The Conejo Valley Guide "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, highlights of local things to do, compilations and other items. Focus is on information relevant to Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Barbara and Moorpark.
The Conejo Valley Guide® "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, local things to do, holiday event compilations, announcements and more.
Dedicated to the residents of the Conejo Valley in December 2001, the Gardens of the World is a beautiful tribute to various cultures of the world. The 4.5 acre site is located in the heart of Thousand Oaks at 2001 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, literally across the street from the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and sandwiched between a strip mall on one side and Mastro's Steakhouse on the ot
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Muvico Theater at The Oaks Shopping Mall in Thousand Oaks opened its doors on February 27, 2009.
Four and a half years later, Carmike Cinemas purchased nine Muvico theaters in Florida, Illinois and California, including the Thousand Oaks Muvico. However, Carmike did not re-brand the Conejo Valley based Muvico as it continued to operate as Muvico.
On November 15, 2016, Carmike announced it was purchased by AMC Theatres. The merger was completed on December 20, 2016.
While the theatre promptly changed its online branding to AMC Dine-In Thousand Oaks 14, the iconic Muvico sign continued to be prominently displayed. Until now.
The Muvico signs are finally gone.
If you're ever driving California State Route 14 (Antelope Valley Freeway) on your way to the high desert, you'll probably notice amazing rock foundations north of the freeway in Agua Dulce and freeway signs that indicate Vasquez Rocks.
The 932 acre Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park, owned and managed by the County of Los Angeles, contains ancient rock sculptures created by 20 to 25 million years of earthquake movement along the Elkhorn Fault, an offshoot of the San Andreas Fault.
The ancient rock layers have slowly been compressed, folded and tilted while erosion has gradually stripped away the soil around the rocks, leaving spectacular jetting slabs. The large rock outcroppings are sandstone beds with areas of shale, basalt and reddish brown layering, sitting at angles of as much as 50 degrees, sweeping up to a peak of nearly 150 feet high.
Although habitation of the area goes back to the Tataviam Indians from 2000 B.C. to the late 1700s, the land has been named after a bandit named Tiburcio Vasquez, who used the rocks to escape from sheriff's posses. Vasquez Rocks may well be the only park in the world named after a notorious bandit who was ultimately caught and hanged.
The park is a popular hiking, picnicking and equestrian area and has been used in many hit movies, television shows and commercials. A sampling of productions filmed at Vasquez Rocks include The Flintsones (movie), Planet of the Apes, Dracula (1931), Blazing Saddles, Austin Powers, Little Miss Sunshine, Power Rangers, Star Trek and many more.
Located at 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Road in Agua Dulce. Take the Agua Dulce Canyon Road exit from the 14 and follow the signs. When you pull into the park, there will be an Interpretative Center with educational displays and a small gift shop on the right. Turn left on the dirt road to get to parking near the rock formations. The Interpretive Center is open Tuesday – Sunday 8:00am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays, except holidays.
Visit parks.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/dpr/Parks/Vasquez_Rocks_Natural_Area or call 661.268.0840 for more information. Vasquez Rocks is about an hour drive from Thousand Oaks and 35 to 40 minute drive from the eastern end of Simi Valley.
I’ve been with this man for over a year... everyday he inspires me to be a better person and that makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!! 🌈🌸❤️ pic.twitter.com/LRpaF2LFyI
— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) February 5, 2018
Yesterday around 1:30pm, Britney Spears Tweeted a photo of herself and boyfriend Sam Asghari on a popular local trail destination in the Conejo Valley. This particular location tends to get overwhelmed with traffic, which causes problems for local residents. But there are dozens and dozens of outstanding trails in the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas compiled on THIS PAGE. Britney, if you are following this site, I challenge you to post a photo of yourself on five other Conejo Valley trails, perhaps including Angel Vista Peak, Space Mountain on the Los Robles Trail, the Lang Ranch/Woodridge Open Space, Sunset Hills Trail and the Hillcrest Open Space.
Britney mentioned in her Tweet that she has been with fitness model and aspiring actor Asghari for over a year. We can almost confirm that based on her Tweet 11 months ago showing the two of them in that same overly popular local hiking area.
My baby's birthday 💜 @SamAsghari0 pic.twitter.com/vzz5MZxhC3
— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) March 4, 2017
And Asghari posted the same photo on his Instagram page, where he currently has 519K followers.
Thousand Oaks Community Park, located at 2525 N. Moorpark Road, just north of Thousand Oaks High School, has something for everyone. This large, park is home to the Thousand Oaks Community Center, a hub for year-round events and activities for all ages. The center has a full-size gym, several fully-enclosed racquetball courts and other great features. More info at www.crpd.org/parkfac/1koaks.
If you have young kids, probably the most popular feature of this park is the playground and adjoining "Ant Hill." The Ant Hill is a unique, small man-made hill covered with artificial grass that is a fun play slide area for the kids. Bring a piece of cardboard and enjoy the ride.
This nearly 36 acre park also has soccer and softball fields, four tennis courts, one sand volleyball court and plenty of picnic area. Both the park and the community center are popular for birthday parties. On the east side of the park is another unique feature you won't find in other parks, the Rabbit Flats Disc Golf Course. I connected with a group enjoying a Saturday round on this nine acre course and learned that there are specialized discs for disc golf.
The course is free to the public. I'd recommend a walk-through first to explore. Just be mindful of flying discs!
Panoramic view from Grant Park in Ventura in three photos taken in January 1956.
Here's a panoramic view from Grant Park in Ventura taken in January 1956. Shortly after Father Junipero Serra founded Mission San Buenaventura, a large wooden cross was placed on top of the hill overlooking the Mission church.
The original cross, damaged over time by the elements, was replaced in the 1860s. That cross blew down in a storm on November 5, 1875 and was not replaced for 40 years.
The cross at Grant Park / Serra Cross Park in 2015.
A new wooden cross was placed by a local women's service club on September 9, 1912. In 1918, Kenneth and Tonie Grant donated the surrounding hillside to the City of San Buenaventura. Roads to the cross were built around 1920. The circular stone pedestal and concrete pathway the cross now sits atop was built in March 1932. The cross that sits there today, a bit charred from the Thomas Fire, was replaced by the city in 1941.
The Serra Cross Conservancy is seeking donations at www.gofundme.com/serracrosshelp to help restore the cross and surrounding property.
Serra Cross in January 1956, from a private collection.
In November 2016, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy announced it was purchasing the 71 acre Chesebro Meadow property in the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor in Agoura Hills.
It was named the Fran Pavley Meadow, after the State Senator and former City Councilmember and Mayor of Agoura Hills.
This property will provide key connectivity to a proposed wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills.
The 71 acres supports a mix of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, grassland and oak woodland-savannah vegetation. It connects to the Cheeseboro Canyon open space managed by the National Park Service (and yes, we have Chesebro and we have Cheeseboro, a spelling mystery that I've never received a clear answer on!).
To get there, take Chesebro Road towards Cheeseboro Canyon and you'll see the sign on the right. Park off street or at the nearby Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead parking lot, which has plenty of spots and is adjacent to the meadow. You can also hike into Cheeseboro Canyon but take the path south (right) at the first fork in the trail.
You can park here at the Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead parking lot and either take this path into the canyon, to the fork, the veer right towards the meadow area, or you can walk down Chesebro Road to the Fran Pavley Meadow sign, then take the trail back for a couple mile loop.
You say Chesebro, I say Cheeseboro. It's all good!
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
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