Get Outside - Winter/Spring 2022-2023

Swine

spotting

As rules for hunting California’s wild pigs change, hunters, wildlife officials, and politicians debate the animal’s impact

BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL

Winter/Spring 2023

FEATURES

Carrizo Plain

Orcutt trails

Disc golf +

TRAILBLAZING

OUTDOOR KITCHEN

GEAR HUB

Causes and Symptoms

Strategies

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Contents

Year-round recreation

One of the great things about the Central Coast is its weather. Even when the temperature dips or storms wreak havoc with heavy rains and strong winds, locals know there’s sunshine and warmth on the way. It makes for a full year of outdoor activities, including hunting, hiking, drinking wine (yes, that’s an outdoor activity), and more. In this winter/spring issue, we talk about boars in north SLO County—the damage they do and the people who hunt them. We also head out to Joshua Tree National Park, Carrizo Plain National Monument, Big Sur, and Orcutt. You can read about adventuring through wine country, where to feel that hiking burn, how to make doughnuts, and the outdoor phone apps that could work for you. This issue is full of the things our staff enjoys to do, and we hope you find that you love them too!

Camillia Lanham editor

design by Alex Zuniga • cover photo by Jayson Mellom

Outfitters owner Chad Wiebe (middle) scans for wild pigs in Bradley’s backcountry with fellow hunter Preston Doherty (right) and client Fernando Casillas (left).

Ialways thought Joshua trees looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book: short bodies bent at strange angles with spiky leaves poking out. The Lorax could pop out from behind one of them at any given moment to say that he “speaks for the trees.”

I saw the goofy little trees in southwest Utah while driving back from Zion National Park to Phoenix—where I was living at the time—and I immediately put Joshua Tree National Park on my bucket list.

Nearly two years later, when my mother asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, I thought about Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. As a December baby who grew up in Minnesota, I’m used to celebrating in cold, dreary weather, but I wanted a warmer experience this year.

Friends had raved about Joshua Tree’s beauty, telling me that I needed to see it while living in California. My mom praised Palm Springs for its quaint yet lively atmosphere, stunning vistas, and good food. She wasn’t wrong.

Palm Springs’ winter views

Celebrate outdoors

I hit up Joshua Tree for my 24th birthday

STORY AND PHOTOS BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR

include a sunny valley and dancing palm trees with mountains towering in the distance, dusted with snow. The air was crisp—not the warm desert air I was expecting.

We approached Joshua Tree completely unprepared, which was a little stressful. Google Maps led us to the park’s west entrance, but that was it. My mom and I had no knowledge about the trails, why the trees were important, or why the park even exists, but sometimes a spur-of-the-moment adventure is

exactly what your soul needs. Turns out, Joshua trees have called the land outside Palm Springs home for more than 5,000 years. In the late 1920s, an influx of land developers and cactus poachers arrived, according to the National Park Service (NPS) website. Minerva Hoyt, a Pasadena resident who was extremely fond of desert plants and was concerned about cacti removal, initiated efforts to protect the 825,000 acres that

became Joshua Tree National Monument in 1936.

By 1994, the monument received National Park status thanks to the Desert Protection Bill, and acquired an additional 234,000 acres. The park itself protects more than 700 archeological sites, 88 historic structures, 19 cultural landscapes, and houses 230,000-plus items in its museum collections.

Our rough draft of a plan was

JOSHUA TREE continued page 8

Trailblazing

JOSHUA TREE from page 7

to drive through the park and pull over when we saw something interesting or wanted to walk any trails. The park is small enough to drive through in one day with plenty of trailheads along the way.

We stopped at Quail Springs for photos and to get oriented with a trail map, Keys View for a view of the entire valley, Skull Rock and Split Rock to walk a few easy trails, and drove until we reached the park’s east entrance.

With sweatshirts on, we clambered out of the car at each of our stops to take in the desert with those odd little trees peppering its vast expanse. The land crunched beneath our feet and a cool breeze hit our faces. We took in the scenery and snapped a few photos before piling back into our car for warmth. I enjoyed letting the day unfold, not knowing what to expect and figuring it out as we went. It was all part of the adventure.

Cellphone service was spotty in the park, so planning ahead and downloading trail maps or other directions would save some stress in the future. I would recommend starting with the west entrance

Plan it

Learn more about Joshua Tree National Park by visiting the National Park Service website, nps.gov, and/or downloading the National Park app.

because that’s where the Joshua Trees grow. The farther east you travel, the sparser the trees become, eventually disappearing altogether.

R ising temperatures due to climate change are already impacting the park, its famous trees, and their habitat. It’s important to get out and appreciate the beauty nature has to offer before it changes forever and do what we can to help ensure its survival for the future.

My day at the park brought me peace and joy. I felt present in my surroundings with no connection to the outside world. It’s a special feeling you can’t get from any other activity.

As I take more steps into outdoor activities, I realize that being outside doesn’t have to be about intense backpacking or extreme hikes. It can be intimidating to recreate outside, but what’s most important is that you enjoy your time, no matter what your level of expertise.

Trailblazing

Sipping adventures

Bored with traditional wine tasting? Try out these more active vineyard experiences

BY PETER JOHNSON

Central Coast wine country is home to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world. And yet, for most wine tasters, these areas are experienced indirectly through car windows, driving from one winery to the next.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are companies in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties that specialize in providing more active, engaging— even thrilling—trips to the vines.

Try some yoga

Reinvigorate your body and mind with a morning yoga class out on a vineyard. A growing number of area wineries are teaming up with local yoga instructors to host classes, but Vineyard Yoga Santa Ynez Valley ($45 per class, vineyardyogasyv. com) is one sure bet.

Longtime instructor Cori

Lassahn has been teaching pop-up yoga classes at wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley for the past eight years. Each time, she promises “a breathtaking location that allows for maximum rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.”

Her classes are geared toward beginner/intermediate students and vary in their setting, from grassy lawns, to terraces, to courtyards, to the barrel room, according to her website.

Hop in a jeep

Take in the expansive and wild Paso Robles wine region from the leather-bound backseat of an open-air jeep. Central Coast Jeep Tour Adventures ($159 to $179 per person, ccjta.com) is a local company with the reputation and know-how to ensure your group has a fun and safe “off-road” vineyard experience.

Jeep tours come in multiple packages depending on your preference. As examples: The “off-the-grid” package visits small production wineries only and the “backroads” packages take “the roads less traveled.” Tours last about five hours, include stops at about three wineries (with discounts on tasting fees), and provide door-to-door pickup and lunch.

Cloud Climbers

Jeep Tours ($150 to $300 per person, ccjeeps.com) is a similar option for the northern Santa Barbara County area. Take a motorcycle Sidecar Tours and Third Wheel Tours are great

options for couples—or groups of couples—looking to share a motorcycle sidecar as they zip through wine country. “Nothing beats the freedom of the open road and the exhilarating feeling of the wind at your back,” Third Wheel Tours opines on its website.

Sidecar Tours ($109 to $199 per person, sidecartoursinc.com) promises 2.5-hour adventures in Paso, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez, or Santa Barbara, with stops at three wineries. Or, skip the wine and opt for the “scenic tour.”

Third Wheel Tours ($85 to $385 per person, thirdwheeltours. com) is based in SLO County and has tours of Paso’s east side, with stops at Cass Winery, Rava Wines, and Still Waters Vineyards.

Pedal through the vines

Pair your tasting with some exercise and book a tour with the highly regarded I Bike Santa Barbara Wine Tours ($169 per rider, ibikesb.com). This is a 16mile guided bike ride that will have you pedaling right alongside the vines in northern Santa Barbara County.

The loop, which begins at Brander Vineyard in Santa Ynez, is an all-day excursion that’s “challenging but not exhausting,” according to the company. The package includes free shuttle transportation from downtown Santa Barbara, a Poseidon road bike and helmet (with an e-bike upgrade option), olive oil and wine tastings at three locations, and a gourmet picnic lunch.

Plus, you’ll get to learn all about the region from a knowledgeable local tour guide.

Ride a horse

Ditch the wheels, hop on a horse, and giddy-up for this extra special type of wine country experience.

Options for horseback tours are plentiful, but Central Coast Trailrides ($115 to $185 per person, cctrailrides.com), Vino Vaqueros ($175 per person, vinovaqueros.com), and Captain Jack’s Tours ($375 per person, captainjackstours.com) are good places to start.

These guided rides will take you down trails on private ranches in northern SLO and Santa Barbara counties—including Santa Margarita Ranch and Round Up Valley Ranch—while making stops at nearby vineyards and wineries. Horseback tours tend to last an hour to two hours, but that does not include your time spent at wineries for tastings and lunch. Riders of all experience levels, including kids, can participate.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THIRD WHEEL TOURS

FILE PHOTO BY CAMILLIA LANHAM

Trailblazing

Push it

Three local hikes that will test those legs

STORY AND PHOTO BY CAMILLIA LANHAM

Most of the front-country trails in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are short enough that the initial inclines only burn for a moment. The pain is over relatively quickly, and the elevation gains are more gradual than relentless.

But there are some trails that will make you regret your decision to tackle them. Those trails take work. Your legs will scream and your lungs might too—on the way up

and on the way down. But the payoff is big, with views that will take your breath away and a gigantic sense of accomplishment when you finally get back to the car.

If you’re looking for a day of adventure that mixes pleasure with pain, these hikes are for you.

