Spring Break in Central California Day 1 - 4/6/2014

Welcome to Spring Break, Libi's California Adventure style!  We decided to use part of our week off to enjoy some of the CHLs in Central California as well as visit some spots from Heather's childhood.

As we drove north along the 101/1 we came to our first site, Gaviota Pass (CHL 248).  

On Christmas Day 1846 residents and soldiers from Santa Barbara laid here in wait for Lt. Col. John C. Fremont.  Fremont and his battalion got wind of the plot and with the help of Benjamin Foxen and his son William they entered the area from the San Marcos Pass and captured Santa Barbara without bloodshed.  Three weeks after this event, California was ceded to the United States.

Benjamin Foxen was from England, became a naval officer, and then worked in the tallow and hide trade industry.  Eventually he started his own business and sailed his ship, Goleta, up and down the California coast.  You may recognize the name Goleta—it is now the town where UCSB is located, named after his ship.  He was married to Elmaria Osuna at the Santa Barbara Mission.  Remember the name Foxen-- it will come up again soon!

Our second site was one of the coolest on the entire trip-- the ruins for the original Mission De La Purisima (CHL 928).

This is where the 11^th mission was established by Padre Fermin de Lasuen on December 8, 1787.  

The mission was said to have over 100 adobe buildings, an aqueduct and water system, and a large area for crops and livestock. 

They converted several thousand of the local Chumash Indians to Catholicism as well.  

The site moved to its present location after an earthquake destroyed the site on December 12, 1812.

Now you can walk through the ruins which are nestled between homes in a quiet part of Lompoc.

 

I've been to La Purisima several times and never seen this-- it is absolutely worth the short drive to see!  Libi was also thrilled to find poppies scattered among the buildings.

The next logical stop was to the current site of Mission La Purisima (CHL 340).  We found this plaque before the footbridge that leads you to the mission grounds, but we didn't see a state plaque.

This mission has always been one of my favorites, so it was fun to share it with Libi!

After the original mission was destroyed, Father Mariano Paevras requested that he be given land four miles northwest to re-build.  This location was better in that is was a milder climate, closer to the El Camino Real, and there was a better water supply.  The rebuilt mission became a home to about 1000 Chumash converts, a school, training center, and a ranching enterprise (at one point they had over 20,000 head of cattle!)

In 1834 the secularization of the missions led to the dismantling of La Purisima.  The mission buildings were sold to private citizens and used for various businesses.  The buildings fell into disrepair and in 1933 the mission land and buildings were given by the Union Oil Company to the state.  In 1934 preservation began and now La Purisima is the only example of a complete mission in California.

Libi led us through the grounds using the map.  We got to see the tallow vats (our second vats on the adventure-- you might recall the others from Riverside.)

The above is a photo of the original vats and below are the reproductions...

Here Ron is showing how deep the vats are (he tried to get Libi to join him in the vat, but was unsuccessful!)

 

Inside the missions it is always so dark, but my amazing camera does a pretty good job using the ambient light to take our photos.

I'm always drawn to the ceilings of the missions-- there is always something interesting to see.

 As I said previously, this is my favorite mission-- so enjoy a photo of me and Libi in the same spot separated by about 28 years.

This is still such a beautiful space and we know we will be back here again!

Libi is a fan of any place with lots of animals-- especially friendly horses!

As we were walking the trail we came upon a large black beetle.  Libi was freaked out by it and insisted that we step on it.  Ron and I explained that it has every right to be here and we let him continue on his journey.   A few step further we saw another black beetle that had been stepped on.  Very quickly my two hams had a whole scenario for the first bettle looking for his friend, Steve:
Beetle:  "Steve, Steve!  Where are you, Steve."
Upon seeing the lifeless body of his friend:  "Steeeeeveeeee!!!!!!"
They even reenacted the sad event, as you can see below!  I love my thespians!

This next site was one of the more challenging to find-- if you are trying to follow in our footsteps, you should consult the GPS coordinates that Ron posted on our list (Ron's note: we were only able to access this site because of the kind permission and the directions of the Freeport-McMoRan oil workers in the office there; if you guys are reading--thank you!!).  Up winding roads in the heart of a still-active oil field is Well, Hill 4 (CHL 582).

This well is significant for the method in which it was drilled.  The Union Oil Company began drilling here on September 26, 1905 and completed the well on April 30, 1906.  I’m not an engineer so I will just quote the state here:  “this is the first oil well in which a water shutoff was attained by pumping cement through the tubing and back of the casing.”  The well was 2,507 feel deep and produced oil for over 45 years!

It took us four attempts down dirt roads to find it-- many thanks to the men from the office who gave us directions or else we never would have located it!

A short drive later we were in Solvang.  After a brief lunch stop at Andersen's Pea Soup (aka "Pea Andersen's" according to Libi) we were at our second mission for the day, Mission Santa Ines (CHL 305).

