But the Pine resident has keen observational skills that came into play when he recently spotted what appeared to be a stand of trees in North Park that were planted in the shape of a giant star.

UC Davis Professor Hugh Safford was hiking for pleasure in California's High Sierra when he stumbled upon a new elevation ...

A professor's casual hike in the High Sierra turned into a new elevation record for California's highest tree, the Jeffrey pine, which wasn't formerly known to grow at extreme elevations.