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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
- Chanterelle Mushrooms
- Mission Falls
- Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Contact
- Western Fence Lizard (blue-belly)
- Largest West Coast Tsunamis Generated in Santa Barbara Channel
- On Adventure
- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
- The Sisquoc Falls: A Little Known Region in California Explored (1884)
- Skinny-Dipper Detained, Cuffed and Cited at Montecito Hot Springs
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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: Los Padres National Forest
The Extraordinary Rains of August 2023
The organic curves of chaparral-cloaked Condor National Forest. I’m growing like a seedRain’s been falling on me — KT Tunstall, Feel It All “I’m wondering if we won’t see August thunderstorms.” I wrote that in June, a freak premonition. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Sespe Wilderness, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
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3 Comments
Repatriation of Native American Remains and Artifacts
Asperitas clouds over Santa Barbara seen from our home on November 15, 2023. October 2023 Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws Tuesday intended to compel California’s public university systems to make progress in their review and return of Native American … Continue reading →
The Mysterious Three Stone Stack
Who? Why? When? The rocks did not fall from the wall or ceiling of the cave that I could tell. There is no trace of a break or fracture in the cave or some such occurrence that may have sent … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Artifacts, backcountry, Caves, Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
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1 Comment
Figueroa Mountain Bug Bloom
Along the road to bugville in autumn. Springtime wildflower blooms on Figueroa Mountain capture all the attention. But I’ve long marveled, too, at the winter ladybug blooms of the mountain. December 2023 I hold onto a childhood memory of ladybugs … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Figueroa Mountain, Hiking, Ladybugs, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, Wildlife
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7 Comments
Discreet Sensitive Habitat Signage, Sespe Wilderness
A thin sign in Sespe Wilderness only but several inches wide with not another sign in sight. Once upon a time not long ago, following wildfire, thoughtful land managers in Ventura County reposted sliver-thin signs along Sespe Wilderness trail, there … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Baron Ranch, Condors, Conservation, Gaviota Coast, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Mountains, Sespe Wilderness
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7 Comments













