I'm writing this blog on January 11th, 2021.
Getting There
Jess's family hails from the beautiful Santa Barbara, California and we've made an effort to rotate annual trips between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year it was Thanksgiving! Every time we fly I try to get a window seat. As a geographer, an aerial view is unparalleled. This flight provided a beautiful sunrise over a sea of clouds and after a layover in Phoenix I became intrigued by and followed a canal that seemed to stretch forever. It ended up being the 336 mile Central Arizona Project aqueduct, which I only saw the western half of! The canal connects Lake Havasu on the Colorado River to Phoenix and on to Tucson to provide water.
I started taking photos once we got to the Colorado River valley below Lake Havasu (but first notice the Copperstone Gold Mine) which supports a massive agriculture industry in the Colorado River Reservation, a native american reservation. The Colorado River forms the border between Arizona and California in this area below Lake Havasu and all the way down into Baja California, Mexico.
Once we neared Santa Barbara I soaked up the coastal views. The dramatic mountain ranges at the edge of the ocean leave little room for the cities at their feet. We flew in the day after the Cave Fire started, which ended up burning over 3,100 acres, thankfully without any loss of homes or life. It made for a dramatic entry into the airport. I also photo'd a giant estate in the hope ranch community (where Snoop Dogg lives/ed) which is apparently called florestal, "One of the oldest and most magnificent estates in Hope Ranch" first built in the 1920s.
Getting There
Jess's family hails from the beautiful Santa Barbara, California and we've made an effort to rotate annual trips between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year it was Thanksgiving! Every time we fly I try to get a window seat. As a geographer, an aerial view is unparalleled. This flight provided a beautiful sunrise over a sea of clouds and after a layover in Phoenix I became intrigued by and followed a canal that seemed to stretch forever. It ended up being the 336 mile Central Arizona Project aqueduct, which I only saw the western half of! The canal connects Lake Havasu on the Colorado River to Phoenix and on to Tucson to provide water.
I started taking photos once we got to the Colorado River valley below Lake Havasu (but first notice the Copperstone Gold Mine) which supports a massive agriculture industry in the Colorado River Reservation, a native american reservation. The Colorado River forms the border between Arizona and California in this area below Lake Havasu and all the way down into Baja California, Mexico.
Once we neared Santa Barbara I soaked up the coastal views. The dramatic mountain ranges at the edge of the ocean leave little room for the cities at their feet. We flew in the day after the Cave Fire started, which ended up burning over 3,100 acres, thankfully without any loss of homes or life. It made for a dramatic entry into the airport. I also photo'd a giant estate in the hope ranch community (where Snoop Dogg lives/ed) which is apparently called florestal, "One of the oldest and most magnificent estates in Hope Ranch" first built in the 1920s.
Santa Barbara Zoo
Linda, Jess's sister-in-law was working in development at the Santa Barbara Zoo so we stopped by to see her and check out the animals! I did some animal impressions while I was there ;)
Linda, Jess's sister-in-law was working in development at the Santa Barbara Zoo so we stopped by to see her and check out the animals! I did some animal impressions while I was there ;)
Exploring Goleta
Jess's folks, David and Teresa, live in Goleta, just on the west side of Santa Barbara and University of California Santa Barbara. They're right next to a lot of open space that I love exploring. The Devereux Lagoon/slough has a nice network of trails that lead to the beach where colonies of threatened snowy plovers nest. It's all a beautiful landscape that I'm mostly unfamiliar with and enjoying discovering its secrets.
Jess's folks, David and Teresa, live in Goleta, just on the west side of Santa Barbara and University of California Santa Barbara. They're right next to a lot of open space that I love exploring. The Devereux Lagoon/slough has a nice network of trails that lead to the beach where colonies of threatened snowy plovers nest. It's all a beautiful landscape that I'm mostly unfamiliar with and enjoying discovering its secrets.