This was the 19^th of the 21 missions established in California.  Founded in 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, construction was finally completed in 1817, due to the earthquake badly damaging the buildings in 1812.  

This mission filled the need for an inland mission between Santa Barbara and La Purisima.  

 As is the case with most of the missions, during the secularization the buildings fell into disrepair until a priest named Father Buckler arrived.  

He and his niece, Mamie Goulet, helped restore the buildings, art pieces, and vestments to their previous glory.  

Fr. Buckler realized that the labor would be expensive so he opened the “Hobo Hotel," using the labor force of men who had come to California to seek their fortune and failed. 

  These transient men traveled along the railroads and unpaved roads trying to survive.  Fr. Buckler restored the seminary building to give them shelter, food, and a blanket in exchange for their labor.

We have visited this mission before with the Hurtado family, so we didn't spend a ton of time here.  We also weren't able to get into the church due to a concert, but we know we will come back here at a later time.

The Chapel of San Ramon (CHL 877) completed our Santa Barbara County sites for the day.

This was another tough one to find-- the state sent us to the wrong intersection and we didn't have any connectivity on our phones, so we had to trust our instinct to find this one.  We knew it had to be close to the location the state sent us to, so we kept driving down the road and found it a half a mile away!

Built by Frederick and Romona Foxen Wickenden in 1875, this structure shows the transition between mission style architecture and the frame churches of the more modern era.  

The redwood boards used to construct the church were purchased with the money Frederick made after he sold 5,000 sheep.  

Remember Benjamin Foxen?  I told you he was going to come up again.  The man who guided Fremont away from Gaviota Pass is buried here in the grave below.

I was excited that he had an appropriately grand grave-- so many of these important figures are in humble or unmarked graves that have been destroyed over time. 

  His seemed to be befitting of a man who helped save lives during the transfer of power from Mexico to the United States.

We now began our foray into the San Luis Obispo County sites with the Dana Adobe, aka Rancho Nipomo (CHL 1033).

This was closed for the day, so we weren't able to get inside, but here is what we know: 

Nipomo is a Chumash word meaning “at the foot of the hills”—and Rancho Nipomo was just that, a huge area from the current town of Arroyo Grande to the Santa Maria River.  The Chumash people were also recruited to help the Dana family, who were given the lands by Mexico in 1837.  They cleared the land for farming and helped build an adobe for the family.  The Dana family were traders, and pretty successful ones at that!  

The Rancho was the first stopping point on the El Camino Real after San Luis Obispo and it was famous for its hospitality.  Many famous names in California history stayed here:  Captain John C. Frémont, Edwin Bryant, and General Henry W. Halleck.  Later it became one of four exchange points on California’s first US mail route.

Another interesting fact about Nipomo is that it was here that Dorothea Lange captured one of the most famous images in all of United States History, Migrant Mother.  In February 1936 Lange drove into a pea picker’s camp here while she was working as a photographer for the Resettlement Administration (which later became the Farm Security Association).  She actually drove past the camp, but after twenty miles she returned and entered the camp.  Once inside she took 6 photos of the woman and her family.  We know very little about the mother, but this image is one that most folks have seen in a textbook at one point in their school career.

As the sun was setting, we had two more sites in San Luis Obispo to see before dinner with friends--and we were determined to hit all 9 sites we had scheduled for today!

The Dallidet Adobe (CHL 720) is one we will have to come back for.  It was currently closed for some remodeling, but we got a bunch of photos from outside the gate.

Pierre Hyppolite Dallidet was a Frenchman who settled in San Luis Obispo in 1853.  He built the adobe in 1856—which has only had two owners, Pierre and his son Paul Dallidet.  They gave it to San Luis Obispo County in 1953 and it remains today an example of early life, with many of the family’s belongings on display.

 

Pierre was a vintner and when he built the adobe, he built it half a floor up to accommodate his wine cellar.  It is worth noting that he began the first commercial winery on the Central Coast.  Pierre and his wife Asension had nine children together—and each of them has a fascinating story.  You can read up on the whole family here. 

As we took our photos, I guess we were a bit loud...

because the guard dog came up to bark at us.  We will try to be quieter next time pup-- sorry!

Our final historic stop for the day was the Ah Louis Store (CHL 802).

Ah Louis, also known as On Wong, was a Chinese immigrant who established the first Chinese store in the county of San Luis Obispo.  

The store sold merchandise, acted as a bank, counting house and post office for the Chinese “coolies” who worked for the railroad.  

Ah organized the workers necessary for many large-scale building projects in the county including the tunnels though the mountains of Cuesta, a road from Paso Robles to Cambria, and another road from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles.  

The store is still in operation today and is owned by Ah’s great-grandson.

We wrapped up an amazing first day with a lovely dinner with friends.  Thank you to the Hurtado family for meeting us on short notice for dinner.  (Shannon we missed you-- feel better and we will see you next time!)