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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
- The Privateer; Subcontractor, Dept. of Unauthorized Forestry
- The Day Hell Hit Santa Barbara; Third Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded on Earth
- About
- Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
- On Adventure
- Rock Art Ramblin', Searching For Chumash Pictographs
- Petroglyph, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Matías Reyes, Santa Barbara Mission (1887)
- The Sisquoc Falls: A Little Known Region in California Explored (1884)
- Eating Poison Oak
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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
Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Lassoing Grizzlies (1904)
This post is the third entry in a series of four: First: Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: A California Blood Sport (1800s) Second: Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Recollections of Jacinto Damien Reyes (1880) Fourth: Gladiator Games of Bulls and … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Bear Baiting, Bears, Drawings, Grizzly, History, Illustrations, Nature, Non-fiction, Ojai, Old Mission, Santa Ynez, Tales
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5 Comments
Datura Bloom
Datura in bloom on the Carrizo Plain, San Luis Obispo County, California. “In their quest for visions and for supernatural power, the Chumash of the Santa Barbara region were one of many tribes throughout North and South America that resorted … Continue reading →
Posted in San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County
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Tagged Chumash, Datura, Ethnobotany, Flora, Indians, Nature, Photos, Pics, Plants, Toloache
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12 Comments
Viva la Fiesta! Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days
Today marks the start of Santa Barbara’s five day celebratory event known as Old Spanish Days fiesta. An advertisement from the El Paso Herald in 1919. Related Posts: La Fiesta Pequena at the Old Mission . Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Fiesta, History, Old Spanish Days, Parties, Photos, Pics
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1 Comment
A Ramble through Aliso and Oso Canyons
I went for a walk up Aliso Canyon and on over the ridge into Oso Canyon. I parked at the Aliso Canyon trailhead rather than the Oso Canyon trailhead. That added about four miles to my walk, but I wanted … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Aliso Canyon, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Little Pine, Nature, Oso Canyon, Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Vernal Pools
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2 Comments
Edgar B. Davison’s Cabin (circa 1900)
Edgar B. Davison’s Fir Canyon cabin, Figueroa Mountain, Santa Barbara County. (Courtesy Bryan Conant, by way of a friend.) “Edgar was a forest ranger on Figueroa Mountain from 1898 through 1912, making $75 a month. Grace and Edgar built a … Continue reading →













