Landmarks of Imperial County

Seeing the 15 state landmarks that lay in Imperial County in a full day is not a difficult task, though it took me three trips and over 10 years to accomplish the same journey. Why? Well, not being very good at finding waypoints with area maps counts a lot, but the biggest change is that properly entered coordinates to a GPS device don’t muff things up very often and can bring you to within a meter or two of your destination…street name entries may not. So, hours lost wandering aimlessly in the desert or sloshing about in the New River are gone forever to a world of satellites and turn by turn directions. In this case the thrill is gone, and it’s a good thing.  

The ‘Landmarks of Imperial County’ album was the beginning of the concept to write and perform songs about California’s state historic landmarks, a financial path that has proven to make playing bluegrass on the accordion in a pizza parlor look lucrative, while being rewarding in other ways. The thinking was that since there had been some past success writing songs about  people, places, and events, rather that love lost and found, then selecting an area and writing a song about each landmark would make an interesting project. Research and developing the first few was a bit like making trips to the dentist, but in short order the process of bringing these stories yanked out of California history to song was something new to past personal songcraft. Using music and performing arts for history and social science…hmmm.

From the album booklet:

There are 15 California State Historic Landmarks in Imperial County; this is an imaginary eastbound tour in song, as they would appear through the valley. Though I've attempted to be historically accurate in researched detail with these songs, occasionally imagination takes over in an attempt to bring these places and events to life.

Here are the little devils; landmarks and songs:

#194 Mountain Springs Station  10-12-1997

#939 Desert Tower  10-12-1997

#1008 Yuha Well 10-4-2003 

#944 Fort Pacheco  10-12-1997

#808 Camp Salvation  7-5-1993

#1034 Tecolote Rancho  10-4-2003

#845 Old Plank Road

  7-5-1993

#985 Pilot Knob Boogie  7-1-1998

#182 Tumco Mine 7-5-1993, 10-4-2003 

#939 Driftwood Charley  10-4-2003

#193 Picacho Mine  7-1-1998

#568 Hernando de Alarcon  7-5-1993

#350 Misson Pursima Concepcion 7-5-1993

#921 Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner 7-5-1993

#806 Fort Yuma  7-5-1993 7-1 1998

The DeSoto is done, dealt to a doof in Duarte. Danka shane DeSoto. A new car has been in the works for some time and with restoration to a street driver complete; it rolls south to gather the landmarks of Imperial County with absolute authority, the pinnacle of post WWII American might.

It is the 1951 Cadillac Series 62 four door sedan. Dawn of the one piece windshield, 126 inch wheelbase fronted with Dagmar bumpers, and with something like 1000 ft.lb. of torque, it rolls past the Salton Sea. For the Korean effort, Cadillac, using these parts, and throwing on some armor and treads built the M-41Walker Bulldog light tank.

 
This car was originally black but received a new two tone paint scheme of International Harvester grey and FedEx white…..chosen for a perkier but understated look. Mmmm…she rides nice, and things like potholes  dips, and speed bumps are seen and passed over, but not heard or felt in this ‘Body by Fisher’ masterpiece.  

Let’s hop in the Caddy and get started.



The Mission Inn

Thank you, Frank Miller. For once there is the welcome shift to have a landmark that is a real destination attraction. Actual physical presence in the form of an architectural mosaic dedicated to one man’s dream of creating the ultimate Inn. If there was a four star rating system for California landmarks, the Mission Inn gets them all. Even the nooks and crannies have nooks and crannies….with tile work.     

Plaque inscription: NO. 761 MISSION INN - Frank A. Miller (1857-1935) made the adobe bricks for a small 12-room guest house that he opened in 1876. Over the years he added to the building to create this remarkable Mission Revival style building.
Location:

Mission Inn Avenue

between Main and Orange, Riverside. Google: 33.982767,-117.373198

This photo shows President Teddy Roosevelt replanting one of Eliza Tibbitts' two surviving parent orange tress at the Mission Inn. The story and song for the parent orange tree will be posted down the line.

