Santa Barbara County Km 185
A few kilometres down a winding, oak–canopied road in the Santa Ynez Mountains, I pull onto the shoulder. A 30–second rain shower wets the blacktop and suspends a film of perfumed smoke low in the air. Many hills in the area are scorched black from last winter’s wildfires, but that’s not it. I follow the scent on foot around the next bend to the Cold Spring Tavern, where the beer flows, the barbecue pit burns all day and a country singer plays in the barroom.