Gaviota Peak

If it’s hot, skip this trail. The 6.5-mile loop climbing 2,150 feet that takes you to Gaviota Peak isn’t

known for shade. It’s punishing in the wrong conditions and tough when the conditions are perfect—a classic Central Coast morning with heavy fog that clears right before you hit the summit. Just off Highway 101 in Gaviota State Park, take the California Highway 1 exit, and find the frontage road. The trailhead is a twofer: Gaviota Hot Springs is close (if you can find it). The steady climb to the peak begins immediately, with a junction to the Trespass Trail a short distance from the parking lot. Take a right to enjoy views of the Gaviota coast south to Refugio and beyond as you hike to the 2,458-foot summit. The vistas are breathtaking, as is the hike itself. Take the Gaviota Peak Fire Road on the way back down for a well-rounded trip.

Buckeye Trail

This is one of my favorite trails in Big Sur. It starts from the same bend in the road as Salmon Creek, roughly 27 miles north of Cambria. There’s parking along the shoulder and in a small lot adjacent to the long-closed Salmon Creek ranger station, where the Buckeye Trail begins. It’s a push from the very start, gaining about 575 feet of elevation in the first half mile with a reveal of the coast and Highway 1 that will help you catch your breath. The trail continues its climb across ravines, through cypress forests and chaparral, across streams, and along grassy meadows with insane views of the Big Sur coast, as your feet carry

HIKES continued page 13

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you ever higher. A solid day hike is the 6.5-mile out-and-back trip that turns around at Buckeye Camp, which sports picnic tables, campsites, a spring, and will put more than 1,500 feet of elevation gain on your altimeter.

Cerro Alto

W ith an elevation gain of 1,600 feet, there are two ways to hit one of the tallest vistas in SLO County: You can head straight up, or meander. The meander is still a burner that clocks in at 5.3 miles if you loop back down the steep trail. Download a hiking app to help you navigate this one as there are many spots where the trail forks or meets up with other

trails. Find the trailhead at Cerro Alto Campground off Route 41 between Atascadero and Morro Bay. Don’t want to pay a fee to park? Tack another mile onto your trip one-way and park closer to the highway. The official Cerro Alto Trail starts from between campsites and the first segment is a casual, cool traipse beneath oak trees along the creek, eventually rising up the side of the mountain, leveling off, and then climbing again. A trail sign for the summit signals that your tree-covered journey is close to over, as the hike hits another, steeper gear through the chapparal. But that view! The entire string of Sisters, Morro Bay, and the Santa Lucia mountains are visible when you finally hit the 2,624-foot summit.

A taste of Big Sur

Arogue wave near Rocky Creek deposited its leftovers in a glass beer bottle as it washed over Carlo Overhulser’s head.

Freezing and wet on a winter day in 2015, he was in awe of the 30-foot-tall calamity that just soaked him.

“We get the big storms through here, and I like to go watch the waves slam into the rocks,” Overhulser said. “I thought that was a cool moment. So I kept the water in there and took it home.”

He picked the bottle up, deposited it in his yard, and promptly forgot about it. About a month later, he noticed some white stuff in the bottle and tasted it.

The briny hint left on his tongue got him wondering. He filled some roasting pans with ocean water and left them in the yard, thinking if the sun does its thing again, maybe he could turn that sea salt into something more.

Big Sur Salts, Overhulser’s company, now harvests 25,000 pounds of salt a year out of the

Pacific Ocean along the northern Big Sur coastline in Monterey County. His salt and salt blends are used in 42 restaurants and sold at 127 retail locations and are available through Big Sur Salts’ online storefront.

“I’d never thought about doing salt before, never thought about doing anything like that before,” he said. “And now I’m in the thick of it.”

Overhulser’s company has grown from roasting pans and natural cliffside seawater ponds that he found while exploring the coast into a collection of greenhouses, natural ponds, and a permit to pump ocean water, which gets filtered down to 0.1 micron, so all that’s left is the salt and minerality.

“All of the water I use for salt is filtered to that limit,” he said. “It’s the cleanest salt on the market. … That’s huge. It’s non-negotiable.”

He also creates special blends with ingredients sourced from within 300 miles of the Big Sur coast, naming them for his favorite trails and spots in Big Sur.

Chef Kenny Seliger at In Bloom in Paso Robles said Big Sur Salts give their dishes a cleaner, more elevated flavor. Seliger said he uses Big Sur Salts’ flake as a finishing salt and replaced kosher salt in the

restaurant

“The first time I tried Big Sur, it was equal to, if not better than, Maldon, plus it comes from the Pacific Ocean,” Seliger said, adding that In Bloom’s goal is to support California growers as much as possible. “It just was a natural connection, and being able to fly that flag that we have our own salt made here in California is just an awesome bonus.”

Pico, he said, really helps enhance the flavor of things like carrots without taking over.

“It helps a carrot taste like a carrot in the way that it’s supposed to,” Seliger said.

He said he hasn’t been up to see where Big Sur Salts is made yet, but that trip is on his bucket list. Overhulser often offers chefs salt tours out to the cliffside ponds he continues to harvest a portion of his salt from.

Some of those ponds can produce 2,000 pounds of salt a year. About 15 gallons of water yields 3 ounces of salt.

The process is fairly simple— all it takes is time and the right conditions.

Comfortable with the pounding

BIG SUR SALTS continued page 16

with Overhulser’s Pico Blanco.

Carlo Overhulser crafts artisan salt with some help from the Pacific Ocean STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAMILLIA LANHAM

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surf below, Overhulser nimbly scampers along the same rocky face that changed his fate in 2015. He walks above the ocean to an indentation filled with water just south of Rocky Point.

“You can see all the way through the water,” he says on a crisp day in November 2022. “It’s crystal clear. You can tell that it just got there.”

As that water warms and begins to evaporate, the pool will change color, Overhulser adds. Green algae shows up and begins to do its thing, eventually altering the pH of the water and enabling little red eggs to hatch brine shrimp, “essentially sea monkeys.” Those monkeys eat the green algae, again changing the water’s color.

The water gets darker, drawing in more sunlight and speeding up evaporation.

“Eventually the water will heat up so much that nothing can live anymore and the crystals start to form. Once those start to form, I’ll know how long until I need to harvest,” he says. “That was all stuff I had to learn while I was doing it.”

In a greenhouse, the process is even simpler. He transports filtered water to spots like a greenhouse at Carmel Valley Ranch, where it evaporates in temperatures that can reach up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, forming delicate salt crystals on the surface and sides of the containers that hold the water. The resulting

salt is developed specifically for the Carmel Valley Ranch, but there are 17 other greenhouses that Big Sur Salts operates.

Those greenhouses can produce salt year-round, but the ponds need a good winter of giant waves to feed them. Overhulser says he often can start harvesting salt from them in January.

He walks beyond the pond, jumping down a series of small boulders to get closer to the water. Spray wafts into the air as another wave hits the rocky wall beneath his feet.

“Every time I come down here I get all energized, just because I feel all of this,” Overhulser says.

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Outdoor Kitchen

Go ’nuts

Bring the comforts of home outdoors

BY ANNA STARKEY

Recent years have brought forward a ton of glamping trends, and that includes camp-side cuisine. TikTok video after TikTok video show dry-rubbed filets, ever-so-carefully smushed garlic bulbs, and freshly picked herbs all coming together in the great outdoors. Gone are the days of PB&Js your mom slapped together before loading everyone into the station wagon.

While it seems like a lot of work to cook outside, you don’t have to be a Michelin star chef to create fantastic meals just feet from your sleeping bag. In fact, skip the bougie, complicated plates and start your day off the American way—with carbs, fat, and sugar in the form of campfire doughnuts. What more could you need to fuel up for a big day of adventure? Or, if you’re the sensible sort, make campfire doughnuts as an end-of-day treat when you return from an epic quest.

While the thought of hot oil in the woods does raise some red flags, if you set yourself up

Step 1

Start with a big can of Crisco, or whatever your preferred brand of vegetable shortening is. Since it comes in solid form, this is a packable, easy oil to use for outdoor cooking. Ideally, a thermometer will help you monitor the oil temperature, but if you don’t have one, you can make do by performing small test batches as you work. The oil should stay right around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows the dough to cook and the outside to crisp up without getting too dark.

Step 2

Pop open your can of biscuits—try and stay away from the “flaky layers” style biscuits; they don’t work well here. I like to use a narrow shot glass to pop out the middle of each biscuit to create the classic doughnut shape, and the bonus is a batch of doughnut holes

that are a perfect taste for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a full-sized treat. You can cut the biscuits into whatever shape you want—smaller shapes work better for cooking evenly and thoroughly. Beignet style pillowy squares are another favorite.

Step

3

Drop your biscuits into the hot oil. Keep in mind that this will most likely lower your oil temp a bit, so keep an eye on your thermometer and watch how the dough reacts when it meets the oil. Cook the donuts in batches for a couple of minutes on each side— turning with tongs several times to ensure even cooking in the oil.

Step 4

Once the doughnuts are cooked through and golden brown, carefully remove from the hot oil and transfer

to a lunch-sized paper bag containing your cinnamonsugar mix and shake to coat the doughnuts. If cinnamon sugar isn’t your thing, try powdered sugar or chocolate for dipping or drizzling. Half the fun of these sweet treats is tailoring them to your taste!

Step 5

Sit back by the fire, pour yourself another cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and enjoy this indulgent and delicious outdoor breakfast that is sure to please the whole camping crew!

