Green As We've Ever Seen After Recent Rainstorms in the Conejo Valley

The hills are alive with green throughout the Conejo Valley after all of the recent rainstorms. The photos below are just one small glimpse at one can be seen out there. For a compilation of local area trails, visit THIS LINK.

Mountclef Ridge at Wildwood Park

Rancho Potrero overlooking the old Olympia Farms property in Newbury Park

Trail off of Lindero Road in Westlake Village

Cheeseboro Canyon in Agoura Hills

Rancho Sierra Vista / Satwiwa in Newbury Park

Hillcrest Open Space in Thousand Oaks

Views of Newbury Park from Angel Vista Peak

Los Robles Trail East in Thousand Oaks

Deer enjoying the green in Hidden Valley

The Smallest Post Office in the United States Used to Be in Wheeler Springs, Near Ojai

We were in Ojai for some activities and decided to drive up Maricopa Highway to check out the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center for the first time. It is a cute little building that provides information about the Los Padres National Forest staffed with volunteers who sell maps, trail guides, Adventure Passes and other items. Located at 17017 Maricopa Highway, about eight miles from the "Y" intersection where if you continue right you are headed into Ojai. The Wheeler Gorge Campground is nearby.

More on local campgrounds in and around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

About a mile and a half before reaching the Visitor Center, at 16850 Maricopa Highway, we stopped at a small structure, shown above, that says "U.S.A.'s Smallest Post Office - Wheeler Springs, California."

There's quite a bit of history behind that structure and others in the area. According to OjaiHistory.com, the Wheeler Springs Post Office was installed by Webb Wilcox next to his Webb Wilcox Cafe in the mid-1930s after the Maricopa Highway was built, connecting Ojai to Kern County. The "glorified shack" was was designated by Ripley's Believe it or Not as the smallest Post Office in the U.S.A. until Wilcox died in 1962 and Wheeler Springs lost its status as a U.S. Post Office.

Webb Wilcox was the son-in-law of Wheeler Blumberg, who founded Wheeler's Hot Springs in 1891. Wheeler's Hot Spring Springs for awhile was a successful resort, with 14 guest cabins, swimming pool, fishing, camping, hot springs-fed swimming pool and more.

Blumberg went a bit crazy in May 1907, locking himself in a room and shooting holes through the walls. A posse was able to capture Blumberg, sedate him and place him in a straitjacket in a padded cell in Ventura. He continued screaming and straining until he died "from utter exhaustion" the next day at age 43. Wilcox, who previously married Blumberg's daughter, Etta, took control over the resort and renamed it Wheeler Hot Springs.

Wheeler Hot Springs went through a number of ownership changes over the years, including radio/TV personality Art Linkletter at one point, who opened a "Kiddie Land" attraction, who did not do well financially there. Over the decades, the resort survived and was rebuilt after multiple fires, and the "great flood of '69" but finally was completely closed down in 1999.

Visit THIS LINK on the OjaiHistory.com website for a much more detailed, fascinating account of Wheeler Hot Springs' ownership challenges over the years..

The Wheeler Hot Springs property is located at 16825 Maricopa Highway and according to Zillow.com was most recently sold in October 2016. It is privately owned and not open to the public but you will get a small glimpse of it as you drive by. According to the Zillow listing, Wheeler Hot Springs is 84.5 acres and has five known natural hot and cold mineral springs and a year-round creek. There is a large farmhouse occupying the center of the property.

Water Flows at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park After 6-8 Inches of Rain

The river is back again near the Wendy and Potrero trailhead to the Wendy Trail in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. It was here a month ago, dried up quickly, and of course now is back. This and other water flows near the Satwiwa Center, "Lake Satwiwa" near the parking lot and more captured here. Best to stay off the trails until they dry up a bit though I did tiptoe down the side of the Wendy Trail to capture the water flow. 

More on local hikes and trails around Ventura County at THIS LINK.

Seasonal pond next to main parking lot at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa. I like to call this "Lake Satwiwa" though there is no official name for it to my knowledge.