In true Woody Guthrie fashion, the song ‘Mission Inn’ is a new lyric to a melody used before, in this case ‘Indian Wells’ and ‘Ramona’ are to the same tune. Heck, the words just fit nicely, so here’s hoping listeners don’t stray from their regional boundaries and discover this cross-pollination. The song is part of the album ‘Landmarks of the Inland Empire.’

Here’s a link to the video for ‘Mission Inn’:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AehesZ_OwqA


MISSION INN                       © Radio Flier Music

There is a magical place in Riverside
Where cares fade away and memories begin
Courtyard shadows shade the light
Come relax at the Mission Inn

From humble beginnings on this land
An early adobe for travelers grew
Now every pleasure’s at your command
See what the Mission Inn can do for you

Journey back to earlier days
When California was wild and new
A feast for the senses sure to amaze
Frank Miller’s dream is waiting for you

(Ch) Mission Inn, the gardens and fountains
Mission Inn, your home in the sun
Mission Inn, your oasis awaits you
Mission Inn, a new life begun

Where cares fade away and memories begin
Come relax at the Mission Inn

Corona Founders Monument

Tunnels under Corona, that’s an option they’re considering to relieve the congestion on the 91 freeway through this former lemon capitol of the world. Since such burrowing doesn’t address the inevitable junction with interstate 15, it would likely just provide more parking for hapless commuters. Oh well, out of sight, out of mind.

Back when the 91 was known as route 18, it was a casual highway for costal types to occasionally investigate the Inland Empire, winding through the canyon along Green River as the hills washed KRLA then KFWB from the radio. A quick strike on the Wonderbar (GM cars) brought in KFXM at 590 on the dial with the music and pulse of these curious natives. Then, crazed commercial hype of the merits of a Corona burger stand, yields a detour down

6^th street

to sample native cuisine and quite possibly the best chocolate malt in the world.

Self promotion here in the crown city goes back a long way to the great circle auto races held on

Grand Boulevard

nearly a hundred years ago. The purpose was to attract potential home buyers and investors by having Barney Oldfield’s ‘Old 999’ and other select Americans defend our honor against the French and their Peugeots and the Italians with their Alphas. Panning the old slide-shutter cameras recorded the duels of those cars with dirt and dust flying from the forward stretched wheels, defining pure speed.

When Corona was founded the concept of

Grand Boulevard

’s shape was to encircle homes and businesses with orchards and farms outside the perimeter. 

Plaque inscription: NO. 738 CORONA FOUNDERS MONUMENT - R. B. Taylor, George L. Joy, Samuel Merrill, A. S. Garretson, and Adolph Rimpau, after purchasing lands of La Sierra Rancho and El Temescal grant, founded the citrus colony and town of Corona on May 4, 1886.
Location: Corona City Park, 100 block of

6th St

(Hwy 71), Corona. Google maps: 33.874647,-117.555653

The call and response song Corona is on the Inland Empire album. There is no online video at this time.

CORONA                   © Radio Flier Music

Corona, Corona, Corona, Corona my home
Corona, Corona, Corona, Corona my home

First in the area - Native Americans
The Luiseno Indians – Corona my home

First called South Riverside – then they had a change of mind
To leave the name behind – for Corona my home

Called the circle city – and from the planting committee
Citrus trees made it pretty – Corona my home

Thank you Mr. Taylor – he was the town’s founder    
He made the town rounder – Corona my home

Is Spanish for crown – Hey what’s three miles around?
A circle on the ground – it’s

Grand Boulevard

Gonna have some races – invite all the aces
Attract a million faces – to Corona my home

Most famous in appeal – was Barney Oldfield
He was a real big wheel – to Corona my home

And this locale – it was the lemon capitol
There was no lemon cap at all – at Corona my home

So now you know the story – of the town and all its glory
And the moral of the story – make Corona your home

