Building Pacific Coast Highway Around Point Mugu in 1923-1924

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Point Mugu before and after creation of a narrow road around it in 1924.

Point Mugu before and after creation of a narrow road around it in 1924.

According to the California Highway Commission in the October 1924 issue of “California Highways,” perhaps the most dangerous and difficult piece of construction work on the California state highway system at that time was the 3800 feet of grading AROUND Point Mugu.

For those driving Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County past Mugu Rock, there are clear signs of this old route that took automobiles on a precarious route around Point Mugu.

Peaking through the fence towards the old road around Mugu Rock.

Peaking through the fence towards the old road around Mugu Rock.

The new and still existing route was created by blasting a massive hole through Point Mugu to create Mugu Rock in 1937 to 1940.

The work to complete this section of the Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano PCH route was authorized by a bond issue in 1919.

The project averaged 60 workers who moved 108,000 cubic yards or rock at a total cost of $108,500 (heck, that would be the cost of a pool addition and new kitchen remodel today). The cut around Point Mugu ranged from 40 feet on the ocean side to 115 feet on the high side in creating the narrow, short-lived roadway.

The California Highway Commission ended its article by stating “…along this piece of rugged coast line the Old Pacific is recognized as an arch enemy to whom we must trust as little as possible of our costly highway.”

Boy Scouts of America to Rebrand as Scouting America

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The Boy Scouts of America today announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America, reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. The change will go into effect on February 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary.

This announcement also comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs. Scouting America currently serves more than 176,000 girls and young women across all programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

Scouting America’s ongoing goal is to provide young people with a safe environment where they can learn meaningful life skills and have fun, educational experiences, fostering their growth and future outcomes as leaders, and be prepared for life. At the same time, values instilled by the Scout Oath and Law help prepare young people for lives of purpose and impact.

More than 130 million Americans have been through Scouting programs since its founding in 1910, and currently, more than 1 million youth, including both men and women, are served by 477,000 dedicated adult volunteers in local councils throughout the country. To date, more than 2.75 million youth have earned Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle Scout.

To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, visit Scouting.org. 

Hal Watkins Scout Center and Scout Store at the C. J. Daily Ranch in Camarillo

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NOTE: On May 7, 2024, the Boy Scouts of America announced it will be rebranding as Scouting America on February 8, 2025.

The Hal Watkins Scout Center is located at the C. J. Daily Ranch, 509 East Daily Drive, Camarillo. The center is home to the Boy Scouts of America' Ventura County Council office. It also has a great Scout Store that stocks Scouting supplies and camping gear.

As of May 2023, the store is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting 6/3/2023) and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. starting 6/3/2023). Visit www.vccbsa.org/Scoutstore or call 805-482-8938 for more information.

The Ventura County Council serves more than 4,500 youth throughout the county and contributes thousands of service hours annually in community service through the annual Scouting For Food drive, Eagle Service Projects, and other unit, District, Council, and Order of the Arrow service projects.

Who is Hal Watkins? According to this L.A. Times article, Watkins was a longtime Ventura County resident and owner of several local car dealerships. He donated a 1906 house (see it HERE) to the Boy Scouts in 1973. He passed away in 1991 at age 66.

Scout Store is located in this building.

Scout Store is located in this building.

Bank of America "Museums on Us" Program Offers Free Admission to Over 225 Museums Nationwide

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If you are a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch customer, your bank credit or debit card and photo ID will gain you one free admission to over 225 cultural institutions across the country on the first full weekend of each month. Visit the "Museums on Us" program website at museums.bankofamerica.com for details.

And while there are no Ventura County museums on the list, there are a number of other choices within driving range:

  • Autry National Center of the American West

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art

  • Skirball Cultural Center

  • Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach (Saturdays only)

  • Discovery Science Center, DiscoveryCube Orange County (Sundays only)

  • Santa Barbara Museum of Art

  • MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in Santa Barbara

Free admission is limited to individual cardholder at participating institutions.

Digitally Preview Your Mail Each Morning with USPS Informed Delivery

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Informed Delivery by USPS allows you to preview your mail each morning with a digital copy of each letter-sized item to be delivered to you via email. You can also log in anytime and see images of previous week’s mail. Additionally, you can see the delivery status of any packages coming your way.

If you’ve ever had your mail stolen, this gives you the ability to at least see what mail was stolen from you. Or you can see first thing in the morning what mail is being delivered, alerting you to anything of particular importance.

You will see the address side of mail delivered. You of course will not be seeing contents of that mail.

Learn more and sign up at informeddelivery.usps.com.

Places to Go Fishing in Ventura County

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Many times we’re asked if there’s somewhere to go fishing in the Thousand Oaks area. There really isn’t a place in the Conejo Valley for the general public to go fishing. Troutdale in Agoura was a fun nearby place to take the kids but it closed a number of years ago. So here’s a list of places to go fishing in and around Ventura County and nearby areas for those wish to fish.

Keep in mind that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requires a sport fishing license for people ages 16 or older. As of July 2023, an annual resident sport fishing license is $58.58. A one-day license is $19.18. More information at wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing.

