living
{ SCENE IN S.B. }
s e h c a st & u M g in v o M tlin Text and photos by Cai
Fitch
SPORTS • FOOD & DRINK
{ MY LIFE }
Chelsea Gutierrez watches the sunset at East Beach with a friend after a day of work and relaxing. Gutierrez moved to Santa Barbara a few months ago after graduating from UC Santa Cruz. “I came here to be closer to family and the beach,” she said. “I love the views and the lifestyle here; everyone is so friendly.”
Something’s Watching Us An Encounter with a Mountain Lion in the Night
F
{ QUIZ }
Wilderness Wanderings
1}
Where was nature photographer Ansel Adams born?
2}
Who founded the Sierra Club in the U.S.?
3}
The Continental Divide runs from the Bering Strait in Alaska to where?
❏ Jackson Hole, WY ❏ San Francisco, CA ❏ Kalispell, MT
❏ John Muir ❏ Theodore Roosevelt ❏ Ralph Waldo Emerson
❏ Strait of Magellan ❏ Gulf of Mexico ❏ The Great Lakes
{ ETC. }
COURTESY
C AITLIN FITCH
Tom Adams (left) and Ali Azarvan of Santa Barbara are part of Movember Foundation’s team the “Hot TomAli’s” and are rockin’ mustaches and rockin’ out to raise money and awareness for men’s health. “We love doing good and having fun while we do it!” said Azarvan. Currently they are in eighth place in the nation for fundraising and working toward their goal of $100,000. To learn more about the cause, search for the music video “Movember – Performed by The Hot TomAli’s” on YouTube or visit us.movember.com.
Following
Genghis Khan Although Genghis Khan died in 1227, his name is well remembered — either as a brutal conqueror or a revered figure. What he is universally credited with, however, is the massive expansion of the Mongol empire, which came to encompass much of Eurasia. In an ode to the nomads of the region, Australian adventurer Tim Cope retraced Khan’s 6,000mile trek on horseback from Mongolia to Hungary. It was a three-year endeavor that took him across wolf-infested plateaus, the bone-chilling Eurasian steppe, and blistering deserts. Santa Barbarans can hear firsthand about his experience when Cope comes to town with his multimedia presentation of his harrowing expedition, On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads. Monday, November 18, 8 p.m., UCSB’s Campbell Hall. Cost: $15 (general), $10 (students). For more information, call 893-3535 or visit artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu. — Michelle Drown
or as long as I can remember, I’ve been an amateur photographer. As most any photographer will tell you, photography is about opportunity. Given the opportunity to snap a unique photo, you take it because it may not come again. Saturday night, October 5, 2013, gave me just such an opportunity. It was a moonless, clear night; I thought it a perfect evening to attempt long-exposure shots of the starry sky. A friend and I headed to the Santa Ynez Valley — the closest and darkest place I know — at about 11 p.m. We found a spot on lower Stagecoach Road; it was dark and very quiet. In retrospect, it was probably a little too quiet. I wasted little time setting up and was soon shooting the brilliant night sky. I paid no attention to the sound at first, but I soon came to realize that there was something moving around near my truck. Thinking a skunk or raccoon was responsible for it, I grabbed my flashlight and poked around to identify the culprit. I saw nothing, and the sound had now gone, so I returned to my camera. Then I heard it again … and again. Each attempt to find the source of the noise yielded nothing. By now I’d taken five or six photos without success. As the shutter clicked closed from a 47-second exposure, the rustling returned. This time, it seemed to be made by something sizable, and it was coming from the field next to my truck. My friend and I were concerned; now we needed to identify the source of the sound and rule out any danger — human or otherwise. I happened to have my Colt .32-caliber handgun locked in my
FEBRUARY
26, 1919
toolbox; I thought it prudent to have it available should I need it. With flashlight and gun in hand, I slowly made my way across the field; I did not chamber a round. About a third of the way across, my flashlight shone upon something glowing green directly in front of me. “Eyeshine, something’s watching us,” I thought. As I quietly called to my friend, one glowing eye suddenly became two; I could see the eyes blink slowly several times. I continued forward and could now make out almondshaped eyes. I was almost sure of what I was seeing; not certain, however, I continued. Then with one step it all became clear — the face belonging to the eyes came into view. I was standing 20 feet from a full-grown mountain lion. Just then my friend said, “My god that’s a big [expletive] cat!” and I heard a low guttural growl. Heart pounding, I replied, “I know, back up — we’re leaving now!” I slowly backed away, keeping my eyes, gun, and flashlight trained on those green eyes. Then the eyes slowly rose from an apparent crouching position. They hung ominously in the dark and then vanished in the abyss that surrounded my light. Fearing curiosity might make the cat return, I hastily tossed my equipment into my truck. We were gone in what was probably the longest five minutes of my life. We drove in utter silence until we both suddenly burst out with our excited thoughts on what had just happened. We still relive some part of the encounter every time we talk, and one thing of which we are both certain; we will carry this experience with us forever.
— Scott W. Robinson
BY THE NUMBERS The date that the Grand Canyon was established as a U.S. National Park. The canyon and surrounding lands were designated a national monument in 1908, but it took 11 more years to become a national park. SOURCE: wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon.
november 14, 2013
THE INDEPENDENt
37
answers: . San Francisco, CA; . John Muir; . Strait of Magellan.