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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
- Old Cold Spring Tunnel (1897)
- Pine Mountain Fossil Foray
- Time Magazine Story: Chumash Oak Arborglyph in San Luis Obispo County
- Mono Narrows, The Old Oak Dies
- Beachcombing for Fossilized Whale Bones in Santa Barbara County
- The Chumash Arrowhead
- Mono Narrows Camp
- Prehistoric Seafloor on Gibraltar Road
- Honeysuckle in the Highlands
- Crotch Rocket Mountain Bikes (1985)
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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
Desperate Fight with Condors: Narrow Escape of Santa Barbara Man (1899)
A front page illustration on San Francisco’s The Call newspaper from April 30, 1899 showing two condors attacking a ledge-bound man wielding a club in defense. (Click to enlarge.) The illustration above accompanied a harrowing tale of two Santa Barbara … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Animals, backcountry, Birds, Condors, Fred Forbush, Hikes, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Illustrations, Nature, Writing
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10 Comments
Manzana Creek Schoolhouse (1893)
Manzana schoolhouse, Santa Barbara County Historical Landmark No. 2. “I got paid $50 a month for teaching and paid $14 for room and board, and that was a shared bed at that, with at least one or two children.” —Cora … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Cora McCroskey, Hikes, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Homestead, Manzana Schoolhouse, Photos, Pics, Pioneers, Sisquoc
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15 Comments
Potrero Canyon, Hurricane Deck, Manzana Creek 20 Mile Day Hike
The circuit I hiked noted on Bing imagery. I woke early and hit the super slab driving up over the Santa Ynez Mountains, across the Santa Ynez Valley and over Figueroa Mountain to the lower Manzana Creek trailhead in the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Hikes, Hiking, Hiking (2), Hurricane Deck, Landscape, Manzana Creek, Nature, San Rafael Wilderness, Sisquoc River, Video, Wilderness
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13 Comments
Valley Oak in Winter Light
A California valley oak (Quercus lobata) standing along Happy Canyon Road in Santa Barbara County.
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Inspiration, Landscape, Nature, Photos, Pics, Sunsets, Trees
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7 Comments
Cuyama Viticulture
“Unlike raisin or fresh grape production, where greater cluster size and quantity were preferred, wine grapes often produced superior vintages on rocky, sandy (e.g., Virg. Georg. 2.346; Colum. Arbor3.6), or even infertile soils, which tended to check productivity and overall … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Agriculture, Cuyama Badlands, Grapes, History, Landscape, Photos, Pics, Vineyards, Viticulture, Wine, Writing
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6 Comments
