Clik here to view.
Wilder Ranch, Santa Cruz: Almost a Huge Housing Development
Here is a little Wilder Ranch history that helps me appreciate the beautiful vistas and access to the ocean more than I might otherwise. From 1791 to 1835, all of the land west of Mission Santa Cruz...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There’s Oil in Them Thar Sea Cliffs!
A sandstone dike that cuts across the Santa Cruz Mudstone. The blue line parallels the dike just above it. If you look in the northern most cove at Bonny Doon Beach, (yes, it’s the clothing-optional...
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Davenport History: Whaling, Cement, and Immigrants
The town of Davenport with the very important train in the foreground in 2008. Photo: Drew Jackson Settlement in the area of today’s Davenport got its start in 1868 when Captain John Davenport, a...
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Railroad Embankments on Santa Cruz’s North Coast: Why You Can’t See the Ocean...
If you’re a local you may have wondered why you can’t see the ocean very often when you drive between Santa Cruz and Davenport. It’s because every creek along the route has an earthen railroad berm or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Waddell Bluffs: The Wall Keeps Tumbling Down
Along Highway 1, sandwiched between the elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park and the colorful kite surfers at Waddell Beach, is a 1.4-mile stretch of coastline called the Waddell Bluffs. These near...
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Collecting Ancient Rocks in Bloomers at Pescadero’s Pebble Beach
Many thanks to Barry Blanchard for permission to use this video. Women in bloomers and children in search of treasure once flocked to Pebble Beach to spend hours hunting for the best pieces of agate,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wilder Ranch: Coastal California in a Nutshell
Wilder Ranch has just about everything to provide the quintessential California coast experience. It is a large (7,000-acre) park with trails for hikers, bikers, and horses. It has pastoral open fields...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Rocks of Santa Cruz’s North Coast: The Mighty Mudstone
The Santa Cruz Mudstone is the rock type that shapes the landscape characteristics of the northern Santa Cruz coast from the north county line through to the Westside of Santa Cruz to about Swift...
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3,800 Pound Pescadero Cheese Funds Union Troops, Intrigues Mark Twain
One of two picnic tables made from the original 1864 packing crate for the 3,800 pound cheese made by the Steele family. Seated at table is Mrs. Catherine Steel. Photo circa 1950; courtesy of the Santa...
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The Other Railroad in Davenport
Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company train on Trestle No. 1, January 10, 1907. Photo: From the collection of Alverda Orlando The railroad pictured here was not part of the north-south Southern Pacific or...
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Bonny Doon Beach: Railroads and Oil
Dramatic sea cliffs of Santa Cruz Mudstone at Bonny Doon Beach. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger California’s Bonny Doon Beach is home to wide-open sands, a creek that runs through it, and even a...
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Lesser-Known Stories of the Long Marine Lab Neighborhood
The gray whale at the Seymour Center surrounded by restored native plants: Erigeron glaucusseaside (seaside daisy) and Dudlea caespitosa (sea lettuce). Photo: Jackie Pascoe Lots of great things happen...
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California Buckeye: Survivalist Beauty, but Foreign Appetites Beware
The California buckeye (Aesculus californica) is the smart spring bride of the dry canyons of the central coast ranges and Sierra Nevada mountains to about 4,000 feet. She throws a showy party but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wilder Ranch, Santa Cruz: Almost a Huge Housing Development
Here is a little Wilder Ranch history that helps me appreciate the beautiful vistas and access to the ocean more than I might otherwise. From 1791 to 1835, all of the land west of Mission Santa Cruz...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There’s Oil in Them Thar Sea Cliffs!
A sandstone dike that cuts across the Santa Cruz Mudstone. The blue line parallels the dike just above it. If you look in the northern most cove at Bonny Doon Beach, (yes, it’s the clothing-optional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Davenport History: Whaling, Cement, and Immigrants
The town of Davenport with the very important train in the foreground in 2008. Photo: Drew Jackson Settlement in the area of today’s Davenport got its start in 1868 when Captain John Davenport, a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Railroad Embankments on Santa Cruz’s North Coast: Why You Can’t See the Ocean...
If you’re a local you may have wondered why you can’t see the ocean very often when you drive between Santa Cruz and Davenport. It’s because every creek along the route has an earthen railroad berm or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Waddell Bluffs: The Wall Keeps Tumbling Down
Along Highway 1, sandwiched between the elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park and the colorful kite surfers at Waddell Beach, is a 1.4-mile stretch of coastline called the Waddell Bluffs. These near...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Collecting Ancient Rocks in Bloomers at Pescadero’s Pebble Beach
Many thanks to Barry Blanchard for permission to use this video. Women in bloomers and children in search of treasure once flocked to Pebble Beach to spend hours hunting for the best pieces of agate,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wilder Ranch: Coastal California in a Nutshell
Wilder Ranch has just about everything to provide the quintessential California coast experience. It is a large (7,000-acre) park with trails for hikers, bikers, and horses. It has pastoral open fields...
View Article
