can’t get enough of the impressive creatures. They thrash about in water, competing for space to spawn. They can skid up shallow sections and impossibly strong currents. The water feels like a boiling soup of salmon fins. If you haven’t seen it — you absolutely must check it out! Scroll down to see my top 4 spots to view them this year.

Fall is in the air, which means the mornings are crisp and the afternoons are warm.

Here are three mildly recommended bite-sized adventures along the Lower American River:

Even those of us who live in Sacramento can have a hard time distinguishing between the two rivers that intersect downtown Sacramento. The names are mildly generic: The American River is… in Sacramento. And the Sacramento River is… in America. So what’s the difference?