Santa Barbara Harbor
One evening, David and I went down to the Santa Barbara Harbor (where Jess's grandparents, Ken and Loretta, keep their handmade sailboat) to pick up some fresh lobster (or maybe that was a different day, but I digress). We walked around a bit and enjoyed a nice sunset. David ran into an old acquaintance from school who was manning a memorial for the people killed in the tragic boat accident off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, where we'd be going the next day.
One evening, David and I went down to the Santa Barbara Harbor (where Jess's grandparents, Ken and Loretta, keep their handmade sailboat) to pick up some fresh lobster (or maybe that was a different day, but I digress). We walked around a bit and enjoyed a nice sunset. David ran into an old acquaintance from school who was manning a memorial for the people killed in the tragic boat accident off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, where we'd be going the next day.
Santa Cruz Island
Over a few trips to Santa Barbara Jess has casually made comments about the Channel Islands just off the coast but I didn't really know anything about them. Fate insisted I stumble across this video about the Channel Island Fox, their decline and recovery (you gotta watch it) which was fascinating to me. Coincidentally, a friend of mine, Bryan Calk, had just led a bird/wildlife tour to the island and he told me how easy it was to take a boat to the islands. Jess spread the word to her family that we were interested in going to Santa Cruz island and then David helped make arrangements to make it happen! Exciting! We took the Island Packer boat from Ventura harbor, saw some harbor seals, a pod of dolphins, and a pair a brown boobies on the way to the island. I made it a point to keep my eye out for wildlife and signaled to our captain when I saw the giant pod of dolphins in the distance. She directed the boat and other passengers onto the discovery. I really wanted to see some whales but I'll have to try again another time.
Over a few trips to Santa Barbara Jess has casually made comments about the Channel Islands just off the coast but I didn't really know anything about them. Fate insisted I stumble across this video about the Channel Island Fox, their decline and recovery (you gotta watch it) which was fascinating to me. Coincidentally, a friend of mine, Bryan Calk, had just led a bird/wildlife tour to the island and he told me how easy it was to take a boat to the islands. Jess spread the word to her family that we were interested in going to Santa Cruz island and then David helped make arrangements to make it happen! Exciting! We took the Island Packer boat from Ventura harbor, saw some harbor seals, a pod of dolphins, and a pair a brown boobies on the way to the island. I made it a point to keep my eye out for wildlife and signaled to our captain when I saw the giant pod of dolphins in the distance. She directed the boat and other passengers onto the discovery. I really wanted to see some whales but I'll have to try again another time.
Painted Cave
The boat made a stop at Prison Harbor but you could pay extra to then go on a tour to Painted Cave, "one of the world's deepest sea caves", which we did. Unfortunately Jess and Teresa were feeling some sea sickness so they opted to get off at the harbor. David, Harrison, Linda, and I continued on to the cave which was pretty neat. I got a little spooked by how close the boat got to the walls. We were definitely "in" the cave but it was always hard to tell how deep we were. It's difficult to describe but the appearance of the cave had a sort of endless tunnel/fractal effect. It felt like the end of the cave was always the same distance away because of the consistent arch shape around you and the consistently smaller hole ahead (see the cave profile below). On our way back to the harbor I spotted a Bald Eagle which fit nicely into the story of the fox recovery.
The boat made a stop at Prison Harbor but you could pay extra to then go on a tour to Painted Cave, "one of the world's deepest sea caves", which we did. Unfortunately Jess and Teresa were feeling some sea sickness so they opted to get off at the harbor. David, Harrison, Linda, and I continued on to the cave which was pretty neat. I got a little spooked by how close the boat got to the walls. We were definitely "in" the cave but it was always hard to tell how deep we were. It's difficult to describe but the appearance of the cave had a sort of endless tunnel/fractal effect. It felt like the end of the cave was always the same distance away because of the consistent arch shape around you and the consistently smaller hole ahead (see the cave profile below). On our way back to the harbor I spotted a Bald Eagle which fit nicely into the story of the fox recovery.
