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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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- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
- Contact
- Rock Art Ramblin', Searching For Chumash Pictographs
- Dinosaur Footprints, Isle of Skye, Scotland
- Smith's Pool
- Mono Narrows, The Old Oak Dies
- 1960s Era Pull-Tab Coca-Cola Can
- Santa Barbara Seen Through A Sailor's Eyes (1835)
- Widow's Tears Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
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Latest Dispatches
- The Exceptional Sundowner Winds of Santa Barbara
- Lobster Poachers?
- Dick Smith on Forest Access
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Niño
- 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
Lunar Phase

Tag Archives: History
Santa Barbara Seen Through A Sailor’s Eyes (1835)
In the following passage taken from his acclaimed travel narrative, Two Years Before the Mast (1841), Richard Henry Dana, Jr. describes landing on the beach at Santa Barbara on January 14, 1835 after a five month voyage from Boston. Dana … Continue reading →
Native Steelhead of Yore
Claude M. Kreider fly fishing for steelhead trout on the Santa Ynez River in 1942. “And here—only one hundred and fifty miles from the great Los Angeles metropolitan area—flows the Santa Ynez, the most productive of all the little steelhead … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Angling, Bradbury Dam, Fishing, Gibraltar Dam, History, Lompoc, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez River, Steelhead, Writing
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6 Comments
John Muir Writes of Davy Brown
“In Calaveras County they wrote that Brown bagged ten grizzlies during one week in 1849. John Muir referred to Brown as the most famous bear hunter in the Sierras in his book, ‘Our National Parks,’ and a meadow in the … Continue reading →
Trail Up Mt. La Cumbre (1914)
A postcard from 1914 depicting the La Cumbre Trail, the construction of which was paid for by the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce sometime around the turn of the nineteenth century. The trail began on Mountain Drive and wound its … Continue reading →
Posted in History
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Tagged Hiking, History, La Cumbre Peak, Photos, Pics, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains
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2 Comments
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing: A Santa Barbara Original
“Enough! I grow weary of your sexually suggestive dancing. Bring me my ranch dressing hose!” -Homer Simpson It’s a nutritionist’s nightmare, a glutton’s godsend. It’s the king of salad dressings and a cornerstone of the condiment world. Ranch dressing is … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Cold Spring Tavern, Food, Hidden Valley Ranch, History, Non-fiction, Ranch Dressing, Steve Henson, Writing
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9 Comments













