You’re Invited to!

Customer Appreciation Day 2023

We personally want to thank you for supporting The Natural Alternative since we opened our doors 27 years ago. We are planning a special day just for you on Saturday, April 29, where you will enjoy 25 percent off storewide, including multiple raffle baskets given away to appreciative customers, vendors sampling out their goods, and samples galore. Mark your calendar and help us celebrate.

When we opened the store in 1995, little did we know it would explode into “the store that’s so much more” — all thanks to you. We have continued to expand our product lines, maintaining the exceptional quality supplements you’ve learned to trust. All of our hair and skincare lines are free of chemicals. We are proud to offer a variety of meal replacement shakes, greens, the highest quality CBD products, children’s supplements, pet care, and perfect gift ideas, including beautiful SoulKu bracelets and necklaces. This line of jewelry is handcrafted by moms from Asheville, NC, to support nonprofits that celebrate, inspire, empower, and connect women. So popular.

Hunter J’s Reserves, a local CBD company, will join us to sample out their amazing selection of full spectrum CBD lotions in a variety of scents (from pure essential oils) as well as unscented in either 500 mg or 1000 mg strengths. In addition, Be Rooted Botanicals from Santa Cruz will join us to provide samples of their powerful CBD Arnica cream and CBD Magnesium day or night creams to soothe your achy muscles. Also, enjoy Whalebird Kombucha to keep you energized as well as hydrated while you shop. My talented staff will be on hand all day to answer your questions and assist you with your special shopping needs.

Mark your calendar — this is a big one. Saturday, April 29, from 10 to 5 for the storewide sale. Enter to win one of our many baskets and receive tons of samples with each purchase. It’s our way of saying Thank you to our wonderful community for supporting The Natural Alternative since 1995.

The First Lady of

Growing up on her family ranch in La Panza, Dabirma (Birma) Still was quite aware of the nature in her surroundings. Born on March 20, 1875, in San Luis Obispo County, she captured this world of hers through photography and eventually became known as ‘The First Lady of Photography,’ becoming the most prominent woman photographer in California in the early 20th century.

Most of her earlier photographs were made with an old box camera. It was in December of 1904 when Birma married John Maclean, and she received a ‘new’ folding Kodak camera, from which postcard sized prints could be made. It was during this period that Birma began taking photos of California wildflowers growing in the general area of La Panza from the Carrisa (Carrizo) Plain to Santa Margarita, where the southern end of Shell Creek intersects with Highway 58, also known as the “Carrisa Highway.”

Birma had met Miss Alice Eastwood — an authority on plants native to California — when Alice was visiting friends on the Carrisa

Plain. Birma sent prints of the flowers she had photographed to Alice to identify. Birma then wrote this identification on the negatives to ensure a more permanent record. In all, some one hundred thirty wildflowers and plants native to San Luis Obispo county were photographed and identified.

Dabirma also met the famed naturalist and horticulturist Luther Burbank in 1908. He became quite interested in Birma’s photographs. As a result, the folks in La Panza gathered seeds, roots, and bulbs of native plants for Burbank, who in return sent to La Panza various plants he was experimenting with to test whether these plants would survive in the hot, dry conditions of La Panza.

Wildflowers to look for today in San Luis Obispo County are mustard, goldfields, tidy tips, baby blue eyes, owl’s clover, poppies and lupine.

The El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society and Museum are honored to be located in the historic Carnegie Library at the center of City Park. To learn more, visit pasorobleshistorymuseum.org.