A Natural History of the Nipomo Mesa Region is as relevant today as when it was written in 2004. Join author, Corrine Ardoin, on her walk through the history, the love and the controversy surrounding this unique ecosystem. Including a Roadside Geology Tour with Ralph Bishop, Corrine’s book will take you back to a time when the Chumash witnessed their homeland change forever. Explorers, soldiers, surveyors, settlers, townspeople, the railroad, the ranchers, and the highways came to dominate the land. Reading this book may help you to see it as the Chumash had long ago, and even the Dunites who lived their rambling, idyllic lives in the ever-changing hills of sand, The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes.
Corrine Ardoin's definitive book, A Natural History of the Nipomo Mesa Region, offers a point-by-point tour of Nipomo in addition to its lyrically detailed descriptions of the land and its history. I strongly recommend it. The roadside tour will take you to many sites of interest in the Nipomo Valley, from rock formations off Dana Foothill Road once used by the Chumash to fault lines running at the base of the Temetatte Ridge. -Earth Chord, Notes On Life and Nature
This is absolutely the best book on the subject. -Bill Denneen, Biologist
A Natural History of the Nipomo Mesa Region by Corrine Ardoin available at The Lompoc Bookstore in Lompoc, California, and at The Book Loft in Solvang, California.
Free Guide to
the Pine Valley series
At its core, A Place Called the Way is a multi-generational study and examination of humanity in all its glory and frailty, bringing to mind classics like The Joy Luck Club and One Hundred Years of Solitude. With the stroke of a pen, the author exposes the murkiness behind the façade we present to the world and the struggles underneath the surface that threatens to pull us under. Riveting, with a raw quality that is deeply affecting, it will surely have readers rapidly turning pages to find out what happens next. -Book Review Directory
“This is a beautiful story that truly
cares about small communities...”
Independent Book Review
“...a highly recommended literary inspection of small town life...”
Midwest Book Review
“A richly detailed story about generations of people reclaiming their home and heritage after a terrible tragedy. A wealth of characters draws you into the story and keeps you reading until the last page.” -Sheila Myers, professor and author of The Truth of Who You Are.
Excerpt from This Sacred Earth:
“Today, humanity is being held in the hands of the collective will that has chosen to go forth into the direction of change that benefits all life. It is toward a hopeful future where all are united in a common purpose of caring for one another, the Earth, and all its inhabitants. It is governed by a spiritual truth, gathered in the sight of limitless possibilities. A message to all humanity is being heard and people all around the globe are putting it into action. That message says to revere and respect the Earth, just as it is, to love one another, just as we are, and that there is a spiritual purpose to our being, for which we must now take responsibility.”
8 1/2 x 11, spiral-bound, 136 pages.
Available only from the Author.
Excerpt from The Land Has A Voice:
"I lived in Del Norte, Humboldt, and Siskiyou Counties in California between the years 1976 and 1982. It was only a few, short years in time, but has held me enthralled and in love with that north country ever since. I was young then and had the eyes of the beginner, everything new and grand. In my memories of that time, I most love the innocence of it all and strive to regain those beginner's eyes once more."
8 1/2 x 11, spiral-bound, 37 pages
Available only from the Author.
De Una Mata
De Una Mata - Book 2
A free, downloadable booklet covering the Frias Family History in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Excerpt from Chapter Eleven:
“...he touched upon that sense of awe
he had felt earlier while talking to
Katie. It was an expansive feeling, his
awareness drawn up into the air by a
force. Gazing upon Orion, the Big
Dipper, the North Star, Cassiopeia,
and the moon, left him in awe. Why
Earth? He questioned. Why this
planet? The reason for it was larger
than him, greater. It was an
unceasingly amazing mystery.”
Pine Valley Series: Book Four
Excerpt from Chapter Nineteen:
“Death was near, he knew, inevitable and close. Pondering that place once called The Way, however, he knew he was not alone. Sensing someone standing beside him, perhaps a spirit, calmed him, allowing him to see what he needed to do. He saddled one of the horses and rode a trail no one else used, so he could think, and plan, without distraction.”
Pine Valley Series: Book Three
Excerpt from Epilogue:
“The dusk came upon a sighing breath of wind, blowing through the tall grasses, softly rustling their dried stems. The crickets began singing all at once and the lights from each house began to shine. The bark of a dog, a door banging shut, and a woman's voice, yelling to her children, were but dissonant sounds somewhere else, somewhere so far away they could not reach her.”
Pine Valley Series: Book Two
Excerpt from Chapter One:
“Tucker no longer derived amusement from Sylvia's behavior. Only pure, overwhelming concern motivated him to act. Without hesitation, without questioning his own behavior, he followed the same path to the other side of the trees. From there, he entered an open field, spying a distant house with one lantern lit in a back room.”
Pine Valley Series: Book One