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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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Latest Dispatches
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Nino
- 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
- Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
- Mark of Conquest: Benchmark and Mortar
- Hat Tip to the Selfless Samaritans In Service to Others
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: History
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
Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
In my years at University of California earning a degree in American history with a minor in Native American studies I never heard tell of the Indian Head Test Pattern. I first learned of it reading Tommy Orange’s novel, There … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Americana, Chumash, History, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Pop Culture, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, TV, Wilderness
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1 Comment
Renaming Los Padres: Names Of the 1930s
Detail showing Abel Mtn. on a 1938 map of Los Padres National Forest. Backstory I’ve long had an interest in place, in the particularity of natural settings and the composition of undeveloped scenes, and in the forest placenames chosen by … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), History, Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness
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7 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 