

-
Join 948 other subscribers
-
“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

-
“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”

Search Jack’s Blog


Recently Read
- The Snow Frosted Waterfalls of Rose Valley (+ Video)
- The Sisquoc Falls: A Little Known Region in California Explored (1884)
- About
- Pine Mountain Fossil Foray
- Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Lassoing Grizzlies (1904)
- Mono Narrows, The Old Oak Dies
- Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Fallen Rock Chumash Pictograph Rock Art
- Miner's Rock Cabin at Eagle Cliff (1890)
- Indian Head Test Pattern (1939)
Photos from the blog
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
-
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: Wildlife
Chumash Rock Art, a Pool of Water and a Chipmunk
A Chumash pictograph with inset showing a recreation of the design. A seasonal creek flows by this Indian rock art site in Santa Barbara County and there is a spring not far from the paintings. When flowing the creek cascades … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
|
Tagged Archaeology, Chipmunks, Chumash, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Pictographs, Rock Art, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wildlife, Writing
|
5 Comments
Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
The large emerald pool below Fish Falls might be the best summertime swimming hole on the frontside of the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County. It’s deep enough to dive into from the top of the waterfall, if you’re … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
|
Tagged Creeks, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Ynez Mountains, Steelhead, Swimming Holes, Trout, waterfalls, Wildlife
|
12 Comments
Black Bear
I was lounging around camp in midafternoon boiling the billy. Had me a relaxation station set up in the shade of a tree, an air mattress propped up against a boulder as a makeshift recliner, and a long view down … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
|
Tagged Backpacking, Bears, Camping, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Photos, Wildlife
|
12 Comments
Steelhead Fishing, Santa Ynez River (1948)
A tributary of the Santa Ynez River which once was the spawning grounds of thirty-inch steelhead. Seventy years ago the Santa Ynez River in Santa Barbara County was known in California as “the most productive of all the little steelhead … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
|
Tagged Angling, Fishing, History, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez River, Steelhead, Travel, Trout, Wildlife, Writing
|
5 Comments
Rain Beetle
A drop of rainwater suspended in a spider web stuck to the underside of a boulder. Prior to the recent few downpours last month in late February and early this March, it hadn’t rained in a long time. Just a … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
|
Tagged Beetles, Bugs, Drought, Hiking, Insects, Nature, Non-fiction, Photos, Rain, Wildlife
|
3 Comments













