Category Archives: Santa Barbara

The Summer Microburst, September 3, 2017

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Jack Elliott

Looking out from under the shade canopy. Note the umbrella in the air in the distance for some sense of the action and all the dark dots of palm tree debris even higher overhead and the bend in the trunk of … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Arroyo Burro, Beach, Hendry's Beach, Microburst, Nature, Ocean, Santa Barbara, The Pit, Thunderstorms, weather, Writing | 9 Comments

Parks Management Company’s Red Rock Racket

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Jack Elliott

Red Rock, Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County “The writer’s duty to speak the truth—especially unpopular truth. Especially truth that offends the powerful, the rich, the well-established, the traditional, the mythic, the sentimental. To attack, when the time makes it … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Pics, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Ynez River, Swimming Holes, Wilderness | 52 Comments

The Lost Treasure of San Roque Canyon (1895)

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Jack Elliott

“There were three Santa Barbara boys who started aviation careers with their kite-flying. They were the Loughead brothers, Victor, Malcolm, and Allan, whose mother, Flora Haines Loughead, was a writer for the Independent, one of Santa Barbara’s three newspapers at … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Adventure, History, Los Padres National Forest, Newspapers, Reading, San Roque Canyon, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Travel, Treasure, Writing | 2 Comments

The Wondrous Orange-Bellied Newt

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Jack Elliott

California orange bellied newt (Taricha torosa). One of the great indicators of seasonal change in the Santa Ynez Range of Santa Barbara is the arrival of orange bellied newts to mountain streams. They don’t always live in water. Newts spend … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged California Newt, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Pics, Salamander, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wildlife | 9 Comments

Widow’s Tears Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Jack Elliott

“Out around Glen Annie and Cathedral Oaks if you look toward the Front Range after a pretty good rainstorm you can sometimes see a tiny little set of falls that has a vertical drop of circa 100.’ It is set … Continue reading →