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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
- Eating Poison Oak
- Slippery Rock Stagecoach Road (19th Century)
- Oil and Animals in the Santa Barbara Channel
- The Storied Life of Davy Brown (Davy Brown Campground, Santa Barbara County)
- Don Victor Valley and Pine Canyon
- Manzana Creek Schoolhouse (1893)
- Native American Rock Art (Kern County)
- Ticks, Lizards and Lyme Disease
- Beachcombing Venice, Italy
- Carrizo Tom
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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

Tag Archives: History
Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
J.D. Reyes served the length of his duty as a United States Forest Service ranger, from 1900 to 1931, in Santa Barbara National Forest, later renamed Los Padres several years after his retirement. When his family first settled in the … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Anthropology, backcountry, Caves, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, J.D. Reyes, Los Padres National Forest, United States Forest Service, Wilderness
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5 Comments
Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
Walking tracks, west of town. Keep on keeping on. This offering relates to the preceding, Mark of Conquest; Benchmark and Mortar. The previous post mentioned the Modoc War of 1872-73 in California. Emphasis has been added below to highlight portions … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged American Indian Wars, History, Hope Ranch, Indians, Modoc Indians, Native Americans, Place Names, Santa Barbara, Street Names, Walker A Tompkins, Yankee Barbarenos
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Mark of Conquest; Benchmark and Mortar
United States Coast & Geodetic Survey benchmark (1872) on a Chumash mortar stone, Santa Barbara County. “The reverence attached to the artifacts of history is a thing men feel. One could even say that what endows any thing with significance … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Artifacts, Backpacking, Chumash, History, Indian Wars, Indians, Legacy of Conquest, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains
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1 Comment
The Journey of a Root (1907) and Plant Intelligence
Los Angeles Herald, February 24, 1907. The Journey Of A Root From Santa Barbara, California, there comes a story of a most interesting freak of vegetable life, which is strictly vouched for. Through a certain garden ran, some years ago, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Botany, Eucalyptus, Gardening, History, Horticulture, Nature, Plants, Santa Barbara, Science, Trees, Wildlife
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California Name Origins: Joseph Wood Krutch, The Forgotten Peninsula (1961)
Detail of Nicholas de Fer’s map from 1705 showing Santa Barbara Channel. An excerpt from The Forgotten Peninsula: A Naturalist in Baja California (1961) by Joseph Wood Krutch detailing the suspected origins of the name California: Most of the place … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Baja, California, California Island, History, Joseph Wood Krutch, Santa Barbara
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2 Comments













