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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 Sisquoc Falls: A Little Known Region in California Explored (1884)
- The Snow Frosted Waterfalls of Rose Valley (+ Video)
- Pine Mountain Fossil Foray
- About
- Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Lassoing Grizzlies (1904)
- Mono Narrows, The Old Oak Dies
- Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Fallen Rock Chumash Pictograph Rock Art
- Miner's Rock Cabin at Eagle Cliff (1890)
- 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 County
Teardrop, Santa Ynez Mountains
Bare bunned at Teardrop. Teardrop was named for its shape. It’s a small swimming hole, a large bathtub, bored out of sandstone bedrock visually and audibly accented by a waterfall dropping into its emerald water. Like many swimming holes, its … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Creeks, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhonography, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez Mountains, Swimming Holes, Teardrop, Writing
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11 Comments
Steelhead Fishing, Santa Ynez River (1948)
A tributary of the Santa Ynez River which once was the spawning grounds of thirty-inch steelhead. Seventy years ago the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County was known in California as “the most productive of all the little steelhead … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Angling, Fishing, History, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez River, Steelhead, Travel, Trout, Wildlife, Writing
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5 Comments
Western Fence Lizard (blue-belly)
A blue-belly lizard on a fallen log atop Pine Mountain in the Sespe Wilderness. Blue-belly lizards always interested me as a boy. Sort of like a cat attracted to movement, they naturally captured my attention when they scurried around on … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Backpacking, Blue Belly Lizard, Camping, Hiking, Lizards, Nature, Photography, Photos, Pics, Science, Western Fence Lizard
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6 Comments
Rain Beetle
A drop of rainwater suspended in a spider web stuck to the underside of a boulder. Prior to the recent few downpours last month in late February and early this March, it hadn’t rained in a long time. Just a … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Beetles, Bugs, Drought, Hiking, Insects, Nature, Non-fiction, Photos, Rain, Wildlife
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3 Comments
Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California’s Central Coast
“The people venerated the swordfish because they sometimes chased whales ashore and thus the people had a lot of meat.” —Luisa Ygnacio (c. 1835-1922) “All, whatever there is in the ocean is just like everything that is here on this … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Archaeology, Chumash, History, Indians, Native Americans, Petroglyphs, Photos, Pictographs, Rock Art, Swordfish, Writing
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9 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 