PHOTO BY GLEN STARKEY

PHOTO BY ANNA STARKEY

DOUGHNUT continued page 20

Go FOR THE Gold

for safety either with a camp stove or a well contained campfire, you can create these delicious, pillowy treats with just a few ingredients and within a few minutes once setup is complete. When you’re thinking of your grocery list, add

four simple things to make these delicious treats possible. You’ll need to gather a pot that can hold a couple of inches of oil or vegetable shortening, canned biscuits, sugar, and cinnamon . Then you’re just a few quick steps away from enjoying this tasty treat!

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DOUGHNUT from page 18

PHOTO BY GLEN STA RK EY

Love, legacy, and jerky

Cattaneo Brothers of SLO celebrates 75 years

BY ADRIAN VINCENT ROSAS

Running a family business has always been about celebrating legacy and community for Katelyn Kaney.

“It all comes down to staying true to who we are and dedicating ourselves to that same love and care,” Kaney said.

As the owner and CEO of Cattaneo Brothers, based in San Luis Obispo, Kaney works to ensure her family business not only produces the best quality jerkybased products but also maintains a dedication to the legacy the company has built as it celebrates 75 years in business. Kaney, who runs the company with support from her sister, Kim Frederick, plans to mark the momentous occasion with a year full of specials and shout-outs to the company’s storied history.

Cattaneo Brothers specializes

in beef jerky but also offers an expansive catalog of goods, including turkey jerky, beef sticks, and sausages.

“Everything made here is handdone and small-batch, from the seasoning to the use of high-rack drying versus the use of ovens,” Kaney said.

All the savory snacks are handcrafted from the highest quality ingredients with a focus on making authentic and healthy products. Kaney feels that the reason the company has been able to maintain a consistent quality is due to the closeness of the crew that makes the goods.

“Everyone on this team is family, and you can tell in the way everything is made and even sold,” Kaney said.

That familial connection is also a literal one for Kaney, who at the age of 24 inherited the business

from her parents, who acquired it in the late 1970s. Similar to her parents, Kaney attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo while working summers at Cattaneo Brothers helping with various tasks.

“Sometimes I would be at the front desk with my father, other times I would be helping my mom put together our special holiday baskets, and other times I would even be on the jerky line helping mix the seasoning and packing the products,” Kaney said with a laugh.

JERKY continued page 24

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CATTANEO BROTHERS

Life”

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Now, as the head of the company, Kaney is aiming to continue retail growth without sacrificing the identity of the company.

“It’s a difficult balance,” she said, “but it’s something that I actually get to practice in the celebration of our 75th—we will be bringing back a lot of legacy flavors and promotions that we hope to have out alongside growing representation across the state and beyond.”

In the end, Kaney sees the best path to growth in the generational sharing that she’s experienced through running the company after her parents.

“One of the things I’m most proud

of regarding Cattaneo Brothers is that our products are a reflection of the company’s own legacy and my own family history,” she said, “It’s passed on from generation to generation in SLO before becoming part of the town’s legacy throughout all of California—something I will always be proud and honored to be a part of.”

Grab a snack

Snag some Cattaneo Brothers jerky by visiting The Mercantile at 950 Chorro St. in San Luis Obispo. Follow @CattaneoBros on Instagram for more information on special promotions or events celebrating the company’s 75th anniversary.

Experience Gray

Humpback Whales, Blue Whales and an Array of Dolphin Species

VARIES BY SEASON

Guaranteed to see whales or get a free trip on us!

Mid-February to Mid-May: 2.5 hour Coastal Trip

Watch as gray whales embark on their migration through our channel. We also see common dolphins and California sea lions on nearly every trip!

Mid-May to Mid-February: 4.5 hour Island Trip

Searching for humpback, blue, and fin whales who migrate to the channel to feed. These longer trips also allow us to explore the four northern Channel Islands if weather and whale sightings permit!

JERKY from page 22

Rooting away

A rush to curb wild pig prevalence in California leaves conflicting

STORY BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL PHOTOS BY JAYSON MELLOM

Camped on the undulating hills of Bradley, professional hunter Chad Wiebe and his outfitting group raced against the clock.

Clad in earth tones and armed with monoculars, handheld radios, and guns, they were on a quest for feral pigs.

It took all afternoon on Dec. 20. Wiebe drove roughly an hour into the southern Monterey County backcountry from Oak Stone Outfitters, which he owns and operates. Every so often, he’d pause, and scope out the olive-green landscape for pigs while the others quietly motored behind his car.

Coyotes, cows, and deer quickly came into view. But pigs—famously abundant on the Central Coast—were ironically hard to find. Bradley’s farmlands were low on ripe agricultural crops over the winter. That produce is usually a prime food source for the pigs. Without that bounty, wild pig presence in the area was scant during the day.

“Their movements are much more random now,” Wiebe said. “Their hearing is OK, their smell is high, but their weakness is sight.”

As the afternoon drew close to evening, Wiebe spotted a wild pig in a thicket at the base of the

valley. He quietly alerted Oak Stone hunters Preston Doherty and Hunter Conley and client Fernando Casillas over the radio. Wiebe stayed back to monitor the pig’s movements while Doherty, Conley, and Casillas moved ahead to take aim, shoot, and harvest. With the light of day beginning to darken, the likelihood of pigs coming out to feed was higher. But a deadline hurtled toward them.

By California law, hunting and shooting time for big game stops half an hour after sunset. Wiebe scanned his phone and muttered into the radio.

“We have four minutes,” he informed the trio.

Casillas propped his gun and steadied his aim. Stillness and silence permeated the air. After a tense few minutes, Wiebe called time. Casillas had to pack up.

“You don’t want to take a shot if you’re not confident. No shot is better than a bad shot,” Wiebe explained.

The pig melted into the darkness blanketing the valley.

“Tonight, the pig won and we lost, and it has to be that way, otherwise there’d be no wildlife left,” he said. “We got a nice hike in, anyway.”

While that winter day’s hunt bore no pigs, the outcomes are

different in the summer. According to Wiebe, the warmth draws them out in hordes and hunters go home with a pig irrespective of their field experience. It’s a testament to their prevalence in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn’t track the number of wild pigs in the state but estimates it to be around 400,000. They exist in 56 of 58 counties, but their number in SLO County is unknown. Fish and Wildlife views feral pigs as an invasive or exotic species, meaning that they’re an entity that’s not supposed to naturally exist in California.

Though harvested by hunters year-round, wild pigs often aggravate the agricultural industry and resident farmers to such an extent that they attracted political scrutiny.

Humans and wild pigs interact so frequently that Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) called the animal an invasive species, authoring a Senate bill to control their growth in the state and limit their damage to private property and agriculture. The bill eases wild pig hunting restrictions and will allow people to harvest more of them than ever before. But the potential impacts of that bill also have land managers and hunters concerned about its consequences.

“Do we manage the pigs or do we eradicate them? That’s the big question,” Wiebe said.

Sniffing out roots

The wild pig’s origin in California is contested. One of the biggest theories is that media heavyweight William Randolph Hearst shipped them to Hearst Castle for his exotic zoo and hunting program from where they were slowly released over time.

Matt Gil, a lieutenant officer representing SLO and south Monterey counties for Fish and Wildlife, said that theory has the most credibility. Gil said another piece of wild pig lore states that domestic pigs were introduced as livestock and soon became wild after Spanish and Russian settlers brought them to California in the 1700s.

“They got out, and with the William Randolph Hearst pigs that were Eurasian boars, they crossbred and that’s how you get feral pigs,” Gil said.

Razorbacked and amply covered in coarse, long hair, California wild pigs bear little resemblance to the pink, short-haired, floppy-eared domestic variety. They come in several colors and patterns too; white, black, blond, and even spotted. Fully grown wild sows weigh between 150 to 175 pounds on average, while their male

groups speculating about the animal’s future

PHOTO FROM ADOBE STOCK

counterparts grow to roughly 200 pounds.

“Most of the trophy hunters want something like a pure Eurasian black boar with big tusks on it and long hair,” Gil said.

But while feral and domesticated pigs look physically different, they’re almost identical genetically.

Todd Tognazzini, a retired Fish and Wildlife captain who used to oversee five counties spanning Santa Clara to SLO, said they share genus and species types.

“Sus scrofa is the genus and species of both,” Tognazzini said. “Sus scrofa domestica is the domestic pig, and sus scrofa scrofa is the wild pig. They’re the same exact animal that readily crossbred.”

He added that tusking is another practice that superficially separates the two. Male domestic pigs are castrated for meat production and have their tusks clipped. However, because teeth on wild pigs are left unchecked, the males grow to have large tusks within a generation.

Tognazzini provided another take on the explosion of wild pigs in California, and it’s one that led to a misconception.

“There is an anomaly of people saying ‘European wild boar,’” he said. “We don’t have any true European wild boars in California. We have pigs that were domesticated that became feral like we have a feral cat population and feral pigeons that fly around.”

He referred to Rancho San Carlos, just south of the Carmel Valley, where European wild boars were introduced into the alreadyexisting wild pig population.

“While there is data that shows the San Carlos ranch brought in a dozen or so European wild boar to increase the wildness of the wild pig, the reality is, when you look at the pig population, even if it were 100 boars that were brought in, the genetics was never changed much,” Tognazzini said.

It’s believed that at the turn of the last century, wild pigs were raised like cattle in large pastures with barbed wire fencing. Some would escape, and over time, a large pig population formed in California. In a good year, a wild pig can produce 10 piglets that are successfully raised into adulthood, according to Tognazzini. That high reproductive capability

Learn the law

Spotted poachers? Report them to the CALTIP line at (888) 334-2258. Keep up with information on hunting licenses, pig tags, and validations at wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting//Wild-Pig.

contributed to a quick buildup of pigs, and its long-lasting effects are familiar to both him and Gil.

