Feathered Canyons

Jeannette Hanby has taken on jobs ranging from working with abused and abandoned children in Los Angeles County to placer gold mining in the Sierra Nevada mountains. After completing her Ph.D. dissertation in Oregon on monkeys, she went to Cambridge in England for further study of primates, one of whom, David Bygott, became her husband in 1973.Together, they studied lion biology in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and have since worked as conservation educators, university lecturers, safari guides, writers, and artists. Together, Jeannette and David have produced numerous guidebooks, educational booklets, activity books, and museum displays in both English and Swahili.They live in an intentional community in Tucson, Arizona, still learning about primate behavior, as well as continuing to travel and explore the world.

It is the 1960s in California. World events, the loss of a job, and the near death of a traveling companion propel Jeannette Hanby into an unknown future. Her personal odyssey leads her to the Big Sur Coast, where she finds jobs, celebrities, companions, friendship, and romance. One remarkable man tempts her into the wild canyons of the Sierra Nevada and recruits her into a gold mining venture on the Feather River. While coping with camp life and the relationships within a small group in a remote wilderness, she learns to appreciate natural history, which changes the course of her life journeyTravel back to a simpler time. Explore wild places. Meet unusual characters and discover unexpected treasures. Follow this adventurous young woman as she learns life's lessons while seeking a path to happiness. This memoir is illustrated with photos by the author and line drawings by David Bygott.