Corona, Corona, Corona, Corona my home
Corona, Corona, Corona, Corona my home

Butterfield Stage Station

The seventh in a series of nine landmarks of June 23, 1993, and through heat and hunger we press on, the morning balloon ride a distant memory. We’ve pulled away from the cluster of landmarks to the South, picking up speed we head to one of the Butterfield Stage stops that dotted the California landscape thinking that maybe they’ve turned it into a quant restaurant where lunch was waiting. No such luck, just a ‘historical landmark’ road sign pointing to a small rock with a smaller plaque and after a photo, we press on like weary stage passengers wrought with thirst and scurvy hoping for relief as the DeSoto develops a ticking sound and a light wisp of smoke begins to stream from the tailpipe. Just when things could not be worse, an oasis of a farmer’s market and fruit stand appears from nowhere on the right, saving the day with sodas and sandwiches.

An earlier post dealt with the Butterfield mail route, however this site is one of several landmarks in the state that were Butterfield stage stations.

Plaque inscription: NO. 188 BUTTERFIELD STAGE STATION - Site of Butterfield Stage Station where mail was delivered and horses changed. The first stage carrying overland mail left Tipton, Missouri on September 15, 1858 and, passing through Temescal, arrived in Los Angeles October 7, 1858.
Location:

20730 Temescal Canyon Rd

, 7 mi S of Corona. Google maps: 33.811495,-117.504991

Here’s a link to a video sample of the song ‘Butterfield Stage’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRUY91za0vk

BUTTERFIELD STAGE                   © Radio Flier Music

Ch) Ride the Butterfield stage, a Concord Coach so well made

Tipton Missouri to San Francisco bay, on the Butterfield Overland stage

Its 24 days to get there, conditions are hostile

Pleasures few, as you pass through, for 2900 miles

You’ll be a fine passenger; you’re looking fit and smart

A few supplies that we advise, before the stage departs

You’ll need a rifle for the journey, and bring along a pistol too

And to save your life, a bowie knife, keep your money in your boot

Make sure those boots are sturdy, there’s snakes and mud and rocks

To be prepared a half dozen pair, of heavy woolen socks

Bring three woolen overshirts, and a well-made woolen pant

Six undershirts, woolen drawers won’t hurt, and a broad wide-awake hat

You need gauntlet gloves and a cheap sack coat, and a rubber poncho too

And a greatcoat, no lightweight coat, or the chill will turn you blue

And blankets are essential; you must bring two or three

We’re not done the list goes on, let’s talk about toiletries

Four towels, a sponge, and hairbrush, and soap I hate to nag

A comb completes, arrange them neat, packed in a oil-silk bag

A repair kit is a useful, as every traveler knows

Needles and pins and thread in a tin, for occasional bullet holes

Son of a gun we’re almost done, just a few things to include

Besides clothes and gear in this frontier, we got to talk about food

It’s a mail route you’re along for the ride, that’s just the way things be

We’ll feed woman and man when we can, but we cannot guarantee

Bring a private larder of crackers, some cheese and canned sardines

To accent and supplement, lean fare from the company

And there’s water to think about, besides the day’s cuisine

The water may be bad when it can be had, bring along your own canteen

Aside from beef and biscuit, there’s a little thing about sleep

We change horses and crew and coaches too, but you’ll arrive in a heap

Painted Rock

Sixth in a series of nine landmarks seen on June 23, 1993 in Riverside County, pictographs on the road to a county dump.

Way back in the 1930’s the party responsible for state recognition of Painted Rock was the Woman’s Improvement Club of Corona, and it’s interesting to note they’re still going strong with luncheons and teas and such out of a stunning Victorian gingerbread clubhouse on

Main Street

. Apparently, after tea one day they placed a tablet at the site and apparently some scallywags have since run off with it. These women appear to have had some influence with mapmakers as well back in the day for ‘Indian Pictographs Historical Marker,’ is one of those rare state landmarks that are plotted…as bait for scallywags.

Painted Rock was laying in the path of the coming Santa Fe railroad when discovered, so they moved the rails a tad and the rock was preserved. 

Them Rock Painters:               © Radio Flier Music

How bout them rock painters ain’t they sappy

Defacing Painted Rock seems to make them happy

Doin phony little pictographs of eagles and thrushes

Lurkin round the rock with their little paint brushes

Them hugger mugger rock tainters sneekin on they buns

Taintin the boulders of Luiseno Indi-uns

Wanna be a rock painter, I’ll explain it

Get a stone at home and buck up n’ paint it

The above lyric is actually stolen from ‘Them Joshua Tree Poems,’ part of an album on Joshua Tree National Park and can be seen as a video sample here:

From the Temescal Valley Times:
According to one reference work "Chief Lafio of Temecula said the painted rock was the work of the Temecula (Luiseño) Indians, perhaps telling of a three-day fiesta or a religious celebration. It may have been, however, a flood warning, since the San Jacinto River formerly flowed beside the rock and on it are four water signs similar to those found on other rocks listed in the report of the United States Bureau of Ethnography

Plague inscription: NO. 190 PAINTED ROCK - In tribute to the earliest record of any people in this region, the Santa Fe Railway has preserved this rock with its ancient pictograph, and the Committee of the Corona Women's Improvement Club has placed this tablet.
Location: From Temescal Canyon Rd, go 0.1 mi NE on Dawson Canyon Rd, then go 0.1 mi E on Gravel Pit Rd, then 0.2 mi S along railroad track berm, site is 50 ft W of berm, 7 mi S of Corona. Google maps: 33.783624,-117.483083

Third Serrano Adobe

June 23, 1993 Riverside County CA
Fifth in a series of nine northbound landmarks seen and a medium length putt from the tanning vats.

As it will be said many times in these writings, to be a California State Landmark, it has to be first, last, biggest, etc., or of unique historical significance to pass muster. Now not being one to nit pick, it just seems the name ‘Third Serrano Adobe’ means this landmark’s elevator doesn’t quite make it to the top. Around these parts south of Corona however, the name ‘Serrano’ is used as often as ‘Alamo’ in San Antonio. As it is for the Serrano Tanning Vats plaque 30’ away, this is a though neighborhood for the adobe’s landmark to be hanging out. It appears that people sometimes use these turnouts for issues other than improving their chops on California history. Thugs and scoundrels of questionable motive have been gnawing away at them for years, as witnessed by the chipping and bashing on the concrete. Thinking these are made of solid bronze, copper, or some precious metal, has some folks resorting to the low handed deed of theft for profit. Some have been successful, but at least for now, not here. 

Plaque inscription: NO. 224 RUINS OF THIRD SERRANO ADOBE - Don Leandro Serrano set out orchards and vineyards and cultivated some of the fertile lands of the Temescal Valley. In the 1840s he built his third adobe, which the Serrano family occupied until 1898, on the well-traveled road between San Diego and Los Angeles.
Location: NE corner of I-15 and

Old Temescal Road

, 8 mi SE of Corona. Google maps: 33.777863,-117.486119

Serrano Tanning Vats

June 23, 1993 Riverside County
The fourth in a series of nine northbound landmarks seen that day was a twofer…two landmarks at the same site. This one has the state plaque and the Third Serrano Adobe has a local marker. There was a third landmark of some kind in the middle separating the other two, a fancy stone tablet that could have been something important, calling out to those who pass. But when one is on a quest, one stays on theme. Besides, the better half taking the photo was hungry and it didn’t look like the concrete pipe factory was serving tea and sandwiches.

Update: It turns out the good folks amid the halls and corridors of the Temescal Valley Press know what the mystery third landmark is all about. Turns out the Boy Scouts did the good deed of placing a plaque of their own design in 1962…later to be restored in 1981 by those Boy Scouts with beer, E Clampus Vitus.

Tanning in this case does not mean these were little spas for sun bathing. No, they were used for soaking cow hides in lime or lye solutions for separation, or tannin, that alters the structure of the skins into something that doesn’t deteriorate. Nowhere does any information on these vats say exactly what steps in the process of leather making these vats were used for, but for tanning then they used a solution made from oak bark. Tannenbaum is German for oak tree, and derived the word.’ tannin’ from. Or, you could use a lot of red wine.

Plaque inscription: NO. 186 SERRANO TANNING VATS - Nearby, two vats were built in 1819 by the Luiseño Indians under the direction of Leandro Serrano, first non-Indian settler in what is now Riverside County. The vats were used in making leather from cow hides. In 1981 the vats were restored and placed here by the Billy Holcomb Chapter of E Clampus Vitus.
Location: NW corner of I-15 and

Old Temescal Rd

, 8 mi SE of Corona
Google maps: 33.777863,-117.486119

Carved Rock

The third landmark in a series of nine seen on June 23, 1993. Looking back, it seems ironic that on this very day in 1993, John Wayne Bobbitt’s wife was doing some carving of her own. At any rate, on this trip, we’ll learn the difference between petroglyphs and pictographs….one is carved, the other, painted.

Carved Rock has been poorly treated, unmaintained, and unrecognized. And, since the 1100 state landmarks largely ignore Native American contributions, this site ought to be preserved better than it is. Add to this the indignity that Carved Rock’s plaque has gone missing.

Them Rock Tainters:               © Radio Flier Music

How bout them rock tainters ain’t they sappy

Defacing Carved Rock seems to make them happy

Doin phony little petroglyphs of eagles and thrushes

Lurkin round the rock with chisels and brushes

Them hugger mugger rock tainters sneekin on they buns

Taintin the boulders of Luiseno Indi-uns

Wanna be a rock tainter, I’ll explain it

Get a stone at home and buck up n’ taint it

If nothing else, the Luiseno people here were clean…with daily bathing nearby at the source that for the last 150 years has been known as Glen Ivy.Hot Springs.

If  there was a plaque at the site it would read: NO. 187 CARVED ROCK - The petroglyphs were carved by the Luiseño Indians, their meaning is said to be: 'A chief died here. These are his plumes, his portrait, his sign, and the animals sacred to him.' The Luiseño Indians who lived in Temescal Valley belonged to the Shoshoean linguistic group. The rock has been damaged by vandals.
Location: In canyon, 0.4 mi N of I-15 (P.M. 32.5), 8 mi S of Corona. Google maps 33.774225,-117.47509

Serrano Boulder

Second in a series of nine northbound landmarks seen June 23, 1993 - Riverside County CA

No plaque, no fancy turnout with ‘landmark ahead’ signs, just a smallish boulder stuck in overgrown brush, a little too big to be hauled away by someone looking for a landscaping accent. If one is go the extra mile and a little dirt to reach this location, a step back at the site to contemplate that this was the first house in what is now Riverside County was right here. This boulder was put here by sympathizers of Leandro Serrano acknowledging his being screwed out of his 20,000 acre land grant. At one time there was a landmark plaque…maybe the courts took that away as well.

U.S. Supreme Court: Serrano v. United States, 72 U.S. 5 Wall. 451 451 (1866)
Yeah, the claim went all the way to the Supreme Court. Leandro had been here for over thirty years on land granted by the priests at San Luis Rey, and though possession law and statements from those parties involved in the original transaction would have normally held up as it did for American born landowners under Mexican rule, Serrano got the shaft. Though acquired in similar fashion as a grant, US citizen Jonathon Warner’s land nearby was never in question. Over in Azusa, English born ancestors of my better half’s family were likewise ousted from three square miles of land they paid cold hard cash for in the 1840’s. In the box for ‘occupation’ in the 1880 census, cousin Henry Dalton bluntly states: “Fighting for my rights.”  

This Online Archive of California  photo shows a Luiseno adobe in Temescal valley from around 1900 that would have been very similar to the original Serrano home.

Plaque inscription:
NO. 185 SERRANO BOULDER - As early as 1818, Don Leandro Serrano had cattle, sheep, cultivated land, and orchards in Temescal Valley. The boulder placed by residents of Temescal Valley marks the site of the first house in Riverside County, erected by Leandro Serrano about May 1824.
Location: From I-15, take Old Temescal Canyon Rd S 0.4 mi to Lawson Rd, then go W 0.2 mi to dirt rd, then S 0.1 mi to site, 9 mi S of Corona  Google maps: 33.770033,-117.490894

Old Temescal Road

First in a series of nine northbound landmarks seen June 23, 1993 - Riverside County CA

Like an unfinished project on the garage workbench, this landmark just hasn’t made it to song. It seems to have all the right ingredients, but something else always to shove it aside. Someday. Meanwhile, recent computer access to topographical and satellite maps can show the paths chosen by pioneers in the form of the path of least resistance. Everyone wants a smooth DeSoto-like-ride so sand, large rocks, hills, and water were avoided whenever possible, and the

Old Temescal Road

was no exception. Starting in Corona (originally called South Riverside) at

Ontario Avenue

, it meanders through Temescal Canyon to the hill that leads to Lake Elsinore. The subtle changes in the canyon are overlooked today when plowing up and down interstate 15, missing the old two lane road’s journey as it dipped and ducked under occasional narrow Santa Fe overpasses that would flood in a good fog. Imagine an early summer morning LA to San Diego bound traveler in the DeSoto’s heyday of 1950. After the scent of miles of constant orange and citrus trees through Orange and parts of Riverside Counties, the damp canyon grasses bring a fresh change.

Those good grasses were a primary reason for the cluster of five state landmarks in Temescal Canyon and their stories of early development.

NO.

638 OLD TEMESCAL ROAD

- This route was used by Luiseño and Gabrieleno Indians, whose villages were nearby. Leandro Serrano established a home here in 1820. Jackson and Warner traveled the road in 1831, and Frémont in 1848. It was the southern emigrant road for gold seekers from 1849 to 1851, the Overland Mail route from 1858 to 1861, and a military road between Los Angeles and San Diego from 1861 to 1865.
Location: On Old Hwy 71, 0.9 mi S of I-15 and Temescal Canyon Rd interchange, 11 mi S of Corona
On reservation land. Google coordinates: 33.765609,-117.486699

      

The Landmark That Wasn't

June 23, 1993 Riverside County CA
It’s a new day and after a stay and fantastic breakfast at a Temecula B&B and a morning balloon ride, flying low past the local wine country and up through the overcast to the brilliant sunrise above the clouds at 4000’ (a gracious comp from a client) it was time for some real adventure; more state landmarks. First, a comment on ballooning.

One would think that at 4000’ thoughts would dwell on the fact that the only thing preventing a 4000’ fall is hot air and wicker, yet the serenity is overwhelming. So like images of trusting babies suspended from stork beaks and flying through pale blue skies with puff clouds, we ride, viewing the landscape in the scenic slow pan of a John Ford Western. Periodic bursts from the burners assure continued flight to those short of stature, but standing 6’ 4” at burner height, it’s a bit like having one’s head in a foghorn. Thoughts during this flight turn to an autobiography by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky read many years before of his wish in those early years of avionics to build ever greater sized, but slow flying aircraft. Though he envisioned planes with pianos and dance floors, his largest effort was a craft called ‘The Grand’, a four engine passenger plane built about the time of the great war in Jules Verne fashion with etched windows, flower vases, and a sprial staircase to the roof walkway where Igor would stroll and smell the fresh Russian air. Elegance lost. The thing only went about 60 miles an hour. He must have felt like my Brittany spaniel with his head out the window of the DeSoto at full tilt. In the basket of a balloon however, it isn’t windy, it can’t be, but it’s a good bet that the free standing rush of a view is much like it was for Igor. Perspective is actually much better as the balloon flies low to the ground in what could be called Peter Pan range. Deft flap control by our pilot yields a soft Oz-like landing and we’re on our way to the first landmark.            

By now a reader may ask; “Who decides what becomes a California state historical landmark?” Well, research into this shows that landmark approval is lengthy and complicated process accomplished by an appointed panel of Hottentots and Potentates consisting of a doctor and a lawyer and an Indian Chief, and led by Way Out Willie, the historian. You submit your information to them and if they dig that crazy beat, they do the hand jive and the application is approved. A new landmark is then christened by the rockin’ Billy Holcomb chapter of E Clampus Vitus. 

The first stop on this day would have been number 1005, the Santa Rosa Rancho site in Murrieta. However, the California landmarks guidebook only went to 986 and the recently established landmark wasn’t listed. Nor was there, or is there to this day. an actual landmark plaque for this site. Apparently, the E Clampus Vitus boys were sitting this one out, as it would be later understood that they were all over most recent dedications and monument construction for as it turns out, the state doesn’t do it.

Old 1005 was the first heartbreak, unable to find on multiple attempts until 1998. There would be a good many others in those days before GPS and turn-by-turn instructions for the common man. On occasion, breaking the golden rule of male drivers everywhere became an option; asking someone for directions. To feel the humbling realization that at some point one has to throw in the towel and move on to fish elsewhere was a bitter pill. Blame then was easy, it was the map’s fault. Not enough detail from the AAA maps in rural areas was often a legitimate case in the attempts to regain masculinity, but after getting Thomas Guides, that dog would no longer hunt. Still, suburban sprawl marches on, often changing the face of these destinations with new or diverted roads, gates, and no trespassing challenges.

Christmas Tree Lane

The mother lode, the oldest example of excessive use of Christmas lights in America. Starting every October, volunteers set the parade course of burning filament in which the floats are stagnant and the parade goers do the parading. My parents and grandparents would have opened their Christmas day copies of the LA Times to see this photo of

Christmas Tree Lane

in 1938. According to the byline: “Altadena’s annual

Christmas Tree Lane

opens on Christmas Eve for motorists to slowly drive through with their headlights off. The deodar trees were decorated with some 10,000 lights.” That’s the way to do it, a brief demonstration of shock and awe witnessed by wide-eyed parents and children in darkened cars inching along and savoring every bulb. It was a destination.

 

UPDATE! Well it's summertime in the desert and you know what that means, time to write a Christmas song. Gonna record this with just a ukulele and vocal soon as the phrasing gets comfortable. The scene is Eagle Rock, Ca. about 1940...but it could be anytime...except for the car.

CHRISTMAS TREE LANE      © Radio Flier Music

Hey there mama, before we put pajamas on

What do ya think about it pop?

We grab little sis, hop in the Studebaker

And leave old Eagle Rock

Christmas time lights, are shining bright

Something like we’ve never ever seen

Just up the road, I’m about to explode

Got to get on to Altadena

 Tall cedar trees running two rows deep

Goes on about a mile long

Hanging lights in a chain, brighten the lane

And like a sleigh we slowly drive along

Goin’ all the way, in the spirit of the holiday

Like peppermint a kid just can’t resist

The trees all glow like electric snow

Down the row on a chilly Christmas

Ch) On parade, in a misty Christmas night

Down the lane, of 10,000 holiday lights

Throw the switch, and light ‘em up once again

And give the reason this season for Mr. and Mrs.

To celebrate the season on Christmas Tree Lane

Every year it’s clear, folks are coming here

To let these little lights surprise

I turn my neck and watch them reflect

In my little sister’s eyes

Trees designed to see them shining

And it doesn’t even cost a dime

Let’s turn around these trees all crowned

And go down one more time

With annual Christmas dinners in nearby Eagle Rock, we’d trek down the lane on occasion, but the other more simple luminary tradition was to pass by the Los Angeles City Hall to view the four sided cross. The lighting tradition went on into the 1970’s when it was pointed out that it was politically incorrect for a public building. Humbug.

The ‘official’ visit to this landmark was August 2, 1998, as we pulled the Olds Silhouette off the 210 to capture the last landmark returning from Lake Tahoe.


Plaque inscription: NO.

990 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE

- The 135 Deodar Cedar trees were planted in 1885 by the Woodbury Family, the founders of Altadena. First organized by F.C. Nash in 1920, the 'Mile of Christmas Trees' has been strung with 10,000 lights each holiday season through the efforts of volunteers and the Christmas Tree Lane Association. It is the oldest large-scale Christmas lighting spectacle in Southern California.
Location: Santa Rosa Ave on both sides of the street from Woodbuty Avenue to Altadena Drive in Altadena  Google maps: 34.181382,-118.140042

Vallecito

Vallecito and The Lady Ghost in White

June 22, 1993 San Diego County. First in a series (or last on a blog) of nine landmarks visited, and though not one that tends to believe in such things as ghosts..........

James Lassator built a sod house here in the early 1850’s as a stopping place at the first good water in quanity and grasses along the southern emigrant trail from Yuma.  The house became a station for the San Antonio-San Diego mail route known as the ‘Jackass Mail’, and later for the Butterfield Overland Mail and in its reconstructed state, remains one of the chief landmarks of the line. 

These stations were the only relief for the rigors of travel and the scenes of countless events of dramatic interest that have left numerous ghost stories; the ‘White Horse Ghost of Vallecito’, the ghosts of Texas emigrants Mr.’s Buck and Roland who shot it out to their deaths, and the ‘Lady Ghost’ or ‘White Lady of Vallecito’, and it is she that makes the vistor most uncomfortable.    

Buried in her wedding dress just below the station, they thought they had put her to rest but almost every night it is said she rises from her grave to walk the floors of Vallecito Station waiting for the stage to take her on to her lover in Sacramento and a marriage that never materialized. 

NO. 304 VALLECITO STAGE DEPOT (STATION) - A reconstruction (1934) of Vallecito Stage Station built in 1852 at the edge of the Great Colorado Desert. It was an important stop on the first official transcontinental route, serving the San Diego-San Antonio ('Jackass') mail line (1857-1859), the Butterfield Overland Stage Line, and the southern emigrant caravans.
Location: Vallecito Stage Station County Park, on

County Rd

S2 (P.M. 34.7), 3.7 mi NW of Agua Caliente Springs 32º58.543'N - 116º21.002'W

Though not one to believe in ghosts, there is something spooky about this place, and there is no wish to spend a night here alone.

The song 'Vallecito' came as part of the Southern Emigrant Trail project and here's a link to a video sample:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SdJ9qhe0Z0

VALLECITO             © Radio Flier Music

Vallecito, little valley, your water tastes so fine

Salt grasses for the horses, cool shade from the pines

In the late 1850's when the Butterfield line was new

A young girl came from the East, for her fiancé so true

Up to the gold country diggings where he'd made a lucky find

Eileen O'Connor would meet her lover and there to be his bride

Vallecito, little valley, your water tastes so fine

Salt grasses for the horses, cool shade from the pines

Improper food and doubtful water and the desert took its toll

She was too weak for the hardship, Eileen had taken ill

When they finally reached the station she was carried from the stage

Sweet water of Vallecito could not this young girl save

Vallecito, little valley, your water tastes so fine

Salt grasses for the horses, cool shade from the pines

They found her wedding dress and her letters they would send

This lost daughter of the golden west had come to journey's end

In the moonlight you can see her, pacing the Vallecito night

Waiting for the stagecoach, the lady ghost in white

Vallecito, little valley, your water tastes so fine

Salt grasses for the horses, cool shade from the pines

It's a long and rugged journey, on the Southern Emigrant Trail

Your sweet water came too late, for the girl so young and frail