Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure

Baby’s First Chanterelle

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Jack Elliott

She may be small, but that is one big ass Santa Barbara chanterelle.

Chanterelle Mushrooms: Hunting Santa Barbara County

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Baby, Chanterelles, Mushroom, Snapshots | 1 Comment

Monarch Butterflies at Dusk on Ortega Hill

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Jack Elliott

I took a jaunt up the short trail to the top of Ortega Hill just before sunset. The eucalyptus trees on the hill attract clusters of Monarch butterflies overwintering for the season. There was nobody around and I found a decent group of them huddled together on a fairly young tree that wasn’t too tall and I was able to get pretty close.

I was out at the Ellwood eucalyptus grove at Santa Barbara Shores County Park in November and it felt like I was at an exhibit at the zoo. There were docents standing around offering to answer questions about the butterflies and other ones leading tour groups.

At Ellwood nowadays you walk in along a guided little path to a viewing area that is cordoned off. I had to elbow my way through a horde of people to get near the front and get a closer look. Which was not close at all. Ellwood gets busy because it is a large grove that has long been known for attracting a lot of butterflies, but there are numerous other eucalyptus groves around that attract Monarchs which few if anybody visits.

Interactive map guide:

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Butterflies, Monarchs, Montecito, Ortega Hill, Santa Barbara, Summerland, Tales | Leave a comment

Waterfalls of Ventura County

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Jack Elliott

Characterized by its sheer immensity, massive wine-stained boulders and gushing waterfalls, the creek cuts a wicked gash through the chaparral covered hills scouring out a ragged drainage chute through bedrock reminiscent of canyons in the American Southwest.

My Dad and I did a 9 mile exploratory circuit on Tuesday, 12-28-10, after several days of decent rain. The previous afternoon, while out reconnoitering the area, we crossed paths with the fella from VC Canyoneering. He kindly gave us a detailed map and we decided to return next morning. We got a fairly late start leaving the truck at 9:30 and ended up getting back well after dark at 6:30.

We did a loop going all the way down the old road cut, then down stream a mite and bushwhacked up to the first cascade and up a slide area to the top of the waterfall, and on up the creek past the other two falls. We spent too much time at the waterfalls after getting to them late in the afternoon, due to our circuitous course, which when combined with time spent route finding, and otherwise standing around in awe of the landscape, translated into hiking the last two miles back to the truck by starlight.