Five lively firsthand accounts of real life in the exciting pre-Yankee era of Californias rich history are offered in this bookfour of them world premiere publications, and all of them new and complete translations. This was an era not only of political intrigues and sectional clashes but also of upheaval as new ideas and attitudes came to a conservative Californian society. Piracy, kidnapping, lust, Indian uprisings, and scenes of battle all vie for the readers attention with fascinating passages about everyday life in the missions and presidios, governmental offices, and barracks. Governors are ejected, invaders fought, revolts arise, and plots hatched. While largely centered in Southern California, these accounts also bring us north to the Bay area and south to Baja California and farther. The reader of these memoirs will enjoy an intimate experience of life as it really wasa personal view not to be found in standard textbooks. As before with the authors previous foray into California history, Narciso Botellos Annals 18331847, the original manuscripts are rendered into a spirited English translation, capturing the nuances and vigor of these adventures in a land so familiar yet so exotic.

Keiller's quest for stories and images that both animate and illuminate the U.S.-Mexico border landscape leads the author to California's Santa Maria Valley. Border writer Keiller follows her intuition to the genius loci of the Santa Maria River Valley. She reads about an old adobe located at the Bien Nacido Vineyard and intuits the location matches the landscape that calls to her. She meets vintner James Ontiveros and the story of early Californios begins to emerge. James Ontiveros, a ninth-generation Californio, introduces Keiller to the story of his ancestors traveling north into Alta California with the 1781 Pobladore Expedition to establish Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara Presidio. Images of diseños, ranchos, horses, long-horned cattle, reatas, trails, missions, and wine embellish the tapestry of relationships interwoven throughout Vaquero Turned Vintner: The Ontiveros Border Story. The author's love of the Mexico-United States border landscape energizes her experiences exploring the story. Barbara delves into the layers of the story using her skills as a therapist … listening to storytellers, asking questions, and researching the archives. Lures, cues, dreams, and intuitions lead the way. Keiller describes her evolving relationships with people, the landscapes, and the wildlife throughout her odyssey that covers more than a decade from California, Baja California, Mexico, Arizona, Spain, France, Argentina, and Chile. She reports details in the form of a diary, much like the early explorers reported the day-to-day experiences on their expeditions into Alta California.

This book deals with the families of the Spanish, Mexican, and American immigrants who between 1769 and 1869 settled on ranchos at the foot of the mountain "Old Saddleback" in the area now known as Orange County.