“Monterey County seems to be the biggest area for wild pigs, and San Luis Obispo is right up there with it,” Gil said. “I would say south Monterey County and San Luis Obispo produce the most pig harvests in the state of California.”

Laying down the law

It’s perennially pig-hunting season in California. It begins July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year, with prime pig hunting months in the springtime.

In 2021, Fish and Wildlife documented at least 525 reported pig tags being used in SLO County. These are paper slips that hunters use to mark a felled pig as soon as possible. One pig tag costs $25, and until 2024, hunters need a new one with every successfully hunted pig.

According to Gil, hunters had already filled 175 pig tags in SLO County by December 2022—halfway through the hunting season. He said that after completing a hunter education course, would-be hunters can purchase tags from Walmart, sporting goods stores like Dick’s, and through the Fish and Wildlife office and website.

Pig hunting is so prevalent in California that Fish and Wildlife raked in almost $760,000 in the 2020-21 hunting year by issuing pig tags. The department brought in roughly $713,000 the next year.

But Fish and Wildlife now stands to make less money off pig tags.

Senate Bill 856, colloquially known as the feral pig control legislation, relaxes boar hunting regulations. One of the ways it does that is by swapping out individual pig tags for a onetime yearlong validation worth $25 that allows hunters to shoot as many pigs as they can. Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the bill in September 2022, and it was coauthored by Sen. Dodd and former Republican Assemblyman Frank Bigelow. Some parts of it went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and the onetime validation provision will be effective in 2024.

SB 856 brings about a whole new subsection of regulations, Gil said, as Fish and Wildlife ventures into new territory.

“It’s a good opportunity for hunters to try to regulate that pig population,” Gil said. “Locally in SLO County, a lot of the hunters that we talked to are very excited to get one-time validation. They’re excited to shoot and not have to worry about buying more and more pig tags.”

Fish and Wildlife is also hoping

that the bill will be a respite for the number of depredation permits the department doles out every year. Feral pigs are considered a public nuisance by most landowners and ranchers. When the pigs encroach onto their properties, people usually apply for depredation permits that allow them to trap and kill boars.

The number of depredation permits issued by Fish and Wildlife has steadily increased over the past few years. The department handed out 59, 61, and 89 permits to SLO County farmers and ranchers in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. Gil said that SB 856 theoretically makes controlling the pig population easier, so fewer would invade privately owned lands.

Pigs are resourceful and resilient when it comes to sourcing food and water. Unlike deer and cows that usually follow the contours of a landscape, wild pigs ignore those natural lines and go straight up the hills. Bradley’s slopes with concentric and gentle cow trails, for example, are also etched with jagged, sharp pig trails that head straight up.

“Pigs can come in one night and cause thousands of dollars of damage. They love to eat acorns, grubs, and a lot of the time, they love grapes,” Gil said. “There’s a large winery background here in San Luis Obispo County, and big

herds of pigs love to go in there every night right before harvest and love eating all the grapes.”

Depredation permits give their holders certain privileges that hunting permits don’t.

“Hunters aren’t allowed to trap pigs. The only way to trap pigs lawfully is with a depredation permit,” Gil said. “We’re trying to minimize the damage the pigs are doing, so we give them extra tools. It’s an effective way to get 10 pigs at one time in a pen trap.”

A depredation permit also allows trapping and euthanizing pigs after dark.

“Pigs are nocturnal animals. So, we will allow them to be depredated at night,” he said. “We don’t allow that at night with a hunting permit.”

Price of greed

Lawbreakers still find their way around the rules.

“Our biggest big game poaching animal is wild pigs, more so toward the border of south Monterey County and San Luis Obispo County,” Gil said.

Poaching wild pigs may be more trouble than they’re worth. At $25, it’s the cheapest big game tag available. Deer, bear, elk, and big-horn sheep tags cost roughly $30, $50, and a couple of hundred BOAR continued page 28

Oak Stone Outfitters owner Chad Wiebe takes hunting enthusiasts on guided pig hunts on leased land in Bradley’s backcountry.

dollars, respectively. Once caught, Fish and Wildlife officers confiscate a poacher’s kill, firearms, and hunting equipment. They’re then subject to court appearances, fines, and even imprisonment in some cases. Gil said that poachers’ preferred method of finding their targets is using a technique called spotlighting.

“So, they come up, start spotlighting using their headlights or flashlights, look for pigs on the side of the road and they’ll shoot them,” he said. “A lot of the time people will shoot too many pigs because they don’t have tags for them.”

Fish and Wildlife try to identify poachers by flying planes at night. Units positioned around SLO County and beyond pass through dark skies on the lookout for people driving erratically, unusually slowly, or simply forming ‘S’ shapes on a straight road. Gil said that poaching mostly occurs from winter to early summer, when pigs huddle on the sides of roads to eat food.

Confiscated poached pigs don’t go to waste. If they were shot using non-lead ammunition, they’re donated to conservation ambassador Zoo to You in Paso Robles to feed carnivores, to nonprofits, or even to Cal Poly for scientific study.

Such collaboration underscores the importance of hunting as part of wildlife conservation efforts. It’s something retired Fish and Wildlife Capt. Tognazzini wants more people to be aware of.

Future of pigs

Tognazzini has been hunting since he was 12 years old. While wild pig isn’t his first choice of big game, he still appreciates the animal for its meat. A large pig weighing roughly 150 pounds can last him all year, and he enjoys sharing that bounty with friends and family.

“Most of what we eat is game off the land or fish off our local fisheries. It’s healthier for you, and you take care of it every step of the

way,” Tognazzini said. “You can use so much of an animal, and revere the animal and understand the renewability of wildlife resources.”

Every winter quarter, Tognazzini is a part-time lecturer at Cal Poly. This year, he’s teaching a natural resources law enforcement class that draws from his more than 40-year-long career with Fish and Wildlife. He stressed the importance of hunter safety, ethics, and wildlife management.

“Some people have really poor opinions about hunting. They don’t realize that of the handful of species that we do hunt, there are thousands of species that we’re not allowed to hunt,” Tognazzini said. “The money from the conservation of hunting has provided habitat and access for everyone. Hunters have kind of paved the way.”

He added that through the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, purchasing hunting equipment comes with a tax that funds hunter safety programs and firearms education courses.

Tognazzini said he’s apprehensive about the new Senate bill.

“Throughout my career, there were numerous attempts to deregulate wild pigs,” he said. “Now, you have the ability to get pigs without pig tags. That’s kind of scary to me. Because of the economic interest in them, many of the ranchers are making money to keep the ranches intact with wild pig hunting.”

Tognazzini said that more lenient regulation could result in more poaching as people try to unlawfully harvest pigs on private properties belonging to ranchers trying to make a living.

“It’s already tough enough to keep people from killing pigs in the middle of night. There might be an enforcement issue because we have so much open land and pigs are highly nocturnal,” he said. “The effect would be astronomical if you completely deregulate it.”

SB 856 also forbids the intentional release of pigs back into the wild. But it’s a feature that’s left hunters engaged in land management scratching their heads. Wiebe, the owner of Oak Stone Outfitters, said that to the best of their ability, hunters usually target male pigs and avoid the sows.

“We try not to take the mothers, the females. We want to be able to manage the herd successfully. We don’t want to eradicate them from our areas. We enjoy eating them and utilizing them,” Wiebe said.

On average, Oak Stone Outfitters’ clients harvest 300 pigs a year. It’s a small percentage of the total number of wild boars in the county. Wiebe believes the new law will help make somewhat

BOAR continued page 30

BOAR from page 27

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

areas where you have soccer fields,” Dodd said. “It’s like a plow came in and plowed it overnight.”

of a dent in the pig population on public lands but doesn’t think it would affect the animals on private grounds.

“There are a lot of questions about this bill. Mostly, it’s about wanton waste. If people do shoot pigs, they have to utilize all of it,” Wiebe said. “We don’t want to see pigs being shot senselessly. I’d say that’s what myself, and most people, would have an issue with.”

But Sen. Dodd, who spearheaded SB 856, doesn’t think waste will be an issue.

“We could be concerned about the problems that could occur and never address this problem,” he said.

He added that in the eight years he’s been in the Legislature, most bills aimed at curbing wild pig numbers usually didn’t make it out of committee.

“I came up with a resolution, and we may need to go further, down the line, but we felt like this was a place to start decreasing the numbers of wild pigs that are doing incredible environmental damage to our water courses and streams, in not only rural communities but also suburban

Further, Dodd added that the rate of new pig births is far higher than the number harvested by hunters. They’re reproducing too quickly for humans to keep up with. He said he even considered the possibility of lifting the ban on night hunting but decided against it because Fish and Wildlife pushed back.

“A lot of pig hunters are concerned that they’ll be an over-take of pigs so their hunts will not be as successful. That’s not a concern for today,” Dodd said. “Perhaps in 10 or 15 years, but I would suggest that they take anything and everything while they can.”

He admitted that it’s too early to understand the full effects of the bill, and trying to appease all the stakeholders like hunters, ranchers, environmentalists, and animal rights advocates is a Herculean effort. In fact, some groups were upset that they had to wait until 2023 for SB 856 to take effect.

