From Tom Stienstra's Outdoor Vacation Awards:

Best chance at vertigo:
At the end of the 2.5-mile hike to the 8,587-foot Sierra Buttes in Tahoe National Forest, you climb three exposed stairways that jut out over the canyon. A lookout station is perched on a crag and you walk atop an open-grated deck that feels like you are walking on air. The only sensation I've felt that is more dizzying .....

Read more, and about many other interesting places in California: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/29/SP0H1EK90R.DTL&feed=rss.tstienstra#ixzz0y9nrLGMB

Thanks for everyone who sent this link along: Sierra City and surrounding areas is getting a great write-up by the San Francisco Chronicle -- check it out: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/08/29/TRBP1E4CFR.DTL

Nice shout-outs in the copy to chamber members Herrington's Sierra Pines Resort, Sierra Country Store, Miner's Emporium and Big Springs Garden, and as part of the recommendations as to where to stay and eat, in addition to the mentioned members the Buttes Resort, Mountain Creek Restaurant & Buckhorn Tavern, Herrington's Restaurant and Bassets Station are all mentioned.

Our beloved Kentucky Mine Museum is featured as the lead-in topic of the piece.

A few other non-chamber member businesses get a mention as well.

The National Geographic Society is developing a series of localized geotourism websites and map guides of different regions. The Sierra Nevada now has its own project and NatGeo is looking for a network of contributors. The Interactive Map Guide will be a resource for residents and visitors alike, and reaches a LOT of people.

This is an opportunity for all residents and lovers of the county to promote our amazing area in the Sierra Nevada. 

NatGeo wants you to share your knowledge and experiences about our region to create a very rich section about Sierra County in the Interactive Map Guide and geotourism website.

It can be about locations such as the Sierra Buttes, the Lakes Basin, Loves Falls, the dendroglyphs in the Aspen Groves, etc., or events like Pioneer Days or Sierra City Oktoberfest -- it's up to each one of us to nominate unique places in Sierra County.

If you are a business owner, this is your chance-- for you to promote YOUR business, write your OWN description, get the photos YOU want on this map.

Don't risk Sierra County staying a blind spot on this map and in this interactive directory. Nominate your favorite location or your business today!

This is a time to step up to the plate. 'Oh someone else will nominate the Buttes ' gets us nowhere in the directory or on the map. It's like yelling 'someone call the police' and then nobody does as we all think someone else will.

If you don't nominate locations and businesses here in Sierra County nobody else will. Visitors will pass us over to visit Nevada or Plumas Counties just because people in those counties took the time out to nominate their businesses, and locations in their areas, and we did not!

GAME ON!

Here is a link to the sign up page: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/participate.php

Check out the Sierra Nevada site at: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/

All content will be reviewed and approved by an Independent Project Editor, in order to maintain high standards of credibility and integrity.

For a definition of geotourism see: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/about_geotourism.php

Sierra County has joined the social media (r)evolution and are now on twitter. Follow us to find out about what's happening, interesting facts about the county, up-to-date information on local weather, road conditions and events and much more.

If there is any type of information you wish you could get quickly in a short form, let us know at twitter@sierracountychamber.com and we'll start tweeting about it!

Twitter page: SierraCountyCA

If you don't have a twitter account, it's free and really easy to create one and you can then follow updates and info on any topic you can imagine. Go to twitter.com and click on sign up.

Please be sure and mark your calendars for our Wine In The Woods event being held on Saturday, August 7TH.

This year it will be hosted by the Sierra County Chamber and held jointly at the Mountain Creek Restaurant and Sorracco's Saloon in Sierra City.

Tickets are available now at 49 Wines in Downieville, the Mountain Creek Restaurant, Sorracco's Saloon, the Sierra Country Store and Miners Emporium in Sierra City.

Bring your friends, neighbors and twice removed cousins for a fun afternoon of great wines and delicious hors d' oeuvres.

For more information go to our event calendar.

See you there!!

Kathy Breed, Chamber President

Highway 49 in Sierra County is one of the most scenic and historically rich sections of this beautiful highway. The National Forest Service has a brochure for a driving tour called 49 Miles Long Highway 49 which is available for free in most businesses in Sierra County, the Kentucky Mine Museum or any Tahoe National Forest office (Sierraville District 530-994-3401 or Downieville District 530-288-3231). The tour takes you to stops  in quaint, small towns, historic mining areas, along one of the most beautiful rivers of Northern California, and shows you some of the rich history contained within the hills and mountains of rural California.

There are 12 stops total described in the driving tour, 10 of them in Sierra County, and they are, starting from the southern end:

» Jouberts Diggings
» Indian Valley
» Indian Rock Picnic Area
» Goodyears Bar
» Downieville
» Loganville
» Sierra City
» Kentucky Mine and Museum
» Bassetts Station
» Yuba Pass

Many of the stops are located at or near archaeological sites within the Tahoe National Forest, and are protected by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and other federal laws. Removal of artifacts or damaging, defacing, or destroying any parts of these sites and their features is a felony.