The Murals of Santa Paula Provide a Pictorial History of the City

The City of Santa Paula is the geographical center of Ventura County, located in the rich agricultural Santa Clara River Valley. The city is surrounded by rolling hills and rugged mountain peaks in addition to orange, lemon and avocado groves. Santa Paula is often referred to as the "Citrus Capital of the World."

Santa Paula covers an area of 4.7 square miles and at the date of the 2010 U.S. census had a population of 29,321. It is the 7th largest (and inversely 4th smallest) city in Ventura County in terms of population. The city was incorporated on April 22, 1902.

Something unique to see while in Santa Paula is a series of nine murals that depict various historical aspects of the city, including its first inhabitants, the Chumash, the discovery of oil, its Latino culture, founding of the Santa Paula Airport, local farming and more. Learn more at this link and by visiting www.santapaulamurals.org.

Click this link for other things to do in Santa Paula!

Pacific Coast Highway Was Originally Called the Roosevelt Highway

The 1400 mile stretch of road called the Roosevelt Highway (U.S. 101) in the 1920s was re-named Pacific Coast Highway in 1941.

This postcard, from back in the days when it cost only a penny to mail a postcard (the 1930s) indicates "the varying scenery, such as oil being drilled out of the ocean, makes motoring an interesting pastime in California." It shows an image of the Roosevelt Highway between Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Bob then indicates to his dear friend Jane, "Just dropping a line to say all is well in Calif. There's lots of strange things to see in this state. You should be taking your Sunday rides out here."

Now what does Bob mean by that? Well, never mind. Speaking of Ventura and Santa Barbara beaches, visit THIS LINK for public beaches spanning from the Ventura Harbor through Carpinteria and THIS LINK for Santa Barbara area beaches.

The Pond is Back Near the Rancho Sierra Vista - Satwiwa Parking Area in Newbury Park

After weeks off and on rains in the area, the pond is back next to the main parking area at Rancho Sierra Vista - Satwiwa in Newbury Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Having lived in the Conejo Valley for over 20 years, I remember years ago when the pond seemed to fill up most every year and gradually dry up by early summertime. But this hasn't been the case over the last five or six years.

Based on how it looked today, and with another big storm on the way on Sunday, this pond is looking good to go for awhile.

And this means other ponds in the area are filling up, like Twin Ponds in Dos Vientos, as well as the waterfall in the Boney Mountain Wilderness.

The Waterfall in the Boney Mountain Wilderness earlier this week (Photo Credit Vanessa C.)

Rare Images of Ventura County History on Display at CSUCI Beginning January 26th

Ladies in feathered hats boarding the first train from Oxnard to Hueneme; a Model T Ford clattering through a beet field and the opening ceremony for the Conejo Grade are some of the images available in a newly-digitized collection at CSU Channel Islands’ John Spoor Broome Library.

About 40 historic photos of Ventura County from the collection will be on display in the John Spoor Broome Library art gallery beginning Jan. 26 in “Ventura County: Places, Voices and Histories,” a series of photographs, penny post cards, and posters that show Ventura County over the last 100 or so years.

The opening for the exhibit will be Thursday Jan. 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the gallery at One University Drive in Camarillo.

Professor of Art and Broome Gallery coordinator Irina D. Costache, Ph.D., curated the show, which is organized in collaboration with CSUCI’s Head of Unique Collections Matt Cook and Professor of Chicana/o Studies Jose Alamillo, Ph.D.

The show will be organized into sections that highlight different aspects of Ventura County’s history such as cars and roads, people, places, fields and farms.

Historic “voices” in the show will be in the form of a video of Ventura County’s “braceros,” a term to describe Mexican laborers who worked in the fields on a seasonal basis. 

Cook said it took staff and student volunteers several years to digitize all 1500 images in the collection, much of which was housed at the E.P. Foster Library in Ventura.

Limited parking is available on campus with the purchase of a $6 daily permit; follow signs to the parking permit dispensers. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road with bus service to and from the campus. Riders should board the CSUCI Vista Bus to the campus; the cash-only fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at www.goventura.org.

About California State University Channel Islands
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.