Tag Archives: Santa Barbara

Barger Canyon Arch

Looking through Barger Arch toward Santa Barbara. A coast live oak tree obscured for most of my life this frontside feature of the Santa Ynez Mountains. Arroyo Burro Trail, which cuts the mountainside nearby, was one of the first trails … Continue reading

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: A California Blood Sport (1800s)

This post is the first entry in a series of four: Second: Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Recollections of Jacinto Damien Reyes (1880) Third: Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Lassoing Grizzlies (1904) Fourth: Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Sport … Continue reading

Posted in California | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Condor Point

Condor Point There had been a spring up there at one time. Condor Point Spring seeped up through cracks in the sandstone, flowed weakly across the mossy slab of bedrock and into a long, broad concavity. The steady trickle puddled … Continue reading

Posted in Nature, Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Goleta at Dusk From the Mountain

A sunset view overlooking Goleta from Gibraltar Road atop the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Origin of the Name “California” and the Island Myth

The Origin of the Name “California” “There ruled on that island of California, a queen great of body, very beautiful for her race, at a flourishing age, desirous in her thoughts of achieving great things, valiant in strength, cunning in … Continue reading

Posted in California | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments