Pacheco Pass

June 16,1993
Merced County CA
The Los Banos campground was often an overnight stop on the road to and from gigs in the northwest, and thus the nearby Pacheco Pass landmark at the San Luis reservoir was short list fodder to a beginning landmark hunter Southbound from Oregon. Martin, the Brittany spaniel was at full tilt back then running through the open dry grass till his tank went empty. Martin is the little spec to the left of the tree. A great place to cool your heels just off the I-5 corridor. Most of the time, several to a dozen or more landmarks are covered in a day, testing the will and wit of those who ride, but like it was for Gabriel Moraga 188 years prior, this discovery gets the date to itself.  

NO. 829 PACHECO PASS
Plaque inscription: On June 21, 1805, on his first exploratory journey into the San Joaquin Valley, Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga traversed and recorded this pass. Since then it has been trail, toll road, stagecoach road, and freeway-the principal route between the coastal areas to the west and the great valley and mountains to the east.
Location: Romero Overlook, San Luis Reservoir, 31770 W Hwy 152 (P.M. 8.0), 15 mi W of Los Banos 
N 37° 04.820 W 121° 05.881