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“He may be just a tramp, a guy that likes to roam about this great country without any special aim, just to thank the Lord for these beautiful mountains.”
-B. Traven, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

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“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”

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Recently Read
- Eating Poison Oak
- Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: A Female Robinson Crusoe (1897)
- Mono Narrows Camp
- Matías Reyes, Santa Barbara Mission (1887)
- A Treasure Hunt For Chumash Pictographs and the Vicious Protector
- Bedrock Mortar On Munson Creek, Pine Mountain
- Rock Art Ramblin', Searching For Chumash Pictographs
- White Ledge Peak, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Fitzgerald's Fit: Man Leads Work Crew To Wreck Montecito Hot Springs
- Wild Cucumber, Trout and Pictographs
Photos from the blog
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Latest Dispatches
- Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
- Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
- Last California Grizzlies Seen In Santa Barbara National Forest? (1926)
- Eccentric Artifact, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Fog Drip Morels
- Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
- Mark of Conquest; Benchmark and Mortar
- Hat Tip to the Selfless Samaritans In Service to Others
- The Intelligence of Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata)
- The Journey of a Root (1907) and Plant Intelligence
- Santa Barbara County Morels
- Hollyleaf Cherries Golden Morph
- Barefoot Prints In Volcanic Ash, Hawaii (1790)
- Skinny-Dipper Detained, Cuffed and Cited at Montecito Hot Springs
- Red Horny Toad
Lunar Phase

Category Archives: Santa Barbara
The Rescue of a Baby Lion
The fleeting, odd bit of noise sounded mechanical when it first hit my ear. But we were in a designated wilderness wherein nothing of the sort is allowed. And so brief was the sound I almost wasn’t sure I heard … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash Wilderness, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mountain Lions, Nature, Pics, Santa Barbara, Wildlife
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12 Comments
Chumash Stone Bowl
“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 – Jesus, did you?” —Stephen King, “The Body” I spent an inordinate amount of time at the beach when I was ten and eleven … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Archaeology, Artifacts, Beach, Chumash, Indians, Native Americans, Ocean, Outdoors, Santa Barbara, Travel
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6 Comments
Letter to Editor Regarding Plastic Pollution
A snapshot showing plastic debris in the mulch. I walked out my back door, knelt down in a random spot in the garden, looked for just a second to spot some plastic, and took the photo. So pervasive is the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Activism, Creeks, Environmentalism, Nature, News, Ocean, Plastic, Pollution, Santa Barbara, Wildlife
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9 Comments
The Chumash Arrowhead
April 2019 Black So what am I supposed to do with you, Professor? White Why are you supposed to do anything? Black I done told you. This aint none of my doin. I left out of here … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Backpacking, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Wilderness
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12 Comments
The Mood Altering Stream Orchid
A stream orchid (Epipactis gigantea) growing near the Santa Ynez River in late May of 2019. Stream orchids grow where constant water is found at seeps, springs and perennial streams. The plant is known for its mood altering and sedative … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, wildflowers, Wildlife
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4 Comments