Finding Foxes
After the cave tour we made it back to Prison Harbor which is where the federal national park adjoins the private Nature Conservancy preserve. We only had a couple hours to spare before the boat headed back to mainland so after a fun picnic we didn't stray too far on any trails. Plus it was a very damp day, all of the trails were slick and muddy. Jess and Teresa had some intimate encounters with some island foxes while we were on the cave tour. I caught a few fleeting glimpses myself (or maybe I'm remembering it vicariously). I really didn't do my homework before this trip and it wasn't until I got back from the island that I learned there were not only unique island foxes but tons of unique subspecies of birds endemic to one or some of these channel islands such as the Island Loggerhead Shrike and Island Scrub-Jay. The Santa Barbara Song Sparrow and San Clemente House Finch are two unique subspecies that are now extinct. Since I didn't focus on any of these fascinating birds during my trip I'll just have to go back! Last 6 photos by Jess.
After the cave tour we made it back to Prison Harbor which is where the federal national park adjoins the private Nature Conservancy preserve. We only had a couple hours to spare before the boat headed back to mainland so after a fun picnic we didn't stray too far on any trails. Plus it was a very damp day, all of the trails were slick and muddy. Jess and Teresa had some intimate encounters with some island foxes while we were on the cave tour. I caught a few fleeting glimpses myself (or maybe I'm remembering it vicariously). I really didn't do my homework before this trip and it wasn't until I got back from the island that I learned there were not only unique island foxes but tons of unique subspecies of birds endemic to one or some of these channel islands such as the Island Loggerhead Shrike and Island Scrub-Jay. The Santa Barbara Song Sparrow and San Clemente House Finch are two unique subspecies that are now extinct. Since I didn't focus on any of these fascinating birds during my trip I'll just have to go back! Last 6 photos by Jess.
Escape from Santa Cruz Island
As far as cold blustery days go, this was a great one. I stayed on watch for whales the entire trip back but didn't have any luck. I have to be standing and actively engaged on boats like this or else I will succumb to sea sickness. This is something I learned on a pelagic trip out of South Padre Island, Texas many years ago. I'll have to see if I can dig up any cool photos from that experience.
As far as cold blustery days go, this was a great one. I stayed on watch for whales the entire trip back but didn't have any luck. I have to be standing and actively engaged on boats like this or else I will succumb to sea sickness. This is something I learned on a pelagic trip out of South Padre Island, Texas many years ago. I'll have to see if I can dig up any cool photos from that experience.
Monarch Monitoring
Eucalyptus trees were introduced to the California coast in the 1920s and became established as favorite Monarch overwintering sites. Through Linda's work at the Santa Barbara Zoo we participated in a Monarch butterfly count at Gaviota State Park. What initially felt like a bust turned into an exciting experience spotting many dozens of monarch butterflies hibernating in the trees. It was one of those situations where once your eyes adjusted, you could pick up on them almost wherever you looked but otherwise you would be totally blind to it. We also came up with some novel approaches to resting our necks from looking up! On our way back we stopped by the Goleta Butterfly Grove and explored the old eucalyptus forest and trails. Photos by Jess.
Eucalyptus trees were introduced to the California coast in the 1920s and became established as favorite Monarch overwintering sites. Through Linda's work at the Santa Barbara Zoo we participated in a Monarch butterfly count at Gaviota State Park. What initially felt like a bust turned into an exciting experience spotting many dozens of monarch butterflies hibernating in the trees. It was one of those situations where once your eyes adjusted, you could pick up on them almost wherever you looked but otherwise you would be totally blind to it. We also came up with some novel approaches to resting our necks from looking up! On our way back we stopped by the Goleta Butterfly Grove and explored the old eucalyptus forest and trails. Photos by Jess.
Delicious Foods
Thanks to Jess's family for hosting a great trip and preparing some wonderful meals! Teresa's Thanksgiving dinner, Tamale's-giving with Linda's family (so spicy), and the Lobster by David were all a treat.
Thanks to Jess's family for hosting a great trip and preparing some wonderful meals! Teresa's Thanksgiving dinner, Tamale's-giving with Linda's family (so spicy), and the Lobster by David were all a treat.
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Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the snippets of adventure and the imagery to boot.