“Writing legislation is like making sausage. It’s not pretty but

BOAR from page 28 BOAR continued page 32

Fernando Casillas is an Oak Stone Outfitters client who was ready to harvest a wild pig after a successful elk hunt earlier in the day.

you do what you got to do to get meaningful legislation,” he said. “That means compromise. I would have liked to see it enacted earlier, but time will tell.”

Dodd made his choice about whether to wipe out pigs or simply slow their growth. Wild pigs in California, he said, is an “out of control” problem.

“The goal of the bill, short-term, is to eradicate knowing full well that the eradication of wild pigs is an impossible task,” he said.

Tognazzini agrees that it’s impossible, which spotlights the future for both pigs and those who hunt them in California.

“I think there will always be pigs around,” he said. “There’s no way you’re going to extirpate them.”

The Channel Islands of

California is the only place where wild pigs were successfully eradicated, according to Tognazzini.

“I worked years ago as a Park Service ranger out there,” he said. “On the Channel Islands, they spent millions of dollars on helicopters and shot them with shotguns in a known location where they had no place to go.”

Wild pigs may have European roots, but now they’re California bred. On the Central Coast, and in the rest of the state, wild pigs are always going to be a part of the environment, according to Tognazzini. Looking ahead, he’s worried about the impact deregulation might have on harvesting pigs.

“People have a perception that deregulation will reduce depredation issues. It won’t, because people don’t want just anybody on their property killing wild pigs,” he said. “Can you trust the safety of those individuals? If you kick it open, it would be a nightmare.”

Sacred space

The BLM works with Native American tribes to protect Painted Rock, Carrizo Plain

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAMILLIA LANHAM

Prairie falcons, barn owls, and great horned owls nest on top of the only rock for what seems like miles. Basque sheepherders and cowboys used to rest inside its protective embrace, and Native Americans have revered it for thousands of years.

Evidence of the past colors the interior of its curved expanse—graffiti from the last 100 to 150 years defaced layers of 3,000- to 4,000-year-old paintings, images sketched as an expression of cultural and

spiritual beliefs.

Painted Rock on the Carrizo Plain National Monument continues to be a sacred space for Native American tribes, which hold ceremonies there throughout the year. It’s a place that needs protection from those who aim to leave their mark, said Susana Mata, a member of the yak tity u tity u yak tiłhini tribe (ytt Northern Chumash) who has served on Carrizo’s Native American Advisory Council since 1997.

CARRIZO continued page 36

Carrizo Plains visitor’s center reopens to the public

A stiff wind blew across the Carrizo Plain National Monument on Dec. 1, 2022—as it almost always does—fluttering across the grass in front of the newly remodeled Goodwin Education Center.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Cal Fire, the Bureau of Land Management, Friends of the Carrizo Plain, and members of the Native American Advisory Council came together with many others to celebrate its reopening. Susana Mata with the yak tity u tity u yak tiłhini tribe and other advisory council members helped bless the new space with sage and a ceremony.

“The purpose of this place is not only to educate but to help people become culturally literate,” Mata said, adding that Painted Rock has suffered a lot of damage in recent history. “And we want it to be here forever. We want your children and their children and everyone else to take care of this land.”

BLM Central California District Manager Chris Heppe spoke after the ceremony, saying that the BLM depends on tight partnerships to help manage the land it’s responsible for. Carrizo, he said, is special for many reasons, including Painted Rock, annual wildflower blooms, alkali flats, the San Andreas fault, and his favorite endangered species, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard.

“People come from all over to experience all of those resources, the wellness, and the solitude,” Heppe said.

The number of visitors has increased significantly in recent spring “superbloom” years, thanks to viral posts on social media, Monument Manager Johna Hurl said on that windy day. While the monument normally receives between 70,000 and 100,000 people a year, mostly between December and May, the monument had that many visitors in April and May alone in 2017.

“We were trying to get 2,000 to 3,000 people through the door [of the visitor’s center]. And the interns said they were quitting,” she said with a laugh. “That was when we knew that the visitor’s center just wasn’t big enough.”

Since 2010, the monument has wanted to revamp Goodwin—it was a matter of finding the funding for it. In 2021, Hurl said, they received the funding to add about 800 square feet to the building, almost doubling its size, and increase the number of interpretive displays it held.

A giant condor looms overhead on one end of the visitor’s center while paintings of wildflowers and the open plains are tucked inside a separate room. Painted Rock is visible in the distance through one of the windows, as the grass shakes and whips in the breeze.

Most of the year, the Carrizo Plain is relatively quiet, Hurl said.

“It’s one of those places you can go all day without seeing another person,” Hurl said.

“When I go to the Carrizo and I step on the land, I feel safe, and I feel a connection to the land,” Mata said. “I’m part of a tribe that has a long, long history in that

area, and I just feel very strongly about the protection of the cultural resources, of conservation, and I want most of all to give respect to our ancestors, and do everything we can to protect.”

The advisory council is made up of several tribes, including the Bakersfield Chumash, Coastal Band of Chumash, the Salinan Tribe, and ytt Northern Chumash. What started as a something tied strictly

to Painted Rock and the ceremonies that tribes participate in there, such as for the summer and winter solstices, naturally expanded into looking at plants, animals, and how humans use the Carrizo, Mata said. Around the time that the Carrizo received monument status in 2000, the Bakersfield Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office established an advisory committee made up of stakeholders—such as Native American Advisory Council members, ranchers, environmentalists, and local, state, and federal representatives—to collaborate on managing the monument and its resources.

“It was a real education for us as Native people, because they told us all about the BLM and what their purpose was and rationale, plus we were able to meet a lot of the administration,” she said. “We also met with ranchers, oil and gas industries—and that’s a wide group of people and community of people that live out there.”

Monument Manager Johnna Hurl said the BLM recognizes the importance of the Carrizo to Native Americans, and wanted to establish a relationship with the tribes early on in order to gain their input on

CARRIZO continued page 38

Photo: Mike Jones

CARRIZO from page 34

CARRIZO from page 36

projects and managing activities. Working with that diverse group, stakeholders were able to put together management guidelines for the monument and its resources: plant, cultural, endangered species such as

and more.

“It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. It was hard. We worked it out though, and we were able to come together and do this,” Mata said. “I’ve been really impressed with the BLM in

CARRIZO continued page 40

THE HAPPIEST TRAILS… are right

pronghorn antelope and tule elk,

CARRIZO from page 38

being so open and willing to work with us on so many different issues. … It’s like we’re a team, you know, it took everybody to do this.”

Those guidelines included rules for Painted Rock that enable tribes to continue using it to conduct ceremonies as well as keeps it open and available to the public, which is what they wanted, Mata said. No climbing or writing is allowed, and visitation is limited, as are photographs of the pictographs.

to see if any damage has occurred.

“We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had any defacing of the pictographs during the time that we’ve been having this permit system in place and while we’ve been doing the tours,” Hurl said.

Find peace and solitude

But there are still issues, Mata said, with some of the visitors who make the trip out to Painted Rock and Carrizo. Not everyone respects the place as they should, she said.

To learn more about the Carrizo Plain National Monument and Painted Rock, visit blm.gov. The visitor’s center is located at 17495 Soda Lake Road in the California Valley. Call the monument’s information line at (805) 475-2035.

From July 15 to March 1, Painted Rock is open to the public for self-guided tours with a permit that’s available through recreation.gov. Monument Manager Hurl said the BLM does offer guided tours at other times of the year, also by recreation.gov permit, but it’s closed to open visitation due to nesting birds.

Hurl said the BLM does monitor Painted Rock, including the paintings

Working with the BLM, the advisory council has tried to combat the issues with signage, but it doesn’t always work.

“The main thing is that people respect the place that it is—a sacred place to us and other tribes for thousands of years. … You would be surprised. People want to climb it, want to go out there and camp and have a fire,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are still things that happen, and I cannot believe that people can be so disrespectful.”

Photo by Christie O’Hara

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHY BRODIE

Long-time Orcutt resident Kathy Brodie opened up her 43-acre property to the community

BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR

K athy Brodie’s legacy lies in the Orcutt Hills. Throughout her life, she’s seen Orcutt shift from a small oil town in the ’60s to the expanding community it’s become.

“This is my history, I went up into those foothills to visit my relatives in little oil field houses. No one had electricity,” Brodie said. “We had gas that came right out of the ground, but nobody had electricity. My grandma never had a refrigerator until she moved to Old Town Orcutt.”

Her grandparents emigrated from Denmark to Orcutt. Born in 1951, Brodie was raised by her mother and father on 60 acres “in the middle of nowhere.” She grew up with her relatives nearby, spent a lot of her time roaming the foothills, and learned the value of nature from an early age, she said.

By the 1970s, Brodie inherited some money from her relatives, and she told her father she wanted to buy land instead of investing in a “fancy car or a

fancy house.” So she bought a 43-acre property, isolated from the community, and her father purchased the mineral rights.

Around this time, Brodie and her husband divorced and she raised her two sons, farmed pigs, sold Tupperware, and worked for her parents. Through all of this, she maintained her property up in the hills and visited often.

“It was my little getaway. My kids would go to camp up there,” Brodie said. “I had this little corner of the world where I could escape and just be out in the country.”

She wanted to live up there but couldn’t find a reliable water source, so it remained her family’s escape, she said. As time went on, her acres became more desirable. Developments like Rice Ranch grew around her property, and people came knocking, asking her to sell.

