“Rancho Salsipuedes is a rare place. About 12 miles inland in Big Sur, it is one of the LAST standing California Homesteads that is not owned by the government or by a corporation. It has been in the hands of The Bottoms family since 1975. It has been untouched by overdevelopment, remaining in all of its glory. It has been looked after with true, pure, authentic love for the natural world.
This beautiful place was ravaged by the recent fires that have spread over our precious state of California. This is one of the worst fire seasons we have ever seen. There is no doubt that this is directly related to the swifty worsening climate change and Rancho Salsipuedes is amongst one of the countless casualties of this global crisis. The damage the Bottoms’ face at the ranch, they face financially alone as they cannot insure the property due to its remote location and being surrounded by Los Padres forest. Humbly, I am turning to my community (near and far) to ask for any help you might be able to spare.
I grew up with The Bottoms (whose daughter Bridget has been like a sister to me for almost 20 years) and visited Rancho Salsipuedes numerous times. It is untouched land the likes of which I have so rarely experienced in my life. The standing adobe house is 250 years old and one of the few structures there as their family’s intention was to be stewards for the land and creatures. The entire Bottoms family has always been dedicated to caring for the environment, on both a global and personal scale. They believe in solar power, permaculture and using renewable natural resources to create a safe haven for friends and family to connect to the Earth and mother nature. They were hoping to open the homestead up to campers (especially children/teenagers who may not be given the chance to experience nature in this way) this past spring, before the Covid 19 Pandemic hit. They are a family who honor the connection between humans and the planet; they know that we cannot separate the two, which makes the devastation they have endured during this fire season all the more painful.” (Continued on gofundme page)
Timothy Bottoms wrote to me of watching the blow-up from his side of the Santa Lucias that took out the Nacimiento Station and injured three firefighters; of watering the roof of the home for 10 days to save it; of the battle he, his two sons, and one Chumash firefighter to save the 250 year-old adobe on the ranch. It is a sacred place and is treated as such.
I was so moved by the stories that I wanted to share with all of you the gofundme a friend of his daughter’s organized for the ranch. Included on the gofundme page are some heartbreaking photos as well as the story. This is so very unusual for me, but I felt called to do so. Go here: