Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure

Potrero Seco Camp, Dick Smith Wilderness, Los Padres National Forest

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Dick Smith Wilderness, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Pics | Leave a comment

Tequepis Canyon Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged falls, Hiking, Hiking (2), Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Pics, Santa Ynez Mountains, Tequepis, waterfalls | 2 Comments

California Condor

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Jack Elliott

David Stillman at large in the SLP with a wing tip primary feather from a California condor measuring over 18 inches long. The condor is North America’s largest flying bird and can have a wingspan of over nine feet. Considering the size of the feather held by Stillman in relation to the condor in flight, soaring with its wing tip primary feathers spread, gives some sense of the big vulture’s remarkable size.

Related Post:

California Condor Timeline of Tragedy

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged Birds, Condors, Fauna, Hiking, Hiking (2), Nature, Photos, Pics, Vultures, Wildlife | 1 Comment

Godwin Canyon, Los Padres National Forest

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Jack Elliott

The gateway to Godwin Canyon.

I hiked up Godwin Canyon a few days ago. It’d been about a year since I’d been up thataway and in that time somebody slapped together some sort of sloppy grow set-up. I came across six 20 pound bags of granular chemical fertilizer, a 12 pound box of Miracle-Gro and a two-cubic foot bag of potting soil. It was all lying along the dry creek, beside the faint trail that runs through the area, without any effort to conceal it. A little farther along I came across a length of 1/2-inch black irrigation tubing strung waist high across the creek. One end of the hose ran into the brush while the other end was strung up along a hillside of exposed soil and in plain sight. It was a goofy looking operation.

Icy cascade, frozen pool.

Frozen creek.

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged Godwin Canyon, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhoneography, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Pine Mountain | 6 Comments

Manzanita Flower Tea

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Manzanita flowers.

Manzanita is flowering at the moment. The Chumash Indians ate manzanita berries or fruits by preparing them in a variety of different ways and other Native Americans used the leaves for medicinal purposes. The wood was used by some to smoke fish.

The fragrant flowers can be gathered and soaked in water overnight to make a sweet tasting infusion. While the flowers themselves have an astringent, mouth drying taste, Mazanita infused water has a pleasant, delicate floral flavor.