Between 2015 and 2017, three men from the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department approached Brodie and asked if they could purchase her property to develop a TRAILS continued page 44

Arroyo Grande

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

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Mar 11, June 10, Sept 9, Dec 9, 2023

Saturdays 10-4 | Elm Street Park - 1221 Ash St

FREE to attend

34TH ANNUAL EGG HUNT & FESTIVAL

April 8, 2023 10-1 | Elm St. Park

FREE Easter Egg Hunt for all ages, Bunny Hop Races, Egg Toss Competition, and BBQ Hot Dogs

MOTHER’S DAY TEA PARTY

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Sunday, May 14 1:30-4 | Heritage House Garden - 126 South Mason

Create lasting memories with loved ones at a charming, family friendly tea. $30 for 2, $10 for additional guest Register at ArroyoGrande.org/catalog

2023 Summer Concert Series

Kicking Off July 4th

FREE Outdoor Event every Sunday from 1-3pm at Heritage Square Park

City of Arroyo Grande proudly serving the needs of its community. For more information, visit www.arroyogrande.org/rec or call (805) 473-5474

TRAILS from page 43

park with tennis courts and soccer fields, but she had a different dream.

“I want to be able to share the simple times and the beauty of the Orcutt foothills,” Brodie said. “I want to preserve and open up my property to people. Maybe they weren’t born here, but they can go up there and get the feel of what it was like to be born in the Orcutt foothills.”

She turned to Santa Maria Valley Open Space, an Orcuttbased nonprofit organization that works to establish public trails in a natural setting to serve the valley and its surrounding residents. The Open Space team helped create small trails along her property, and now people can head up there to hike at their leisure.

“The open spaces where we can get out and just be are disappearing,” she said. “You need to get outside and experience the sky and the wind and the dirt and the trees.”

Along with its several trails— all looped into the Orcutt Trail System—there’s a eucalyptus grove people can walk through and collect herbs like black sage, mugwort, and elderberry to take

Hike through the past

home. Eventually, Brodie said, she’d like to work with Cal Poly’s Plant Sciences program to develop a botanical garden in the grove. She added that she’d like to dedicate the grove to her father, and leave a cross on one of the hills within the area for her mother.

Now retired, Brodie does what she can to maintain her property but gets a lot of help from her son, who’s equally passionate about preserving the land and will eventually inherit the property and keep his mother’s mission afloat.

“It’s a preservation project for me; it’s preserving a part of our history in these foothills that are disappearing,” Brodie said. “My little corner is not going to disappear because as long as I’m alive and my son’s alive we’re going to keep it preserved.”

Access the trails on Kathie Brodie’s 43-acre property in the Santa Maria Valley through Orcutt Community Park at the end of Bradley Road.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHY BRODIE

COME VISIT OUR PUBLIC RANGES

ALL AGES · ALL SKILL LEVELS

Minors Must Be Accompanied By An Adult

OUT-OF-TOWNER SPECIAL

Includes Instruction and Equipment

Reservations Required

• SHOTGUN RANGE: Trap, Skeet, 5-Stand and a new Mini-Sporting Clays field. On-site instruction and loaner guns (perfect for beginners!)

• RIFLE-PISTOL RANGE: Outdoor, covered range with shooting distances out to 700 yards on paper targets or steel gongs

• ARCHERY: Newly rebuilt stationary target range and a 3D walking course

• HOGUE ACTION PISTOL RANGE: 14 bays ranging from 20-60 yards

• GUNS AND LADIES (GALS): Shooting clinics taught by women, for women

• COWBOYS AKA CHORRO VALLEY REGULATORS: Monthly SASS competitions with an annual match in August/September

• BLACK POWDER/MUZZLELOADERS: Monthly matches and annual match in July

• DELTA LONG RANGE - CCLRS: Learn and sharpen your skills with targets from 25 to 1500 yards

• HUNTER SAFETY: Dates listed on our website

• PRIVATE EVENTS/PARTIES AVAILABLE

RIFLE-PISTOL RANGE

Sat-Sun 8am-4pm

Thur-Fri 8am-9pm

TRAP AND SKEET RANGE

Mon, Thur, Fri 9am-2pm Sat-Sun 9am-3pm

Ladies & Student Discount Night

Thur-Fri 3pm-8pm

ARCHERY RANGE

Sat-Sun 9am-2pm

Hours Subject to Change

Disc duffers’ delight

Dairy Creek features a world-class disc golf course

BY GLEN STARKEY

Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. and the easiest and least expensive sport to get into. A set of three discs sells for as little as $20, and an 18-hole round at the Dairy Creek Disc Golf course is only $5. Hideous pants and funny hats optional.

Sure, throwing discs at targets may seem weird, but there are nearly 100,000 active members of the Professional Disc Golf Association and an estimated half a million regular players in the U.S. Its growth as a sport since its 1970s beginnings have been exponential. Between 8 million and 12 million people have played disc golf at least once in their lives.

The origins of disc golf are as murky as the Frisbee itself. Did New England college kids in Connecticut throwing empty Frisbie Pie Company tins “invent” the flying disc idea? Did Los Angeles

building inspector Walter Frederick Morrison with help from Warren Franscioni create the first plastic version called a Pluto Platter? Does the honor go to “Steady” Ed Headrick, an inventor at Wham-O who patented the design for the modern Frisbee in 1966? Probably, but what about disc golf itself?

We know that in addition to the Frisbee, in 1975 Headrick also patented the Disc Golf Pole Hole, the basis of all disc golf targets today, but let’s not forget the story of Ronald Brandon Cain and his elementary school pals who in 1965 regularly played what they called Tin Lid Golf, throwing tin lids into 4-foot-wide circles drawn in sandy patches on their school grounds.

We’ll never know the exact origins of disc golf, but on any

DISC GOLF continued page 48

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUDLEY SCHUSTERICK

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUDLEY SCHUSTERICK AND JAIMAL HANSON Dudley Schusterick (left) and Jaimal Hanson (right) designed the 18-hole disc golf course at Dairy Creek to take advantage of the natural environment, its grasslands, and its setting among the Seven Sisters.

fun is what we do

With

given day, you’ll find disc golfers walking one of the many Central Coast courses located in Sinsheimer Park, Laguna Lake Park, Heilmann Regional Park, Waller Park, and other locations. Most of these course are free to use, but by many accounts, the best local course is at Dairy Creek Golf Course. Designed by Dudley Schusterick and Jaimal Hanson, they call it “The Wild West Course at Dairy Creek.” The pair also operates a disc golf company called Prodigy Disc.

The course is 7,500 feet long, or about 1.42 miles to walk. There’s

also a pro-length course they set up for tournaments that’s 8,500 feet or 1.6 miles. The course at Dairy Creek hosted three professional tournaments last year.

Schusterick has designed a number of courses. Originally from Southern California, he’s been in SLO County about 20 years, loves the local flora and fauna, and is committed to preserving it.

“The idea was to retain the most natural setting possible to minimize upkeep on the property,” he explained of Dairy Creek. “This is one of the most beautiful courses

DISC GOLF from page 46

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUDLEY SCHUSTERICK DISC GOLF continued page 50

22nd Annual GROVER BEACH SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

Sundays, 3-6pm • June - August

Ramona Garden Park

Get ready for another great summer of friendly company, delicious food, and great music!

Stay tuned for lineup announcement!

Accepting Vendor Applications

UPCOMING GROVER BEACH SPECIAL EVENTS

“Let’s Taco ‘Bout Our Volunteers” Volunteer Recognition Dinner

February 10th from 6-8 p.m. at Ramona Garden Park

All Volunteers invited, please RSVP by calling (805) 473-4580

Arbor Day Celebration

April 28th from 3-5 p.m. at 16th Street Park

FREE event to celebrate the importance of trees in our community. Activities for children ages 5-12

Mother Son Luau

May 12th from 6-8 p.m. at Grover Beach Community Center

Drinks, dinner by Ribline, DJ, & Photo Booth, $59 per couple, $25 each additional son. Spots fill up quick! Register online at groverbeach.org/parks

Spring Garden Tour

May 21st from 1-4 p.m.

FREE self-guided tour of nominated gardens. Call to nominate your favorite Grover Beach garden by May 12!

Ms. Cardel Wedding & Event Planner

Feature

DISC GOLF from page 48

in the state, if not the country, with all its natural grasslands and wildlife—hawks, coyotes, turkeys, deer, king and gofer snakes—all the wildlife blows my mind, and the Seven Sisters are beautiful.”

Dairy Creek is just off Highway 1 near El Chorro Regional Park, and while it boasts a nine-hole ball golf course (at a reasonable $23 a round), the disc golf course feels less like a walk through mowed fairways and manicured greens and more like a nature hike. You might pass an electric fence penning in a small herd of goats used for weed abatement. Look up and you might see a falcon soaring above. It’s open space all around. Upgrades have been limited to tee pads from which to throw and some benches to sit on.

2255

No reservations are necessary. Show up, check in at the pro shop, pony up $5, and you’re off. They sell discs for about $10 each in the shop if you need some. The first tee is behind the ball golfing range. There’s also the Dairy Creek Glow Disc Golf Course ($10 per event, typically on the second and fourth Friday nights each month), which

Hit ’em with your best shot

An open-to-the-public pro/am tournament—The 2023 SLO Disc Golf Open —is scheduled from May 3 through 6 at various locations from Templeton’s Whale Rock Disc Golf Course to Santa Maria’s Waller Park. Visit allevents.in/san%20 luis%20obispo/2023-slo-disc-golfopen/200023752674844 for details.

uses glowing discs at night.