Fishing Places Open to the General Public

Lake Casitas Recreation Area is open daily from 6:30 am to 7 pm for boating and fishing. Lake Casitas is filled with largemouth bass, rainbow trout, crappie, red-ear sunfish, bluegill and channel catfish. Boats must be a minimum of 11’ and maximum of 26’ in length and 4’ wide. Canoes, kayaks and some inflatables are allowed. Swimming, wading or body contact in the lake is not allowed, however, as it is a drinking water supply. Fishing licenses sold at the Marina Bait and Tackle Shop. Night fishing available various weekends until 11 pm. Learn more at www.casitaswater.org/boating-fishing. Located at 11311 Santa Ana Road, Ventura. Day use parking at Lake Casitas as of April 2025 is $10 on weekdays and $20 on weekends and holidays. Casitas Boat Rentals & Marina Cafe offers rentals of kayaks, pontoons, paddle boats and motorized boats. casitasboatrentals.com.

Lake Piru Recreation Area is open daily, offering camping, boating, fishing, water sports and other on-shore activities. Visitors can fish from shore, boats, kayaks and float tubes. Fish species at Lake Piru include rainbow trout, bass, crappie, catfish and blue gill. Vehicle day pass admission is $14 during peak season (as of April 2025). explorelakepiru.com

Channel Islands National Park is accessible by booking a trip with Island Packers, the official boat concessionaire for the Park, out of Ventura Harbor and Channel Islands Harbor or by private boat. Fishing is allowed, with the exception at certain protected areas. More info at www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/fishing.htm.

Beach areas where you can fish include Emma Wood State Beach, Port Hueneme Beach, San Buenaventura State Beach, near the Ventura Harbor, Point Mugu State Park and others.

Fishing piers in the local area include:

  • Port Hueneme Pier (open daily from 6am to 10pm)

  • Malibu Pier - Great place for folks to go who don’t usually fish as you can rent rods and purchase bait and tackle on the pier. And no permits are required to fish on the pier.

  • Ventura Pier - open until 10pm.

Ventura Pier

There is a two and a half acre pond/lagoon at Rancho Simi Community Park at 1765 Royal Avenue, Simi Valley. that I have not personally explored but is another possible local fishing option.

River and stream fishing in Ventura County includes Matilija Creek (Upper North Fork), North Fork Matilija in Ojai, the Sespe Wilderness in Ojai and in the outer bounds of Ventura County in the Mt. Pinos Ranger District.

Enjoy a day (or half day) of sportfishing with these local options:

A Little Farther

Cachuma Lake is located at 1 Lakeview Drive in Santa Barbara off of Highway 154 in Santa Ynez Valley, about 75 miles from the Conejo Valley. Halfway between Santa Barbara and Solvang. Cachuma is a reservoir filled with large mouth bass, rainbow trout, crappie and catfish. A bait/tackle shop is available for one-day fishing licenses. Boats, kayaks and canoes can be rented there too. More info at www.countyofsb.org/637/Cachuma-Lake. Bait/tackle shop info at rockymountainrec.com/lake-facilities/listing/cachuma-lake.

Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, which is open from 7am to 10pm. Stearns Wharf Bait & Tackle on the wharf sells what you need to fish there.

Ocean fishing at Carpinteria State Beach, El Capitan State Beach, Refugio State Beach and other spots.

Places Not Open to the General Public

Lake Bard, located at the intersection of Olsen Road and State Route 23 at the border of Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley is a 10,000 acre-foot surface water reservoir built by the Calleguas Municipal Water District in 1965 to store water to meet peak summer and emergency demands. www.calleguas.com

Westlake Lake is a man-made 125 acre lake with eight miles of shoreline in Westlake Village, This is a private lake paid and maintained for by residents who live in the Westlake Recreation Area. The waters include largemouth bass, channel catfish, bluegill sunfish and silverside. westlake-lake.com

Lake Sherwood is a 165 acre lake created by the Sherwood Dam that is privately owned and not open to the general public.

The Las Virgenes Reservoir is a 9,800 acre foot reservoir build between 1970 an 1972and is maintained by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. It is a reserve supply of water that could provide about six months of emergency water supply, if needed. It is off limits to public use. www.lvmwd.com

Malibou Lake is a privately-owned 350 acre surface area lake in the Santa Monica Mountains near Agoura Hills. The lake was created in 1922 after the Malibu Lake Club Dam was built at the confluence of Triunfo Creek and Medea Creek. www.maliboulake.com

Lake Eleanor is an eight acre lake located within the 513 acre Lake Eleanor Open Space off of Westlake Blvd (SR 23) south of Potrero Road near Westlake Village. It is fenced off from the public in order to create habitat for wildlife. You can see it as you drive south.

Sinaloa Lake in Simi Valley is a private 12 acre lake managed by the Sinaloa Lake Owners Association. There is big mouth bass and other fish in there, but the lake is not available to the general public. sinaloalake.org

Las Virgenes Reservoir seen from the Westlake Vista Trail.

Mugu Rock Then and Now

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Mugu Rock is a large rock formation formed when a 200 foot deep cut was made into the rocky ridge from October 1937 to February 1940. Prior to the modern day PCH at Mugu Rock (at the time called U.S. 101 Alternate (State Route 60), drivers went around a 275 foot radius curve that is now fenced off.

The photos in the video above from the October 1940 edition of California Highways and Public Works show what it looked like before, during and after the cut was made, compared to what it looks like today.