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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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- Rain Beetle
- Time Magazine Story: Chumash Oak Arborglyph in San Luis Obispo County
- Old Cold Spring Tunnel (1897)
- Pine Mountain Fossil Foray
- Contact
- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
- Prehistoric Seafloor on Gibraltar Road
- White Ledge Peak, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Largest West Coast Tsunamis Generated in Santa Barbara Channel
- Mono Narrows Camp
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Latest Dispatches
- The Exceptional Sundowner Winds of Santa Barbara
- Lobster Poachers?
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- March of the Mustard; The Spread of Noxious Weeds
- Mark of Conquest II: Benchmark and Mortar
- Save Old Mission Sycamore … __ __ __ …
- 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
Lunar Phase
Category Archives: Santa Barbara
Deluge and Drought In Santa Barbara County
Cachuma Lake at Bradbury Dam, September 2013. The reservoir is well below the floodgates and currently less than half full. It seldom rains in Santa Barbara. “Probably the most striking feature of Santa Barbara County,” a story published in the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Cachuma Lake, Camping, Drought, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Precipitation, Rain, Writing
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1 Comment
Piss Pot Flat Campground
P-Bar Flat Campground along the upper Santa Ynez River began as a private hunting camp around 1916. It was originally known as “Piss Pot Flat,” a name taken from a chamber pot that hung on a post and was used … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Campgrounds, Camping, Campsites, History, Los Padres National Forest, P-Bar, Photos, Pics, Upper Santa Ynez River
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Stealing Condor Eggs (1899)
An illustration originally published in the San Francisco Call newspaper in 1911. “CALIFORNIA CONDOR A RARE BIRD WHOSE EGGS ARE VALUED AT $18,000 A DOZEN It is not generally known that among the fads of the day the collecting of … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Birds, Condors, History, Nature, Non-fiction, Photos, San Roque Canyon, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wildlife, Writing
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7 Comments
Pit Viper On Arroyo Burro Trail
Chumash bedrock mortars in Barger Canyon below Arroyo Burro Trail. Arroyo Burro Trail purportedly follows an historic Chumash Indian route over the Santa Ynez Mountains linking the Santa Barbara coastal plain to the Santa Ynez Valley. In the foothills below … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Arroyo Burro Trail, Hiking, iPhoneography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Rattlesnake, Snakes, Survival, Wildlife, Writing
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6 Comments
California Condor; Timeline of Tragedy and Hope
A California condor soaring over Sespe Wilderness. 1890—California condor population estimated at 600. 1982—Only 22 California condors alive in the world. 1985—A single breeding pair survive for the entire species. 1987—The last wild condor is captured from Bitter Creek National … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Birds, Condors, Nature, Photo, Photos, Santa Barbara Zoo, Sespe Wilderness, Vultures, Wildlife
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3 Comments