“I’m a volunteer,” Schusterick noted, “and I love it because it’s so good for the community. I just love the attitude that disc golfers bring.”

His aim for Dairy Creek is to make it a disc golf destination, the “disc golf epicenter of the West! Disc golf generates thousands of dollars when a city becomes a disc golf destination from people traveling, tournaments, and so on.”

Part of the vision is hosting a major professional tournament called The Wild West Open, which is in the works, but the great thing about disc golf is it’s always ready when you are.

“Disc golfing is like fishing,” Schusterick quipped. “You know what they say: A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.”

Be prepared

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department offers outdoor safety tips

STORY AND PHOTOS BY TAYLOR O’CONNOR

Safety starts with knowing where you’re going, what you’ll be doing, and what you’ll need in order to prevent injury on the trails, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.

“We have a lot of hiking emergencies up here. [When] hiking trails, people can have the misperception of hiking. They are right here and they can see the city,” Safechuck said. “For the most part there is nothing to worry about until something goes wrong. They roll their ankle, they become dehydrated.”

At a minimum, the first thing he recommends people do before packing up to hit the trails, camp overnight, or backpack for a couple days is to get CPR and first aid certified —which is a foundation for

FIRE SAFETY continued page 54

Gear Hub

FIRE SAFETY from page 52

first responders, too, he said.

“You learn about situational awareness and how to not become injured, and how to prevent others from becoming further injured,” Safechuck said. “That kind of training for CPR and First Aid is going to gear your mind for the potential things [you] might need for the type of environment [you] might be choosing to get into.”

Before leaving, look at a trail map; be sure you understand the hike’s difficulty levels, estimated duration, and weather conditions; and tell a friend or relative where you are going and what time you’ll be back , he said. Firefighters and first responders spend a lot of time training and recreating in the Los Padres National Forest and other large forests, and often see people lost on the wrong trail or overexerted.

“It’s not about getting to the top, that’s not the goal or accomplishment. The accomplishment is getting outside and seeing something new. You don’t have to go far or to the point where you are overly exhausted,” Safechuck said. “People take the ability to

walk for granted; when you’re not injured you don’t think about it, but when you have an injured foot walking becomes a major task.”

People should take supplies with them, no matter what: water, a first aid kit includes bandages, rubber gloves, and antiseptics), flashlight/headlamp, sunscreen, a snack, and a signaling device like a whistle in case of an emergency.

“A small fanny pack can fit all of this stuff in it, but a small hydration backpack would be ideal,” he said.

It’s also important that people appropriately weather. If it’s sunny, make sure your body is protected by sleeves, or wear sunscreen, and have something to keep warm if the sun goes

down before the hike is over.

“Don’t go hiking if it’s going to be 100 degrees out. Go to the beach. Find alternative ways to experience nature,” Safechuck said. “Don’t go to the backcountry when it’s For a wilderness camping or backpacking trip, he carry a GPS tracking device that can signal to first responders, pack an adequate amount of food, carry a small canister of bear spray, and be of what animals you are

“I’m not telling people to go out with a 20-day supply, but understand what are the most likely things [they] could face and how [they] can mitigate those,” Safechuck said. “They can go to any outdoor supply store, they have everything there. Figuring out what works best for you is important.”

My pit bull has backpacked in Big Sur and beyond, rafted the Owens River, kayaked and snowshoed in the Sierra Nevada, and car camped and hiked all across the Western United States. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and acquired a cupboard full of dog gear in the last 12 years, from life vests and sweaters, to a nose lead we no longer use, and a light I can snap onto his collar.

While reliable gear is essential, the most important thing is to make sure both you and your dog are ready for outdoor activies. You want your dog to be comfortable, not anxious and scared or obnoxious and disobedient, so only include them on the trips they can take in stride.

Before you head into grand adventure land, test the waters. Try a few short hikes, take a couple of car camping trips, and hit the beach. Be sure you understand your pooch, their behavior and their

limits, as well as your own, and plan accordingly. Know what the rules are where you’re going: whether pets are allowed and what the leash laws are. Know the terrain, what the water situation is, whether it’s rocky or sandy. Know the weather: how cold, hot, or wet it’s going to be.

A short list of dog supplies should get you started. You can find much of it at your local pet store, on Amazon, or through a handful of outdoor dog-oriented retailers such as Ruffwear and Wilderdog.

A leash and harness

Never leave home without a leash. Even if you think your dog is the obedience king or queen, leashes are required on many outdoor trails and you never know how other dogs will behave. I also prefer a good four-point harness to anything like a nose lead or choke collar—most have multiple spots for a leash to hook

DOG HIKING continued page 58

Playing Outdoors Helps Children Grow Healthy and Strong

Playing outdoors is important to the healthy growth and development of children. Research shows that children who play outside regularly are healthier and stronger. Taking play outside helps children connect with the natural world. It also improves coordination, encourages active imaginations and can help reverse childhood obesity rates.

Starting a child’s appreciation of nature can begin early, with walks in a stroller. As the child grows, visit playgrounds and parks, or spend time exploring the backyard.

Unstructured outdoor play can be especially beneficial because it encourages social skills, too. Children create games, take turns, make decisions together and learn about sharing as part of unstructured play.

into as well as a handle that’s easy to grab in messy situations.

stores, from Ross to REI. A light Nalgene or other plastic bottle should do your pooch just fine.

Snacks and food

so you’ll both be extra hungry.

Doggy backpack

Sleeping bag and/or pad

Nalgene

bottle and collapsible bowl

I learned the hard way that my dog needed his own water bottle. I often hiked thirsty while he depleted mine, and in the Central Coast backcountry, creeks and streams tend to dry up by late summer. You can purchase a collapsible bowl at any number of

When you need food, your dog will also need food. Pack some extra jerky for the pup when hiking and a peanut butter dog biscuit, or four. If you’re backpacking, bring along a ziplock bag containing slightly more dog food than they would normally eat. Both you and your pooch are exerting extra energy,

These range from high end to economy, just like human backpacks. Most will work for a short two- or three-day backpacking trip. I opted for an economy version, and my pup packs in his own food and snacks, bowl, poop bags, and towel. Give your dog an opportunity to try it out, both with and without weight, before you commit them to carrying their stuff on a pack trip.

Just as you want to be comfortable camping on the hard ground in the great beyond, your pampered pet does too. My dog doesn’t have a lot of fur, so he can get cold at night. I purchased a Wilderdog sleeping bag that he can tuck into, but I recommend buying one from Ruffwear if you can afford it. He’s always grateful when I zip him up for the night.

DOG HIKING from page

Nature meets digital

Five phone and watch apps to enhance your time outside

BY PETER JOHNSON

While so many of us look to the outdoors for a break from our phone and computer screens, there’s no denying that some amazing innovations have come at the intersection of the fitness and tech worlds.

Countless devices and apps can now track your movements, heart rate, altitude, and more. Finding out which of these might interest and benefit you isn’t easy.

Hikers, bikers, runners, and nature lovers can come to appreciate any of these apps below, which are available to download on smartphones and smartwatches.

AllTrails

Price: Free or $36 per year for premium

Best for: Hiking, trail running

and competition. Like a social media site, the app enables users to record workouts and post their routes and metrics to a feed that friends and followers can see. It shows when you break a personal record or achieve a certain goal so your friends can give you kudos. And it crowdsources popular routes near you so you can try them out and see how you measure up. The premium version takes what the free version does well and expands on it with additional social and analytics features.

Merlin

Price: Free

Best for: Bird watching, nature walks

WorkOutDoors

Price: $7, one time

Best for: Hiking, trail running, backpacking

What it does: My personal favorite digital companion, WorkOutDoors is a versatile map and fitness app that’s worth every penny of its modest price. Select any area of the world you want to download a map of, and that area will be available offline on your Apple Watch for your next outdoor excursion. The maps are fantastic—they accurately display all trails, roads, campgrounds, and other landmarks nearby, along with your location—while it also tracks workout data like your distance, elevation, heart rate, and pace. The best part about this app is its eye-catching design and intuitive interface. It squeezes in a remarkable amount of information without overwhelming you.

What it does: AllTrails is another reputable map app that can serve as a useful guide for hiking, trail running, and more. The app’s free version is most helpful for researching hikes ahead of time. Search the area you want to hike in—say Big Sur—and then peruse the list of trail options. Each individual trail page has tons of great information about that hike, including comments, reviews, and updates that have been submitted by users. The downside to this app is that many important features are behind the premium paywall. For $36 a year, AllTrails+ subscribers can download trail maps for offline use, access the watch app, and take advantage of other mapping features.

What it does: Another awesome nature app, Merlin specializes in identifying birds. Whether the bird’s in your backyard or the Los Padres National Forest backcountry, Merlin taps a database of 800 million bird sightings to help ID it. All you

fitness app among runners and cyclists that promotes community

To get your business listed here or to get more information about the Get Outside business directory email advertising@newtimesslo.com

3 Day Blinds (877) 625-6034

3DayOffer218.com

Arroyo Grande

Parks & Recreation

(805) 473-5474

1221 Ash St. Arroyo Grande arroyogrande.org/rec

Arroyo Grande Physical Therapy

(805) 481-5656

117 S. Halcyon Rd. Arroyo Grande arroyograndephysicaltherapy.com

Atascadero Chamber of Commerce

(805) 466-2044

6907 El Camino Real Atascadero atascaderochamber.org

Avocado Shack

(805) 806-1019

2190 Main St. Morro Bay avocadoshack.net

Behind the Barn Consignment

(805) 464-2072

4785 Traffic Way, Unit E Atascadero behindthebarnconsignment.com

Bend Chiropractic

(805) 474-4747

172 Station Way Arroyo Grande arroyograndechiropractic.com

Big Sur Forest Retreat bigsurforestretreat.com

Black Bear Springs Organic Farm

(805) 423-0637 blackbearspringshemp.com

Black Sheep Bar & Grill

(805) 550-5412

1117 Chorro St. San Luis Obispo blacksheepslo.com

Bricks & Minifigs (805) 439-3788

863 Marsh St. San Luis Obispo bricksandminifigs.com/slo-ca

Cambria Bicycle Outfitters / CBO (805) 543-1148

1239 Monterey St. San Luis Obispo cambriabike.com

Cambria Garden Shed (805) 927-7654

2024 Main St. Cambria cambriagardenshed.com

Camp Natoma (805)316-0163 PO Box 3012 San Luis Obispo campnatoma.org

Celia’s Garden Cafe (805) 528-5711

1188 Los Osos Valley Rd. # C Los Osos celiasgardencafe.com

Central Coast Kayaks (805) 773-3500

1879 Shell Beach Rd. Shell Beach centralcoastkayaks.com

Central Coast Landscape Products (805) 595-3478

445 Prado Rd. San Luis Obispo cclandscapeproducts.com

Central Coast Monster Skate Series ccmonsterskate.com

Central Coast Solar Brokers (805) 668-4420 centralcoastsolarbrokers.com

Central Coast State Parks Association (805) 548-0390

202 Tank Farm Rd. (Ste.H2) San Luis Obispo centralcoastparks.org

California Holistic Institute (805) 786-4808

11555 Los Osos Valley Rd. Ste #109 San Luis Obispo californiaholisticinstitute.com

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino

(866) 794-6946

711 Lucky Ln. Coarsegold chukchansigold.com

City of Santa MariaUtilities Dept.

(805) 925-0951

2065 E. Main St. Santa Maria cityofsantamaria.org

Coelho Academy of Music

(805) 925-0464

325 E. Betteravia Rd., Ste B4 Santa Maria coelhomusic.com

Community Health Centers / CHC (866) 614-4636

28 Central Coast Locations communityhealthcenters.org

Condor Express Whale Watching (805) 882-0088

301 West Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara Harbor Santa Barbara condorexpress.com

Costanoa Lodge and Camp

(605) 879-1100

2001 Rossi Rd. at Hwy 1 Pescadero costanoa.com

Cottage Health (805) 354-5563

3596 Skyway Dr., Ste A Santa Maria cottagehealth.org

Dana Adobe 671 S. Oakglen Ave. Nipomo danaadobe.org

Downtown Paso

Robles Main Street Association

835 12th St., Ste D Paso Robles pasoroblesdowntown.org

Festival Mozaic (805) 781-3009

265 South St Suite G San Luis Obispo festivalmozaic.org

Flower Carriage

(805) 922-0578

2255 S. Broadway #15 Santa Maria mscardel.com

FOXEN

(805) 937-4251

7200 Foxen Canyon Rd. Santa Maria foxenvineyard.com

Gaia’s Garden

(805) 441-3723

875 Main St. Morro Bay gaiasgardenmb.com

Gavin’s Books

(805) 922-4282

230 E. Betteravia Rd., Ste K Santa Maria gavinsbooks.com

Giant Grinder

(805) 543-6700

1901 Broad St. San Luis Obispo giantgrinderslo.com

Glenn’s Repair & Rental

(805) 466-2218

5025 El Camino Real Atascadero glennsrepair.com

Grover Beach

Parks & Recreation

(805) 473-4580

1230 Trouville Ave. Grover Beach GroverBeach.org

Habitat for Humanity for SLO County

(805) 546-8699

2790 Broad St. San Luis Obispo hfhsloco.org

Harley Davidson of Santa Maria

(805) 928-3668

2022 Preisker Ln. Santa Maria santamariaharley.com

Island Packers

(805) 642-1393

1691 Spinnaker Dr., Ste.105 B Ventura islandpackers.com

Jen Narragon Investments / WiiRE (805) 550-7991

1421 Garden St. San Luis Obispo jennarragon.com

Krobar Craft Distillery (805) 467-9463

2174 W. Highway 46 Paso Robles krobardistillery.com

Land Conservancy of SLO County (805) 544-9096

1137 Pacific St. San Luis Obispo lcslo.org

Maddie Mae’s

Pet Pantry (805) 924-1139

815 Main St. Cambria maddiemaespetpantry.com

(805) 295-5011

571 Five Cities Dr. Pismo Beach (805) 591-7002

1121 Rossi Rd. Templeton

Madonna Inn Resort & Spa (805) 543-0300

100 Madonna Rd. San Luis Obispo madonnainn.com

Madonna Inn Trail Rides (805) 305-5470

100 Madonna Rd Stables San Luis Obispo madonnainn.com

Margarita Adventures

(805) 438-3120

22719 El Camino Real Santa Margarita margarita-adventures.com

Melby’s Jewelers

(805) 925-1678

1140 E. Clark Ave. Santa Maria melbys.com

Mike’s Shoes

(805) 547-9593

487 Madonna Rd. #3 San Luis Obispo mikesshoessanluisobispo.com

Mission College Prep

(805) 543-2131

682 Palm St. San Luis Obispo missionprep.org

Moondoggies Beach Club

(805) 541-1995

837 Monterey St. San Luis Obispo moondoggiesbeachclub.com

Morro Bay

Maritime Museum

(805) 255-5044

1210 Embarcadero

Morro Bay morrobaymaritime.org

Morro Bay Paddlesports

(805) 225-1497

551 Embarcadero

Morro Bay paddlemorrobay.com

NatureTrack Foundation

(805) 866-2047

P.O. Box 953 Los Olivos naturetrack.org

Nunno Steel (805) 238-6801

3461 Dry Creek Rd. Paso Robles nunnosteel.com

To get your business listed here or to get more information about the Get Outside business directory email advertising@newtimesslo.com

BUSINESS DIRECTORY from page 61

O’Connor

Pest Control

(805) 330-9247

101 Cuyama Ln. Nipomo

oconnorcentralcoast.com

Pacific Energy

(805) 544-4700

2121 Santa Barbara St. San Luis Obispo alteryourenergy.com

Pediatric Medical Group

(805) 922-3548

1430 E. Main St. Santa Maria pmgsm.com

Point San Luis

Lighthouse

(805) 540-5771

PO Box 308

Avila Beach pointsanluislighthouse.org

Pro Point

Fishing Lures

(805) 459-7213

propointlures.com/

San Luis Marble

(805) 544-9133

5452 Edna Rd. San Luis Obispo slmarble.com

(805) 544-9133

914 W. Betteravia Rd.

Santa Maria

San Luis Soils & Sod Farm

(805) 528-7645

2130 Blue Heron View Los Osos slosoilsnsodfarm.com

Santa Maria Public Airport (805) 922-1726

3217 Terminal Dr. Santa Maria santamariaairport.com

Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce (805) 350-8517 PO Box 1738 Santa Ynez santaynezchamber.org

Shen Yun (800) 880-0188 shenyun.com

Sierra Club

Santa Lucia Chapter

(805) 543-8717

PO Box 15755 San Luis Obispo sierraclub.org, meetup.com

SLO Botanical Gardens

(805) 541-1400

3450 Dairy Creek Rd. San Luis Obispo slobg.org

SLO County Farmers Markets (805) 503-9105 slocountyfarmers.org

SLO County Parks & Recreation (805) 781-5930

1144 Monterey St. San Luis Obispo slocountyparks.org

SLO Rowing Club (805) 459-8874 slorc.org/learn-to-row

SLO Sportsmen’s Association

(805) 541-3338

3270 Gilardi Rd. San Luis Obispo slosa.org/ SLOCOG / Rideshare

(805) 597-8022

1114 Marsh St. San Luis Obispo regionalrideshare.org

Solarponics (805) 466-5595

4700 El Camino Real Atascadero solarponics.com

St. Joseph High School

(805) 937-2038

4120 S. Bradley Rd. Santa Maria sjhsknights.com

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort

1215 Avila Beach Dr. San Luis Obispo sycamoresprings.com

Sun Buggy (805) 244-9721

Pismo/Oceano sunbuggy.com/pismo

Taco Temple (805) 772-4965

2680 Main St. Morro Bay tacotemple.com (805) 439-2856

1575 Calle Joaquin San Luis Obispo

That’s Fetch (805) 361-0802

3564 Skyway Dr. Santa Maria thatsfetch805.com

The Back Porch (805) 938-1965

4850 S. Bradley Rd. Santa Maria backporchflowers.net

The Mortgage House

(805) 782-6999

1103 Toro St. San Luis Obispo themortgagehouse.com

The Mountain Air (805) 543-1676

667 Marsh St. San Luis Obispo themountainair.com

Thomas Hill Organics (805) 226-5888

1313 Park St. Paso Robles thomashillorganics.com

Tired Tails (805) 441-2593

440 Luzen St. Morro Bay tiredtails.com

Toyota of Santa Maria (805) 928-3881

1643 S. Bradley Rd. Santa Maria toyotasm.com

Van Curaza Surf School (805) 543-SURF

80 San Francisco St. Avila Beach vancurazasurfschool.com

Western Village Health Club

(805) 348-1888

2015 S. Broadway (Ste.B) Santa Maria wvhealthclub.com